Iraq Military Operations 2003 to Current - Alphabetical
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This is a list of known Coalition military operations of the Iraq War. As of July 2007 There were over 500 known named operations attributed to the ongoing conflict in Iraq. This is not a complete list, but it continues to grow as more operations occur or are identified.

Operations are initially listed alphabetically. These tables have a sort function built into them allowing the reader to sort by any column in ascending or descending order. If you want to sort, select the icon that looks like a sideways hourglass in the column header of the column you want to sort by.

Iraq War Operations 2003

See also: 2003 and 2003 in Iraq

Though the initial war lasted for only 21 days the coalition soon found themselves fighting insurgent forces more and more often. Additionally, with the increasing use of guerilla tactics, suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices, just walking down the street became extremely dangerous. Upon completion of the initial conflict the coalition troops began counterinsurgency, humanitarian, security and various other types of operations in order to stabilize the country and make it safe for the Iraqi people. From the end of the initial war until the present day, these are the types of operations that coalition troops continue to complete in efforts to eliminate the insurgency and anti-coalition forces.

Surrender of Monafiqeen-e-Khalq

For more details on this topic, see Surrender of Monafiqeen-e-Khalq (2003).

Counterinsurgency Operations 2004

See also: 2004 and 2004 in Iraq

Areas of responsibility in Iraq as of 30 April 2004

During the early occupation, a number of widely-cited humanitarian, tactical, and political errors by coalition planners, particularly the United States and United Kingdom led to a growing armed resistance, usually called the "Iraqi insurgency" (referred to by the mainstream media and coalition governments). The anti-occupation/anti-coalition forces are believed to be predominantly, but not exclusively, Iraqi Sunni Muslim Arabs, plus some foreign Arab and Muslim fighters, some of the latter tied to al-Qaeda. Several minor coalition members have pulled out of Iraq; this has been widely considered a political success for the anti-occupation forces.

Despite this, there was a reduction in violence throughout Iraq in the start of 2004 due to reorganization within the insurgent forces. During this time the tactics used by coalition forces were studied and the insurgency began to plan a new strategy. The calm did not last long however and once the insurgency had regained its footing attacks resumed and increased. Throughout the remainder of 2004 and continuing into the present day, the insurgency has employed Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) and bombings as their primary means of combating the coalition forces. This has led to hundreds of Iraqi civilians and police killed in addition to the coalition forces they were fighting. Many were killed in a series of massive bombings at mosques and shrines throughout Iraq. The bombings indicated that as the relevance of Saddam Hussein and his followers was diminishing, radical Islamists, both foreign and Iraqi was increasing to take their place. An organized Sunni insurgency, with deep roots and both nationalist and Islamist motivations, was becoming clear. The Mahdi Army also began launching attacks on coalition targets and to seize control from the Iraqi security forces. The southern and central portions of Iraq began to erupt in urban guerilla combat as coalition forces attempted to keep control and prepared for a counteroffensive.

In response to insurgent attacks, coalition forces focused on hunting down the remaining leaders of the former regime, culminating in the shooting deaths of Saddam's two sons in July. In all, over 200 top leaders of the former regime were killed or captured, as well as supports and military personnel during the summer of 2004.

Counterinsurgency Operations 2005

See also: 2005 and 2005 in Iraq

Coalition and Iraqi government forces continue to battle Iraqi militants and other fighters. During early and mid-May 2005, the U.S. also launched Operation Matador, an assault by around 1,000 marines in the ungoverned region of western Iraq. Coalition and Iraqi soldiers, Iraqi fighters and civilians have been killed in these conflicts. As of late July 2007, nearly 3,700 U.S. soldiers have been killed, and around ten times this many have been wounded. The number of Iraqi citizens who have fallen victim to the fighting has risen. The Iraqi government, with some holdovers from the CPA, engaged in securing control of the oil infrastructure (a source of Iraq's foreign currency) and control of the major cities of Iraq. The insurgency, the developing the New Iraqi Army, disorganized police and security forces, as well as a lack of revenue have hampered efforts to assert control. In addition, former Baathist elements and militant Shia groups have engaged in sabotage, terrorism, open rebellion, and establishing their own security zones in all or part of a dozen cities. The Allawi government vowed to crush the insurgency.

An election for a government to draft a permanent constitution took place during this time (ed. see Politics of Iraq for more information on the political state of Iraq). Although some violence and lack of widespread Sunni participation marred the event, much of the eligible Kurd and Shia populace participated. Sectarian violence has also been prominent part of the militant and guerrilla activity. Targets here where often Shia gatherings or civilian concentrations mainly of Shias. As a result, over 700 Iraqi civilians died in the month.