2005 in Iraq 1361579 217602456 2008-06-06T19:49:07Z Publicus 868987 {{seealso|Iraq War|Iraqi insurgency|Iraq|2005}} {{Iraq War years}} ==Events== ===January=== *[[January 4]] - Governor [[Ali Al-Haidri]], [[governor of Baghdad province]], is [[assassination|assassinated]] along with two of his [[bodyguard]]s. *[[January 21]] - A suicide car bomb blows up outside a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad killing 14 worshipers and wounding 40. *[[January 26]] - 31 [[United States|U.S.]] [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] are killed in a helicopter crash near the [[Jordan]] border. *[[January 27]] - Iraq's expatriates start voting for the [[Iraqi National Assembly election, 2005]] *[[January 28]] - The [[insurgency]] continues with several dozen Iraqi deaths. Seven U.S. soldiers killed, three in a helicopter crash. *[[January 29]] - About 17 people died from [[car bomb]]s on the eve of the elections. A [[rocket]] hit the U.S. Embassy compound inside [[Baghdad]]'s fortified [[Green Zone]], killing two people and wounding at least four. According to the embassy spokesman, all of them are Americans. *[[January 30]] - Iraq's interim president [[Ghazi Yawer]] was one of the first people to vote in the [[Iraqi legislative election, 2005|Iraqi National Assembly election]]. Up to 15 British military personnel were killed in Iraq when an air force transport plane crashed northwest of Baghdad. Meanwhile, at least 35 people die in attacks at polling places. *[[January 31]] - Nine [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] personnel and one soldier are [[Killed in action|KIA]] after a British [[C-130 Hercules|Hercules]] plane comes down 25 miles (40 km) north-west of Baghdad. ===February=== *[[February 4]] - [[Paul Wolfowitz]] announces that 15,000 U.S. troops whose tours of duty had been temporarily extended will be withdrawn by the next month. *[[February 7]] - Two [[suicide bomber]]s strike in [[Mosul]] and [[Baquba]], claiming at least 27 lives, mostly police recruits. *[[February 8]] - At least 21 people are killed in a blast at an Iraqi army recruitment centre in [[Muthenna airfield]] in west Baghdad. *[[February 9]] - At least nine Iraqis die including a correspondent for a U.S.-funded Arabic TV station. *[[February 10]] - At least 50 Iraqis are killed when rebels attack targets across the country. Meanwhile, the election results are postponed because of a limited recount. *[[February 11]] - More than 20 Iraqis are killed in attacks near a [[Shia]] mosque and on a Baghdad bakery. *[[February 12]] - A [[car bomb]] attack blast outside a hospital kills at least 17 people in the town of [[Musayyib]]. *[[February 13]] - Limited election results are announced. *[[February 17]] - Full results are announced in the [[Iraqi legislative election, 2005|national legislative election]]. The [[United Iraqi Alliance]] wins a slight majority. *[[February 19]] - At least 40 people are killed and more than 100 wounded in attacks by suicide bombers in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq during festival of [[Ashoura]]. *[[February 22]] - Two policemen and two civilians are killed and another 30 police are injured in a suicide attack against a convoy of security forces in Baghdad. *[[February 24]] - A car bombing attack in the Iraqi city of [[Tikrit]] reportedly kills up to 15 people. Another 25 are injured in an attack on a police station. *[[February 25]] - Three US troops are killed and eight others injured in a bomb explosion in [[Tarmiyah]] just north of Baghdad. *[[February 27]] - Five people are killed in a bomb blast in [[Hammam Alil]]. In another incident, a US soldier is shot and killed in Baghdad while manning a traffic checkpoint. *[[February 28]] - About 125 Iraqis are killed by a [[2005 Al Hillah bombing|suicide car bomb]] outside a medical centre in [[Hilla]], south of Baghdad. The bomber, who later turned out to be a U.S. educated Jordanian lawyer from al Qaeda targeted a large crowd of mainly teachers and police recruits outside a health clinic. It was the deadliest single blast in Iraq's history. ===March=== *[[March 2]] - Judge Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani and his son Aryan Barwez al-Merwani are murdered in the [[Azamyiah district]]. Also 10 people are killed in attacks on an Iraqi army base and a checkpoint