This Day In Iraqi History - Apr 11

1915 Ottomans launched operation to try to retake Basra from British forces

1917 British defeated Ottomans at Battle of Shiala

1941 UK Amb to Iraq wrote PM Gaylani’s will needed to be tested by announcing UK troops would be

arriving in Iraq soon and travelling through country

(Musings On Iraq book review of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The National Movement in Iraq 1939-1941)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War)

1959 Egyptian press claimed Qasim made secret deal with USSR to protect his regime

(Musings On Iraq interview with Western Kentucky’s Prof Romero on the Qasim govt)

1974 Govt executed 11 KDP members in Irbil during Kurdish rebellion

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

1983 Iraq counterattacked Iranian Op Wa al-Fajr 1 in central front retaking half of lost territory

1987 Iraq counterattack vs Iran’s Op Karbala 8 in Basra pushed Iranians back to starting point Iraq

had 2,000 casualties Iran 6,500 casualties

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1991 Cease fire between Iraq and Coalition went into effect

1991 Japan agreed to $10 mil in humanitarian aid to Kurds

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

2001 1^st US Energy Dept report said aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy were wrong size for centrifuges not

like centrifuges Iraq used before Could be for rockets

(Musings On Iraq article on the aluminum tubes story)

2002 Gen Franks talked with Rumsfeld about war preparations that could start now without gaining much

notice

(Musings On Iraq book review of Shaping the Plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom, The Role of Military Intelligence Assessment)

2003 British forces entered Amarah, Maysan during invasion Looting started

2003 UK Def Min Hoon told parliament British troops would soon be able to withdraw from Iraq

2003 US ground forces Cmdr Gen McKiernan ordered increased patrols around important buildings in

Baghdad to try to reduce looting Same time US forces withdrew from bridges leading to looting to spread to west side of Baghdad

(Musings On Iraq book review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2003 “Stuff happens” Rumsfeld said freedom was untidy in response to looting in Iraq

2003 Rumsfeld criticized press for focusing on looting in Iraq and missing all the positive stories happening

2003 Rumsfeld said US would help Iraq rebuild but ultimately it would be up to Iraqis to run and rebuild

their country

2003 2 US soldiers killed and several dozen wounded in firefights in different parts of Iraq

2003 Armed men reported hunting down Baathists in Basra to kill them

2003 US took over control of security in Kirkuk and Peshmerga began withdrawing Turkey sent military

observes to watch process

2003 Looting reported in Kurdish sections of Kirkuk

2003 Turkey said it would send military observers to Kirkuk Threatened to send troops to Kirkuk if Kurds

were to take over city

2003 Turkish Foreign Min got assurances from US that Americans not Kurds would control Kirkuk

2003 Talabani said Peshmerga would start withdrawing from Kirkuk because of Turkish complaints

(Musings On Iraq interview with Petit of 173^rd Airborne Bgd on operations in Kirkuk)

2003 Sadr gave his 1st Friday sermon in Kufa following US invasion Called for pilgrimage to Karbala for

Arbaeen Was banned under Saddam

2003 US tried to kill Saddam’s half brother in air attack in Anbar Killed Sheikh Harbit and 21 family

members Turned Dualim tribe against US

2003 US delivered $20 mil in cash to Iraq from frozen Iraqi assets to help pay for bills and reconstruction

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Savage on US reconstruction effort in Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq book review Reconstructing Iraq’s Budgetary Institutions)

2003 US military called on to repair power grid in Baghdad that went down on Apr 9 when city fell

2003 Iraqi physicist Jaffar interviewed by CIA in UAE said Iraq had no WMD and no nuke program

2003 Russia said it would forgive debts to Iraq worth $8-$12 bil

2004 Ceasefire announced in Fallujah after 2 members of Iraqi Governing Council resigned in protest over

battle

2004 Iraqi 202^nd Bn collapsed under insurgent attacks in Fallujah

(Musings On Iraq book review The Battle for Fallujah, Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq)

2005 Tens of thousands of Sadrists marched in Baghdad against US occupation

2008 Sadr aide in Najaf killed Sadr blamed US and Maliki Might have been done by a Sadr faction Aide was

heading Sadrist negotiations with Baghdad to end conflict

(Musings On Iraq article on assassinations of Sadr officials)

2008 US helicopters attacked Mahdi Army in Basra and Sadr City

2008 US forces raided Sadr offices in Kut

2008 ISF moving on other Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad besides Sadr City in fight against Mahdi Army

2008 Gen Petraeus said Sadr had a legitimate political movement that govt needed to deal with

2008 Amb Crocker told Congress Iran was trying Lebanonize Iraq by backing militias

(Musings On Iraq article on Iran’s Iraq policy)

2009 National Security Min Waili said Iraq Turkey US had new intelligence sharing agreement targeting

PKK

2010 State of Law called for recount in 5 provinces claiming voter fraud after national elections

2010 Report that Sadrists asked for 10 ministries in return for supporting Maliki’s 2^nd term

2010 Sadr called Maliki a liar and blamed him for arresting Sadrists

2010 ISF withdrew from Salahaddin provincial council building after occupying it for 2 months on orders

from Maliki to block federalism move

2011 Maliki said ISF ready to take over full security duties after US military withdrawal at end of year

2011 Govt spokesman Dabbagh said US military had to leave Iraq at end of year or would cause internal

problems

(Musings On Iraq book review The United States And Iraq Since 1990: A Brief History with Documents)

2011 Another power sharing deal announced between Maliki Allawi and Kurds to try to get security

ministers named

2011 Sulaymaniya protesters issued roadmap for negotiations with KRG including early elections and

interim govt

2011 Peshmerga Min survived no confidence vote in KRG parliament over treatment of protesters

2011 Opposition parties boycotted KRG parliament over protests in Kurdistan

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2011 KRG PM Salah said Baghdad should pay foreign oil companies operating in Kurdistan

2012 Kurds attended Ninewa council for 1^st time since boycotting in 2009 when Hadbaa won power Hadbaa

boycotted in response

2012 Court denied ex-VP Hashemi’s charge that 2 of his bodyguards were tortured to death by ISF

2014 Gunmen suspected to be from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq shot up homes and burned a mosque in Bodaja,

Diyala

(Musings On Iraq article on history of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq)

2014 Diyala governor warned that militias were operating in province and increasing tensions and violence

2014 Fighting broke out in Kirkuk between PUK and KDP supporters leaving 17 wounded before KRG

elections

2015 Badr’s Ameri said hundreds of Badr fighters in Baghdadi and Haditha Would later claim were

none in province because of Abadi and US

(Musings On Iraq article on the history of Badr Organization) 

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