Contents: Casualties | Maps | Timeline | Major Players | Afghanistan (OEF)
Coalition Deaths
Iraqi Deaths Since April 2005 when new government was announced.

Source: icasualties.org/

Civilians killed in 2006 may be double (34K) the numbers above above (16.5K) according to a U.N. Report. (see below)
A stampede in Aug. 2005 resulting in 965 deaths was attributed to the conflict.
30-100 K Total Iraqis killed. See below.

Deaths per Day
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Coalition 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.6 0.9 0.4
Iraqi Police/Mil 7 6 5 3.5 1.4
Civilian 19 45 47 17 7
Costs:
It is estimated that the US has spent $696 Billion on the war thru October 2009. Cost in 2008 was $341 million per day.
Much of the expense has been hidden so an exact number is not available.
Obama's budget calls for the cost of overseas conflicts, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan of $144 billion in fiscal year 2009, $130 billion in 2010.
See "The Economic Cost of War" NY Times, February 28, 2009

 

Contractor Deaths:
917 contractors from more than three dozen countries had been killed thru May, 2007. They are not counted in coalition deaths above.
Truck drivers and translators account for a significant share of the casualties.
The number of casualties, though, may be much higher because the government's statistical database is not complete.

Nearly 300 companies from the United States and around the world supply workers who are a shadow force in Iraq almost as large as the uniformed military. About 126,000 men and women working for contractors serve alongside about 150,000 American troops, the Pentagon has reported. Never before has the United States gone to war with so many civilians on the battlefield doing jobs -- armed guards, military trainers, translators, interrogators, cooks and maintenance workers -- once done only by those in uniform.
Source:
NY Times, May, 19, 2007


The Department of Defense (DOD) numbers are usually lower than those reported at icasualties.org and the AP because of DOD delays in reporting. On Oct 25, 2005 AP reported the US death toll reached 2000, while the DOD reported 1,985.

Stats: Chart by month at CNN - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and tables at icasualties.org
iraqbodycount.net/

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) (i.e. roadside bombs and suicide car bombs) cause about half of all the American combat casualties in Iraq, both killed-in-action and wounded. Insurgents have constructed IEDs powerful enough to kill soldiers inside 22-ton Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

Iraqis Killed
There is not accurate data on the number of Iraqis killed.
In a Dec. 12, 2005 speech in Philadelphia, President Bush said there were about 30,000 Iraqi civilians killed.

In 2005 the United Nations said the actual number of Iraqi deaths is over double the number reported.

Iraqi Deaths Since April 2005 when new government was announced.

At Iraq Body Count they report from 34-38,000 killed thru March, 2006. This includes 7,350 killed during the "major-combat" phase.

In 2004, Dr Les Roberts, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, estimated up to 100,000 Iraqi civilians - half of them women and children - had died in Iraq since the invasion.

This report was published in Oct. 2004 in The Lancet, a UK medical journal. Some have questioned the accuracy of their data. The Lancet article was also critical of the failure by coalition forces to count Iraqi casualties. See comments on the study in the Guardian.

In a Jun 10, 2005 Wall Street Journal Article they state: "Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr released statistics last week showing that some 12,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by insurgents in the last 18 months."
On the McLaughlin Group (TV) Sun. July 17, 2005 they reported there had been 112,900 Iraqi civilian casualties. They didn't say whether casualties included wounded.

In a October 2006 article "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional cluster sample survey", by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published in the Lancet, they estimate that 655,000 Iraqis (2.5% of the population) or 540 per day have died above the number that would be expected in a non-conflict situation, between March 2003 and July 2006.
At a White House news conference President Bush said, "I don't consider it a credible report. Neither does General (George) Casey (top U.S. commander in Iraq) and neither do Iraqi officials."

In Jan. 2007 the U.N. reported more than 34,000 civilians were "violently killed" across Iraq in 2006, with an average of 94 killed every day. "According to information made available to UNAMI (U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq), 6,376 civilians were violently killed in November and December 2006, with no less than 4,731 in Baghdad, most of them as a result of gunshot wounds," the report said.
See CNN article.

See also Iraq Body Count (IBC)

More Iraq maps under places.

How Americans view the war USA Today/Gallup poles.

Brief Timeline
See Iraq for history before Saddam..