in Baghdad. *[[March 3]] - Two car bombs exploded near Iraq’s Interior Ministry killing at least five policemen. In total 17 people are killed in various incidents. *[[March 4]] - Four U.S. soldiers are killed in [[Anbar province]]. An Italian hostage, journalist [[Giuliana Sgrena]] is hurt by [[friendly fire]] shortly after [[Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena|her rescue]], and an Italian secret service agent escorting her, [[Nicola Calipari]], is killed. *[[March 7]] - 33 people are killed and dozens wounded as Iraqi insurgents attack in [[Baqouba]] and Baghdad. *[[March 9]] - A suicide car bomb attack reportedly carried out by a group linked to al-Qaeda kills three and injures more than 20 people in Baghdad. *[[March 10]] - At least 47 people are killed by a suicide bomber who blows himself up at a [[Shia]] funeral service in the northern city of [[Mosul]]. *[[March 20]] - A gun battle between Iraqi insurgents and US troops near Baghdad leaves 24 rebels dead. Earlier, a suicide bomber kills the head of the police anti-corruption department in the northern city of Mosul. Insurgents then attack his funeral, killing at least two other people. ===April=== *[[April 9]] - Tens of thousands of demonstrators loyal to Shia cleric [[Muqtada Sadr]] march through Baghdad denouncing the US occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Also insurgents kill 15 Iraqi soldiers traveling in a [[convoy]] south of Baghdad. *[[April 14]] - Two car bombs kill 18 in Baghdad neighborhood. *[[April 15]] - At least four people are killed in bombings in the Iraqi city of [[Samarra]] and in the capital Baghdad. *[[April 16]] - Three American soldiers are killed when a Marine base comes under indirect fire near [[Ramadi]], west of Baghdad. *[[April 17]] - A roadside bomb near the central city of Samarra kills two Iraqi soldiers. Also other bombs kill an American soldier and two civilians. *[[April 18]] **Iraqi security forces numbering in the hundreds launch an operation to "root out" [[Sunni]] insurgents at the tip of Iraq's "Triangle of Death". **In Baghdad, gunmen [[ambush]] a senior Defence Ministry adviser, [[Major General]] Adnan al-Qaraghulli, killing him and his son. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=3&u=/ap/20050419/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq] *[[April 19]] **Two American soldiers are killed and four wounded in a car bombing. Another suicide car bomb outside an Iraqi army recruitment center and other attacks in the country kills a dozen people and wounds more than 50. *[[April 20]] **Iraq's prime minister [[Iyad Allawi]] escapes an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber in a car attacks his convoy near his home. The attack kills two policeman and wounds four. **60 bodies are fished out of the Tigris river south of Baghdad and 19 Iraqi army soldiers are executed in a football stadium; the bodies appear to not be from a single region or date [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-bodies22apr22,0,2478098,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines]. Also insurgents execute 19 soldiers in [[Haditha]]. *[[April 21]] **A commercial helicopter is shot down about 20 km (12 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, killing all 11 people on board. One survivor is shot by insurgents who rush to the site. **Two foreign contractors are killed in a roadside bomb on the road to Baghdad airport. *[[April 22]] **A car bomb explodes outside a Shia mosque in Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 20. *[[April 23]] **At least 19 people including nine Iraqi and four US soldiers were killed when US and Iraqi convoys were attacked by insurgents near Baghdad. *[[April 24]] **At least 22 people are killed and 57 more were wounded in twin bombings in a market near the Ahl al-Beit mosque in [[Shula]], north of Baghdad. *[[April 29]] **At least 29 people are killed and more than 100 injured in a wave of car bomb attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in and around Baghdad. *[[April 30]] **Insurgents launch attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq killing at least 11 Iraqis and wounding more than 40. ===May=== *[[May 1]] **A suicide attack targets a Kurdish funeral in the northern town of [[Talafar]], near [[Mosul]] leaves at least 25 people dead and