Wars involving Iraq

Wars involving Iraq
Conflict	Wars involving Iraq
Date	Various
Place	Mesopotamia, Levant, Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula, Kurdish Highlands
Result	Various

Contents

Wars involving Iraq

Iraq's territory has been a theater for conflicts from antiquity through the 21st century, involving empires, caliphates, colonial powers, modern states, and non‑state actors. The region witnessed campaigns by the Akkadian Empire, Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great, Seleucid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire, later becoming a focal point for the Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, and successive medieval dynasties.

Ancient and Medieval Conflicts

Mesopotamia saw battles between the Sumerians, Akkad, Third Dynasty of Ur, Old Babylonian Empire, and the Kassites, with major clashes like the Battle of Uruk (as recorded in later traditions), repeated sieges of Babylon, and wars involving the Hittite Empire and Mitanni. The Assyrian Empire prosecuted campaigns against Elam, Babylon, and Egypt, culminating in sieges such as the Siege of Lachish and the destruction of Nineveh by a coalition of Medes and Babylonians. The Achaemenid conquest of Babylon integrated Mesopotamia into the Achaemenid Empire, which later confronted Alexander the Great during the Battle of Gaugamela. The collapse of Hellenistic rule led to conflicts among the Seleucids, Parthian Empire, and regional Arab kingdoms, setting the stage for the Muslim conquest of Persia by the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate with its capital at Baghdad, where the city endured Mongol invasion of Baghdad under Hulagu Khan.

From the 16th century, Ottoman provinces including Basra Eyalet, Baghdad Eyalet, and Mosul Vilayet were battlegrounds in Ottoman–Safavid rivalry, including the Ottoman–Safavid Wars and wars involving Shah Ismail I and Suleiman the Magnificent. In the 19th century, British imperial interests led to conflicts during the Anglo-Persian War and renewed rivalry in the Persian Gulf. During World War I, the Mesopotamian campaign pitted the British Indian Army and Royal Navy against the Ottoman Empire, featuring battles such as the Siege of Kut and the Capture of Baghdad (1917), and culminating in the postwar partitioning under the Treaty of Sèvres and Treaty of Lausanne which reshaped Iraqi boundaries.

Iraq under the British Mandate for Mesopotamia experienced the Iraqi revolt of 1920 against British forces and the 1930s and 1940s saw coups and alignments during World War II, including the Anglo-Iraqi War (1941) and the Syria–Lebanon campaign regional implications. The post‑monarchy era featured the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état that overthrew the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and brought Abd al-Karim Qasim to power, followed by the 1963 Ramadan Revolution and Ba'athist Iraq ascendancy under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and later Saddam Hussein, which led to interventions such as the Kuwait–Iraq tensions and cross‑border clashes with Republic of Turkey over Kurdish uprisings including confrontations with Kurdistan Workers' Party elements and Iranian Revolution spillover.

The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) under Saddam Hussein was a protracted conflict against Iranian Revolution leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini, marked by battles at Khorramshahr, Basra, and the use of chemical weapons at Halabja with international ramifications involving United States sanctions, Soviet Union arms transfers, and regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Syria. The war generated the Al-Anfal campaign against Iraqi Kurds involving the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, leading to humanitarian crises and later United Nations Security Council actions such as UNSC Resolution 661 in other conflicts.

Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait triggered the Gulf War (1990–1991), a coalition led by the United States and including the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt conducting Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Sabre to expel Iraqi forces, followed by UNSC Resolution 687 and Iraq sanctions. Tensions persisted through no‑fly zones enforced by Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Southern Watch. In 2003, the 2003 invasion of Iraq—led by the United States and United Kingdom with allies including Australia and Poland—overthrew Saddam Hussein in Operation Iraqi Freedom, precipitating occupation by the Coalition Provisional Authority and later the formation of the Iraqi Interim Government.

Following the 2003 invasion, a multifaceted insurgency involved groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq, Mahdi Army, Sunni Awakening movements, and militias aligned with Dawa Party and Iraqi National Congress remnants. Major engagements included the Battle of Fallujah (2004), Second Battle of Fallujah, Battle of Samarra, and the Siege of Sadr City. The 2007 troop surge (Iraq) by the United States Army and counterinsurgency operations attempted stabilization amid sectarian violence between Shi'a and Sunni factions, impacting relations with Iran and provoking United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) involvement.

After United States military withdrawal from Iraq (2011), Iraq faced renewed instability culminating in the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which seized Mosul and declared a caliphate in 2014, prompting the International Coalition against ISIL led by the United States to launch Operation Inherent Resolve. Major campaigns included the Battle of Mosul (2016–2017), Siege of Tikrit (2015), and operations in Fallujah (2016–2017), with Iraqi forces such as the Iraqi Army, Popular Mobilization Forces, Peshmerga, and international partners including France, United Kingdom, Australia, and Russia participating in offensives that recaptured territory and degraded ISIL control, while ongoing insurgency, reconstruction, and political reconciliation efforts continue under the Government of Iraq and regional actors.

Category:History of Iraq Category:Military history by country