  • 1979 - Saddam Hussein, for years the power behind the ailing president, Ahmed Hassan Bakr becomes head of state.
  • 1980-88 Iraq-Iran War
  • December 20, 1983 - Donald Rumsfeld, Ronald Reagan's special Middle East envoy, met with Saddam Hussein during the first of Rumsfeld's two now-famous visits to Baghdad. At the time, the United States was courting Iraq as a buffer to the greater threat the Reagan administration perceived in the Islamic Republic of Iran. As has now been widely reported, the U.S. had already been providing the Iraqi regime with intelligence and other support in its war with Iran. Within a year of Rumsfeld's first visit, Baghdad and Washington had re-established diplomatic relations.
    See: The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook at GWU.
  • March 16 1988 - Saddam Hussein's administration uses chemical weapons against Kurds at Halabja in Iraq: more than 5,000 die.
  • August 2 1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait. UN security council resolution 660 calls for full withdrawal.
  • January 16 1991 - Gulf War starts. US-led coalition begins air strikes against Iraq.
  • February 27 1991 - Kuwait is liberated after a three-day ground operation.
  • June 21 1997 - UN demands Iraq allow inspection teams access to disputed sites.
  • December 16 1998 - UN inspection team is withdrawn, after concluding that Iraq is not cooperating fully.
  • December 16-19 1998 - Operation 'Desert Fox' begins: four days of US-British air strikes against Iraqi weapons programmes.
  • January 30 2002 - In the first state of the union address after the September 11 attacks on America, US president George Bush says Iraq is part of an 'axis of evil'.
  • August 1 2002 - Iraq invites UN chief weapons inspector to Baghdad.
  • November 8 2002 - UN security council votes unanimously to back resolution 1441 submitted by the US and Britain, requiring Iraq to reinstate weapons inspectors after a four year absence.
  • December 7 2002 - Iraqi officials in Baghdad present the UN with a 12,000 page dossier disclosing Iraq's programmes for weapons of mass destruction, as demanded by UN resolution 1441.
  • February 6 2003 - Colin Powell makes the case against Iraq in an address to the UN.
  • February 24 2003 - The United States , Great Britain and Spain submit a proposed resolution to the UN Security Council stating, " Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity afforded to it in Resolution 1441." The resolution concludes it is time to authorize use of military force.
    Russia, France and Germany put forward an informal counter-resolution, stating that inspections should be intensified and extended to ensure there is "a real chance for the peaceful settlement of this crisis" and that "the military option should only be a last resort."
  • March 19 2003 - War begins.
  • April 2 2003 - US officials announce they have rescued American prisoner of war Private Jessica Lynch, 19, of Palestine, West Virginia.
  • April 7 2003 - US forces make their most far-reaching move into Baghdad, capturing two palaces, including Saddam Hussein's new presidential palace,
  • April 9 2003 - US marines help crowds to topple a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad.
  • April - US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) established as in interim government.
  • May 1 - George bush under a "Mission Accomplished" banner on an aircraft carrier declares: "An end to major combat operations."
  • July 22 2003 - Uday and Qusay, Saddam Hussein's sons and his most feared lieutenants, are killed in a gun battle at their hideout in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul.
  • July 13 2003 - Iraq's governing council, which is to prepare the way to free elections, has its first meeting.
  • July 30 2003 - 25-member Iraqi Interim Governing Council (GC) appointed by the Coalition. The 25-member Governing Council represents all major strands of Iraqi society and has substantial powers.
  • July 31 2003 - Around 10,000 young men have come forward to join an "Islamic army" in the holy city of Najaf, according to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
  • August 19 2003 - A truck bomb strikes at the heart of the international humanitarian effort in Iraq, destroying part of the UN headquarters in Baghdad and killing at least 20 people, including the head of the UN mission. August 22 2003 - A previously unknown group claims responsibility for the bomb attack on the UN compound in Baghdad that killed at least 23 people, and threatened further attacks.
  • November 2 2003 - Sixteen US soldiers are killed after their Chinook helicopter is struck six miles south of Falluja in the deadliest attack against the occupying powers since the US declared major combat to be over.
  • November 7 2003 - Six US soldiers are killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashes in central Iraq, apparently after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
  • November 15, 2003, a landmark Agreement was reached on a timetable for the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty, creation of a permanent constitution and the holding of free, national elections.
  • December 13 2003 - Saddam Hussein, Iraq's deposed leader, is captured by US forces at the bottom of a hole near his home town of Tikrit.
  • January 18 2004 - A suicide bomber detonates a pick-up truck laden with 500kg of explosives at the main gate of the US headquarters in Iraq, killing at least 20 people
  • Feb. 1, 2004 - Two rebel bombings of Kurdish political gatherings at Erbil, Iraq killed 105.
  • Mar 2, 2004 - Rebel attacks at mosks in Baghdad and the sacred city of Karbala during Ashura, the holiest Shiite Muslim day of the year, killed over 150. Some of the casualties were Iranian pilgrims.
    There was also a bombing killing at least 40 Shiites celebrating the same holy day in Pakistan.
  • Mar 31. - Sunni rebels in Fallujah killed four American security contractors and debase their bodies. There were also five soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device. Coalition forces moved toward the city to subdue those responsible, but have met strong resistance from Baathist-regime supporters, foreign terrorists and other malcontents.
  • Apr., 2004 - Abu Ghraib prison abuse uncovered.
  • June 28,2004 - Official transfer of sovereignty from the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi Interim Governing Council.
  • August, 2004 - Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi steps up hostage taking.
  • Sept, 2004 - More than 30 hostages have been killed in wave of kidnappings which was stepped up in April.
  • Oct, 2004 - U.S. and Iraqi government forces attack the insurgent-held city of Samarra in northern Iraq. U.S. officials say over 100 militants were killed and 37 were captured,
  • Nov, 2004 - US and Iraqi troups storm Fallujah to drive out terrorists.
  • Jan, 2005 - More than 8.5 million Iraqis defied threats of violence and terrorist attacks to cast their ballots January 30 in the country's first open, multiparty democratic elections in more than half a century. They elected a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA). Voter turnout was slightly above 58%.
    The TNA replaces the Interim Governing Council.
  • Jan 26, 2005 - Marine transport helicopter crashes, killing 31.
  • Aug 31, 2005 - 965 Iraquis are suffocated, crushed, drowned, killed falling on to land below a Bagdad bridge as panicking pilgrims stampede. Some officials acccused Muslim militants of deliberately panicking the huge crowd of Shia, others blamed it on concrete barricades along the bridge that were meant to deter car bombers.
  • May 3, 2005 - First democratically elected Iraqui government sworn in.
  • Oct, 2005 - Iraqis vote to approve constitution. 63% of registered voters went to the polls. 21%, mostly Sunnis, voted against it.
  • Oct., 2005 - Saddam Hussein goes on trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
  • Dec, 2005 - Iraqis vote for permanent National Assembly.
    Sunnis have complained about the result in Baghdad.
    On Dec. 18 the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq (IECI) said that a seventy percent turnout in last week's parliamentary elections was "a success" but that 200 reported cases of fraud could delay final results by up to two weeks.