injures more than 30 others. Earlier, at least five policemen and four civilians are killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad. *[[May 2]] **Nine people die in a blast in a busy shopping area of Baghdad. At least three people are killed in an explosion in the east of the capital and four more died in two blasts in the northern city of Mosul. *[[May 3]] **Clashes in the Iraqi city of [[Ramadi]] have left 12 insurgents, two Iraqi civilians and one Iraqi soldier dead. *[[May 4]] **At least 60 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at the offices of a Kurdish party in [[Irbil]], northern Iraq. *[[May 5]] **At least 24 people die in wave of attacks in Baghdad. *[[May 6]] **A suicide car bomber strikes a vegetable market in [[Suwayra]], killing at least 58 people and wounding 44. 9 more Iraqi die in another attack. *[[May 7]] **Two suicide car bombs explode in a central Baghdad square killing 22 people. *[[May 8]] *[[May 11]] **At least 71 people are killed and more than 160 wounded as suicide bombers rip through a crowded market and a line of security force recruits in a wave of explosions and gunfire across Iraq. *[[May 12]] **Police General Iyad Imad Mehdi was shot by unidentified gunmen as he was driving to work. ===June=== ===July=== *[[July 13]] -A [[suicide bomber]] kills thirty-four Iraqi boys and one US soldier in Baghdad. The boys were scooping up candy thrown from an American Humvee. *[[July 17]] -A suicide bomber in a fuel truck killed at least 98 people at a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Mussayib, near Kerbala. Three more suicide car bombers strike the Iraqi capital. ===August=== * August Troop E 108th Cavalry, 48th MIB secure and control more than 40% insurgency activity in the "triangle of death". A known route used to supply the insurgency with ammunition and explosives to forces in fallujah objecting the United States efforts on Anti-Terrorism. *[[August 9]] - Fallen soldiers honored in northern Iraq with stiffened restraint of sector *[[August 28]] - Iraq's [[National Assembly of Iraq|National Assembly]] signs the text of the [[proposed Iraqi constitution]]. *[[August 31]] - Up to 1,000 people die in a [[Baghdad bridge stampede|stampede on the Al-Aaimmah bridge]] after rumours of a suicide bomber cause panic amongst pilgrims on the shrine of the Imam [[Musa al-Kazim]]. In late August 2005, violence occurred in [[Najaf]], [[Nasiriyah]], [[Diwaniyah]], and [[Sadr City]] ([[Baghdad]]). The Shi'ite infighting was between the supporters of cleric [[Muqtada al-Sadr]] and the [[Badr Organization]], who are backed by the [[Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq]] ([[SCIRI]]). Both sides blame each other for the violence. Some Shi'a [[National Assembly of Iraq|National Assembly]] members and ministers suspended their membership in the council because of the violence. Since Sadr's [[Mahdi Army]] were expelled from the city of Najaf, fighting between rival Shi'a groups has ceased. ===September=== *[[September 1]] - Iraq [[hanging|hanged]] three men in the first executions in the country since the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 invasion]]. They were part of the [[Jaish Ansar al-Sunna]] group and had been convicted of [[kidnapping]] and murdering three [[police]]men and abducting, [[Rape|raping]] and killing Iraqi women. [[President of Iraq|Iraqi President]] [[Jalal Talabani]] refused to sign the [[Execution warrant|death warrant]]s, but his Deputy President [[Adel Abdul Mehdi]] signed instead. Talabani has also said he will refuse to sign the death warrant of [[Saddam Hussein]] should he be convicted and sentenced to death. *[[September 5]] - Two [[British Soldiers]] have been killed following a roadside [[Improvised explosive device|IED]] bomb in [[Basra]], southern Iraq. *[[September 7]] **16 people die following a [[car bomb]] attack in the southern Iraqi city of [[Basra]]. **American [[hostage]] [[Roy Hallums]] is rescued in Iraq. He was kidnapped in [[November 2004]] and later showed up on the video released by [[militants]]. *[[September 10]] - [[New Iraqi Army|Iraqi force]]s and [[United States military|US troops]] attack [[Iraqi insurgent]]s in [[Tal Afar]]. *[[September 14]] - More than 12 suicide bombings in Baghdad kill about 150 people and injure over 500, the largest number killed and wounded in the city during a single day since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 114 people die when a [[car bomb]] explodes in a [[Shia]] district of Baghdad called [[Kadhimiya]], near a shrine where two of Shi'ite Islam's most revered Imams are buried. 