Images of war: The road to Baghdad

Images of war: The road to Baghdad

1 of 16 US President George W Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war.

2 of 16 The US-led war was launched with an air raid on Baghdad aimed at "decapitating" Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership.

3 of 16 As US intelligence tried to determine whether they had killed Saddam Hussein he broadcast a statement on Iraqi TV.

4 of 16 Huge convoys of coalition forces pressed into Iraq with the immediate aim to capture the Al-Faw peninsula and Basra.

5 of 16 As the fighting intensified, refugees started to move south to escape the coalition bombs.

6 of 16 A suicide attack and the killing of seven civilians at a coalition checkpoint left soldiers and civilians nervous.

7 of 16 After rapid advances into Iraq US forces paused to rearm, resupply and prepare to attack the Republican Guard in Baghdad.

8 of 16 Coalition forces took thousands of Iraqi prisoners during the push to Baghdad.

9 of 16 BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson was injured in northern Iraq in one of the many "friendly fire" incidents of the war.

10 of 16 In northern Iraq Kurdish fighters moved south towards Baghdad with the aid of US special forces.

11 of 16 Pictures of 12-year-old Ali Ismail Abbas' injuries were printed across the world, showing the horrific impact of war .

12 of 16 The Iraqi Republican Guard mounted only sporadic defence of their capital city following intense bombing.

13 of 16 With some of Saddam Hussein's palaces now in US hands, troops took a break from battle and made themselves at home.

14 of 16 Despite coalition attempts to minimise civilian casualties many were killed or injured in the fighting.

15 of 16 As the US troops rolled into Baghdad, people poured onto the streets to greet them.

16 of 16 An enduring image of the war - Saddam Hussein's statue pulled to the ground - was shown live around the world.