    The Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance emerges as the winner, but fails to gain an absolute majority.

  • Feb 22, 2006 - The al-Askariya Mosque, a Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad was bombed. Though no casualties were reported, the bombing was the most destructive attack on a major shrine since the U.S. invasion, and Iraqi leaders said it was meant to draw Shiites and Sunnis into war. Dozens of Sunni mosques are immediately attacked in retribution. Some speculate this could escalate into civil war.
  • Mar, 2006 - President Bush vowed for the first time yesterday to turn over most of Iraq to newly trained Iraqi troops by the end of this year.
  • June 7, 2006 - Abu Musa'ab al-Zarqawi is killed in an air raid in the little town of Hibhib 8 km north of Baquba after receiving tips from residents in the area.
  • Aug. 30, 2006 - Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. general in Iraq, estimated that Iraqi security forces would need another 12 to 18 months before they could take over from American troops.
  • Sept. 23, 2006 - A classified National Intelligence Estimate--a consensus view of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, signed off by Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte--is leaked to several newspapers. It concludes that "the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse."
  • Oct 2006 - Coalition monthly death toll exceeds 100 for the first time since Jan. 2005
  • Nov. 2006 - Donald Rumsfeld resigns as Defense Secretary and Robert Gates is appointed to replace him.
  • Dec. 6, 2006 - A bipartisan report by the Iraq Study Group is released. Led by former secretary of state James Baker and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton, it concludes that "the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating" and "U.S. forces seem to be caught in a mission that has no foreseeable end." The report's 79 recommendations include reaching out diplomatically to Iran and Syria and having the U.S. military intensify its efforts to train Iraqi troops.
  • Dec. 30, 2006 - Saddam Hussein is hanged. On Nov. 5, a court had sentenced Saddam to death for the killing of 148 Shiites in Dujail in 1982.
  • Jan. 4, 2007 - Lt. Gen. David Petraeus is named the top commander in Iraq. He replaces Gen. George Casey, Jr. Adm. William Fallon succeeds Gen. John Abizaid as the head of Central Command.
  • Jan. 10, 2007 - In a nationally televised address, President Bush announces an additional 20,000 troops will be deployed to Baghdad to try to stem the sectarian fighting.
  • Feb. 2007 - General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the Multi-National Force
  • Feb 2007 - Iraqi] death toll exceeds an average of 100 per day.
  • Apr 9, 2007 - Thousands of anti-U.S. protesters marched in the Shiite holy city of Najaf today to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the demonstration, which Najaf police said included tens of thousands of protesters.
  • May 2007 - Coalition death toll hits 131, highest level since 2004.
  • June 15, 2007 Troop buildup completed; 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq
  • Aug 2007 - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced a cease-fire of his powerful militia, which brings the Iraqi death toll down more than 60 percent over the next few months.
  • Oct 2007 - Coalition monthly death toll drops to 40, lowest level since Feb. 2006
See Timelines at: Nicolai Brown