17 people die in the town of [[Taji]], near Baghdad when gunmen storm their homes. Also on this day, Sunni insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi declared "All-out" war against Iraq's Shi'ites in a statement released on a web forum that regularly carries al Qaeda postings.<ref>[http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/008109.php Jihad Watch: Zarqawi declares war on Iraq Shi'ites<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> *[[September 15]] - At least 26 [[Iraqi police]] die following two [[car bomb]]s in the Baghdad. Elsewhere, 3 [[Shia]] pilgrims are [[drive-by shooting|shot dead by a passenger]] in a passing car traveling to [[Karbala]], two Iraqi police members are killed near [[Kirkuk]] and three [[civil servant]]s die following an attack on the Ministry of Industry in East Baghdad. *[[September 16]] - At least 10 people died as a [[Shia]] [[Mosque]] is bombed in [[Tuz Khurmatu]], Central Iraq. *[[September 17]] - At least 30 people die following an explosion at a [[market]] in the Iraqi [[capital]] of Baghdad. *[[September 18]] **[[Insurgent]]s in the Iraqi [[capital]] of Baghdad kill three, including the [[Kurd]]ish [[Member of Parliament]], [[Faris Hussein]]. **[[Iraqi Police]] uncover at least 20 bodies in the river [[Tigris]] at [[Balad, Iraq|Balad]], north of Baghdad. *[[September 19]] **Two UK soldiers under arrest by Iraqi police in [[Basra]] following a car chase. Police officials accused them of planting bombs in a public place while dressed in civilian clothes. After being approached by Iraqi police, the two soldiers reportedly fired on the police, killing two, after which they were apprehended, sparking clashes in which UK tanks came under attack. Two civilians were reportedly killed and three UK soldiers were injured. One Iraqi official claimed that 150 prisoners escaped including the two soldiers. The arrests followed the detention of two high-ranking officials of [[Muqtada al-Sadr]]'s [[Mahdi Army]] **A US [[diplomat]] and three American security guards are killed following an [[insurgent]] [[suicide bomb|Suicide car bomb]] attack in [[Mosul]], northern Iraq. **At least 10 people, nine police and one civilian, have died following a series of explosions at a [[Shia]] festival marking the birth of the [[Imam Mehdi]] in [[Karbala]]. *[[September 20]] - Five [[United States Army|U.S. troops]] die following three [[insurgent]] attacks, two in [[Ramadi]] and one in Baghdad. *[[September 23]] - Five Iraqis, including three members of the [[Iraqi Turkmen Front]], die following a bomb on [[minibus]] in the [[capital]] Baghdad. *[[September 24]] - [[Human Rights Watch]] reports [[whistleblower]]s accuse U.S. troops of routinely [[Human rights in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq|torturing]] Iraqi prisoners and declining to investigate complaints. *[[September 25]] **At least four [[Shia]] [[Muslim]]s, believed to be members of the [[Mahdi Army]] are killed by [[US soldiers]] in a gunfight following a [[United States|U.S.]] raid into [[Sadr City]], eastern Baghdad. **Nine people die following a bomb attack on a police station in [[Hilla]]. **Over 100,000 people attend Anti Iraq War rally held in [[Washington D.C.]]. *[[September 26]] **[[United States Army|U.S. Army]] [[Private First Class|PFC]] [[Lynndie England]] is found guilty of six of seven charges by a military court in connection with the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal]]. A sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin [[September 27]]. **Anti-[[2003 invasion of Iraq|Iraq War]] activist [[Cindy Sheehan]] is [[arrest]]ed while protesting outside the [[White House]]. **Five school teachers were killed in an [[insurgent]] attack in [[Iskandariya]], south of Baghdad. **At least 7 people die when a [[car-bomb]] explodes as they queued at the police academy in the Iraqi [[capital]] Baghdad. *[[September 27]] - [[Abu Azzam]], claimed by the US to be an aide to [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]], was shot dead by [[US soldiers]] in