This Day in Iraqi History - Mar 24

1959 Gen Qasim withdrew Iraq from anti-Communist Baghdad Pact

1973 Saddam visited Moscow to push for stronger Iraq-Soviet cooperation

1986 UN condemned Iraq’s use of chemical weapons in Iran-Iraq War

1988 KDP base hit with poison gas in 2^nd Anfal campaign Civilians rounded up and

            men executed by govt forces

(Musings On Iraq article on Anfal campaign)

1991 Turkish Pres Ozal met Bush in US and told him an independent Kurdistan in Iraq

            would lead to greater Kurdistan affecting Turkey Syrian Iran

1992 Iraqi army began shelling Kifri as sporadic fighting with Peshmerga continued

1998 French Pres Chirac told PM Blair that sanctions were killing kids in Iraq

2002 Cheney on CNN’s Late Edition called Saddam an evil man that U.S. would deal

            with

2003 US forces reached outside Karbala

2003 US B-52 bombers began attacks on Republican Guard positions south of

            Baghdad

2003 British forces took Basra airport Heavy fighting with Fedayeen led British forces

to withdraw from Basra City

2003 British military told govt local Iraqi militias putting up tough fight in Basra

2003 Red Cross warned of humanitarian emergency in Basra city as water running out

2003 Dow Jones reported no WMD found at suspected facility in Najaf

2003 Iran decided to send in operatives and Badr Brigade to carry out ops against US

            in Iraq

2003 Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei and Pres Khatami recorded talking about sending

            forces to 5 Iraq cities to incite anti-US violence

2003 Arab League voted 21-1 demanding U.S. and UK forces withdraw from Iraq

2003 Putin called Bush and said there would be great suffering during war Bush said

            everything would be under control

2003 Tariq Aziz gave presser saying US was after Iraq’s oil

2004 Ex-White House counterterrorism chief Clarke told 9/11 Commission Iraq not

            behind 1993 World Trade Center bombing

2008 PM Maliki launched Charge of Knights against Mahdi Army in Basra He arrived in

            Basra to oversee operation

2009 Sahwa commander in Salahaddin said that Ansar al-Sunna and ISI had

            created new alliance

2010 Maliki announced new anti-corruption campaign

2011 Riot at Rusafa prison over overcrowding

2012 Baghdad and Irbil agreed to increased joint patrols in Diyala

2013 Naqshibandi sent group to Ramadi protest site to try to push it towards

            violence against govt

2014 After Burhiz, Kirkuk retaken from IS Hashd killed at least 2 civilians and

            burned homes

2016 Most ruling parties refused to send candidates for technocratic cabinet to Abadi

2016 Supreme Council suspended its ministers in govt

2016 Head of IS Military Council Anbari killed

View the Iraq History Timelines