Major Players
In April 2003 The U.S. military issued a most-wanted list (on a deck of cards) of 55 former leaders in Saddam Hussein's regime to be pursued, captured or killed.
Saddam Hussein is the ace of spades, other aces are Qusay and Uday Hussein, Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti (Presidential Secretary). Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti [aka: "Chemical Ali"] was one of the Kings. As of February, 2005, 44 of the 55 "Iraqi Most Wanted" had been captured or killed.

Nov. 2003 - Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, (Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestan, as-Seestani, Ali Husaini) Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, rejected a US plan - agreed to with the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council - that allows for the transfer of sovereignty to a provisional government in June 2004.
  Sistani represents the conservative and Persian-born mainstream of Iraqi Shias believes in the separation of religion and state. A recluse residing in Najaf who rarely leaves his home, he has always distanced himself from politics.
He has several times urged his Shia followers not to take up arms against the occupation forces.

April 2, 2004 - Radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced he was opening Iraqi chapters of Hezbollah and Hamas in what seemed to be a reaction to Israeli forces assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the leader of Hamas.
Sadr's Mahdi militia, took over government buildings and streets in several towns. This seems to be a power grab since he is not represented on the council. He is also at odds with Ayatollah Sistani, who takes a non-violent stance.
American commanders said they planned to "kill or capture" Mr. Sadr, but are reluctant to go into the holy city of Najaf where he is holding up.

Sadr, the thirty-something year old son of the esteemed, late Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, assassinated by Saddam Hussein's agents in 1999 along with two other sons, has tapped into the support of the disenfranchised Shi'a of Sadr City (named after his father, formerly known as Saddam City). It is reported that al-Sistani and his supporters detest al-Sadr, his rhetoric, and his methods.
The Shiites who had been patient all of sudden started to resist and kill Americans and kidnap foreigners. They even seem to be cooperating with Sunni groups.

74 soldiers were killed in the first two weeks of April.

The Badr militia, which is much larger (up to 30,000) than Sadr's Mahdi, has started to support Sadr. It is controlled by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and is represented on the council by the brother of their leader Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, who was assassinated in August of 2003.

Sadr has also received offers of help from Sunni insurgency groups. The Ansar Islam Army, regarded as an Al Qaida-inspired group, released an announcement that offered to help Sadr in the Shi'ite revolt against the United States.

Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has Al-Qaeda connections according to U.S. officials, heads the Tawhid and Jihad group (Arabic for "monotheism and Holy War"). In August 2004 they stepped up their hostage taking aimed at driving out foreign companies involved in reconstruction projects. As of Sept. 22 the grouped claimed responsibility for killing at least seven hostages. al-Zarqawi's group is also behind a number of bombings and gun attacks.

Other insurgent groups include: Supporters of the Sunni People, The Men's Faith Brigate, The Islamic Anger, Al Baraa bin Malik Suicide Brigate, The Tawid Lions of Abdullah Ibn al Zobeir. Highly visible groups such as al_Qaida, Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Victorious Army Group appear to act as fronts, providing money, general direction and expertise to the smaller groups, but often taking responsibility for their attacks. Government officials put them in three categories: Sunni Arabs disaffected by the Shiite majority in the new government, former Saddam Hussein government loyalists and foreign terrorists.

See:
Afghanistan
Casualties at CNN or Iraqometer for stats.
Coalition Provisional Authority CPA-Iraq Coalition (The CPA transfered power to the Interim Governing Council in June, 2004)

Also: Nov. 2003 Boston Globe
Timelines at: Guardian Unlimited (UK), AFSC, World History

Iraq Map in places


last updated 25 Jan 2010