Baghdad. *[[September 28]] **[[The Pentagon]] announces it will investigate allegations that [[US soldiers]] posted photographs of dead Iraqis on a [[website]] so as to get access to free [[Internet porn]]. [[CAIR]] had earlier called for the investigation after the details of the site came to light. **An 82 year old [[United Kingdom|British]] man was manhandled out of Labour Party Conference for loudly protesting that [[Jack Straw (politician)|Jack Straw]] was lying about Britain's involvement with the [[Conflict in Iraq]]. *[[September 29]] - Suicide bombers killed at least 114 people in the Shi'ite town of Balad, north of Baghdad. *[[September 30]] - 10 people die following a [[car bomb]] in [[Al Hillah|Hillah]], Iraq. ===October=== *[[October 4]] - Five [[Military of the United States|U.S. soldiers]] die during sweeps of [[insurgent]]-held towns in Iraq. *[[October 5]] - The [[British Government]] alleges that [[Iran]] is responsible for recent attacks on [[British Armed Forces|British military forces]]. *[[October 6]] - As Iraqi president [[Jalal Talabani]] tells UK Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] any troop withdrawal would be a "catastrophe", 10 people die following a bomb near the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad. *[[October 7]] **At least twenty-nine Iraqi fighters and six [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]]s are killed in major fighting in western Iraq. **British forces have detained 12 people, including three police officers, in connection with a series of deadly attacks on UK forces in southern Iraq. *[[October 10]] - [[Insurgent]] attacks throughout Iraq leave seven [[Iraqi]]s, two security officials from the [[Arab league]] and one [[Military of the United States|U.S. soldier]] dead. *[[October 11]] - [[Insurgent]] [[suicide bomb]] attacks leave over 30 people dead in [[Talafar]], North West Iraq. *[[October 12]] **At least 30 people die following an [[insurgent]] [[suicide bomb]] attack in [[Talafar]], North Western Iraq, the second such attack in as many days. **[[Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005|Iraq's Constitutional referendum]]: the prospects of the [[proposed Iraqi constitution]] being approved in Saturday's referendum are boosted by a deal struck with a major [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Arab party, the [[Iraqi Islamic Party]]. *[[October 13]] - [[Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005|Iraq's Constitutional Referendum]]: A four day curfew has been announced in order to hamper terrorists. Early voting has begun. *[[October 15]] **[[Jean Ziegler]], a [[Human rights]] investigator and senior [[United Nations]] official, has accuses the [[United States]] and occupying forces of "using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population" in Iraq. **The Iraqi people [[Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005|go to the polls]] to vote on whether to approve the proposed constitution, amidst heavy security. *[[October 17]] - The [[U.S.]] claims to have killed 70 insurgents near [[Ramadi]] in eastern Iraq. However, [[eyewitness]]es maintain that most of those killed were [[innocent]] [[civilian]]s, and photographs released show locals burying at least 18 children, including infants. *[[October 18]] **Two [[U.S. Marine]]s and around four Iraqi [[insurgent]]s are killed in Western Iraq. *The independent [[electoral commission]] in Iraq issues a statement saying that statistical irregularities in the [[Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005|constitution ratification referendum]] on [[October 15]], [[2005]] require that the balloting be audited, which will delay the announcement of the final count. According to the New York Times, "The statement made no mention of the possibility of fraud." though according to the [[BBC]] "Iraq's independent electoral commission says statistical irregularities in last week's referendum could indicate fraud." *[[October 19]] **[[Saddam Hussein]] goes on [[Legal trials of Saddam Hussein|trial]] in Baghdad for crimes against humanity. The former [[President of Iraq]] is led into court with seven associates, charged with ordering the killing of 143 [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'a]] men in the town of [[Dujail]] in 1982. If convicted, Hussein could face [[capital