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 After Saddam: Full coverage

Campaign
overview
Mass
grave sites
Baghdad

 

Overview:

  • The US-led campaign to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began early on 20 March, when air strikes rocked the capital Baghdad

  • Ground forces invaded from Kuwait. UK troops concentrated on taking Basra, while US troops moved on towards Baghdad in two main pushes - the marines from the south-east and the 3rd Infantry from the south-west

  • Fierce resistance was encountered in some towns such as Nasiriya, but forces eventually captured Baghdad's airport after fighting their way in on 3 April, then pushed on into the capital

  • Baghdad fell on 9 April, and the focus of the war moved to northern Iraq. US-backed Kurdish forces quickly took control of Kirkuk and Mosul, before the final key target, Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit, fell to US forces on 14 April
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