punishment]]. *[[October 20]] **Four [[United States Army|U.S. soldier]]s are killed in two [[insurgent]] attacks north of Baghdad, Iraq. **A [[defense lawyer]] for one of [[Saddam Hussein]]'s co-defendants is kidnapped. *[[October 21]] - Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, the defense lawyer of [[Awad Hamed al-Bandar]] in the [[Al-Dujail trial]], is found dead of gunshot wounds near a Baghdad mosque, after having been kidnapped on Thursday evening by unknown assailants. *[[October 22]] - Army Staff Sgt. [[George Alexander (US Army soldier)|George T. Alexander Jr.]], 34, of Killeen, Texas becomes the 2000th American death in Iraq (AP) *[[October 24]] - The [[Palestine Hotel]], Baghdad which houses the foreign journalists was bombed with three consecutive car bombs. This hotel was rocketed previously on [[November 21]], [[2003]]. *[[October 25]] - [[Iraq|Iraq's]] Independent Electoral Commission announces that the country's draft constitution was approved [[Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005|in the vote held]] [[October 15]]. *[[October 26]] - Three [[United States|U.S.]] [[United States Army|Soldiers]] die in two separate [[insurgent]] attacks in Baghdad and near [[Baqouba]]. *[[October 27]] - At least 20 [[Shia]] [[Militia]] members and [[Iraqi Police]] have died following a [[Sunni]] [[Arab]] ambush in [[Nahrawan, Iraq|Nahrawan]], south east of Baghdad. *[[October 29]] - More than 20 people die when a [[car bomb]] detonates in [[Howaider]], a [[Shia]] village near [[Baquba]], 60 miles north of Baghdad. *[[October 31]] **A [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] report suggests that since 2004 about 26,000 Iraqi people have been either killed or injured in attacks by insurgents. **Reports indicate that 40 people have died following a [[United States|U.S.]] [[Air raid]] near [[Karabilah]] in Western Iraq. The military says it was a targeted strike against [[Al Qaeda]], whereas [[Physician|doctors]] treating the injured and dead said the dead were all [[civilian]]s, including many women and children. **6 [[United States Army|U.S. Soldiers]] die in two separate [[insurgent]] attacks. **[[Italy|Italian]] [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]], [[Silvio Berlusconi]] tries to distance himself from the [[United States|U.S.]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] and claims that he "tried on several occasions to convince the American president not to wage war". ===November=== *[[November 1]] - [[United States|U.S.]] [[United States Senate Minority Leader|Senate Minority Leader]] [[Harry Reid]] and his fellow [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] force a [[closed session]] of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] over misinformed intelligence that led to the Iraq war and evasion of a congressional inquiry. *[[November 3]] - Seven [[United Kingdom|U.K.]] troops accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian have had their cases dropped after a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence against the soldiers and that the Iraqi witnesses lied. *[[November 7]] - [[India]]'s foreign minister, [[K. Natwar Singh]], is forced to step down from his post amid allegations that he and the governing [[Indian National Congress]] had illegally benefited from the UN [[Oil-for-Food Programme]] in Iraq. *[[November 8]] **[[Trials of Saddam Hussein]]: Three gunmen [[assassination|assassinate]] [[Adel al-Zubeidi]], the [[defense lawyer]] for [[Taha Yassin Ramadan]], a former Iraqi Vice President under [[Saddam Hussein]]. **[[Italy|Italian]] state-owned channel [[Rai News 24]] airs a controversial [[documentary film|documentary]] in which [[Iraq]]i people and ex-[[United States|U.S.]] soldiers report that [[white phosphorus]], a [[chemical warfare|chemical weapon]], and [[Mark 77 bomb|Mk-77]] [[napalm]] bombs were used by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] against [[civilian]]s in [[Fallujah]] last year. *[[November 9]] - In the [[United States]], the visit of Iraqi Deputy Premier [[Ahmed Chalabi]] to the Department of State and Department of the Treasury arouses controversy. *[[November 10]] - At least 30 people have died following an [[insurgent]] [[suicide bomb]] attack on a [[restaurant]] in Baghdad. *[[November 12]] **The [[United Nations Secretary General]], [[Kofi Annan]], makes a surprise visit to Iraq and expresses support for an [[Arab League]] conference discussing cooperation with Iraq's many factions. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4430702.stm (BBC)] **Four people die following a [[car bomb]] in Baghdad. *[[November 13]] - Iraqi president [[Jalal Talabani]] tells British television that Iraqi troops could replace UK forces by the close of 2006. *[[November 15]] - 173 prisoners are found in an [[Iraqi government]] bunker in Baghdad, having been [[Starvation#Capital punishment|starved]], [[Corporal punishment|beaten]] and [[torture]]d. *[[November 18]] **A series of [[suicide bomb]]ings kill 74 [[Shia]] worshippers at two Shi'ite [[mosque]]s in the town of Khanaqin in religiously-mixed Diyala, destroying the structures. 80 people were also wounded. In Baghdad two [[car bomb]]s destroy the blast wall protecting a hotel housing foreign journalists and kill eight Iraqis. **Two car bombs strike outside a Baghdad [[interior ministry]] building at the centre of a detainee abuse scandal. **The [[United States House of Representatives]] reject a Republican resolution offered by [[Duncan Hunter]] ([[United States Republican Party|R]]-[[California]]) "expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately" by a vote of 403-3. Ohio Republican [[Jean Schmidt]] is forced by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (and quiet Republican) protests to apologise to Pennsylvania Democrat [[John Murtha]] for reading a letter from a marine in which those wishing to "cut and run" from Iraq are called "cowards". *[[November 19]] - In a speech to [[Military of the United States|U.S. troops]] in [[South Korea]], [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] rejects calls for a timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq, laying out why he believes the [[Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–2005|American presence in Iraq]] should continue. *[[November 20]] **At least forty people died following a series of [[insurgent]] and [[United States|American]] led attacks. **[[The Independent]] reports that [[United Kingdom|British]]-trained police tortured and killed at least two Iraqis using electric drills. **One British soldier dies following a [[roadside Bomb]] in [[Basra]], southern Iraq. *[[November 21]] **Five Iraqi civilians, including three children, are shot dead by [[Military of the United States|U.S. troops]] as they approached a checkpoint in [[Baquba]]. The minibus they were travelling in failed to stop as it approached a roadblock. **[[Arab League]] members demand a timetable for the withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq. [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aDLgOBgqARvw&refer=us] *[[November 23]] **One suicide [[car bomb]]er kills 18 people, mostly [[Iraqi police]] in an [[ambush]] in the northern Iraqi city of [[Kirkuk]]. **The [[Prime minister of Italy]], [[Silvio Berlusconi]], states that the [[Italian Army]] could leave Iraq by the end of 2006. *[[November 24]] **15 people die after a [[suicide bomb]] attack in [[Hilla]]. **Prisoners at an Iraqi detention centre revealed to the [[BBC]] details of apparent widespread use of [[torture]] and abuse in prisons and detention centres in Iraq. **At least thirty people have died following a [[car bomb]] outside a hospital in the Iraqi [[capital]] of Baghdad. **[[Khadim Sarhid al-Hemaiyim]], one of the most important [[Sunni]] [[Arab]] [[Tribe|tribal]] leaders in Iraq, has been shot dead, along with his three sons and a son-in-law in Baghdad. The gunman appeared to be a member of the new [[Iraqi Army]]. *[[November 25]] - [[Germany|German]] [[archaeologist]] [[Susanne Osthoff]] is kidnapped in Iraq. *[[November 26]] - Four Western peace activists are [[2005 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis|kidnapped and held hostage]] by a previously unknown group and threatened with execution unless the United States releases all Iraqi prisoners. *[[November 27]] **Four [[Western World|Westerners]] have been kidnapped in Iraq while in Baghdad. **The former [[Prime Minister of Iraq]], [[Iyad Allawi]], has claimed in ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper, that [[Human rights violation|human rights abuses]] by members of the [[Government of Iraq]] are as bad now as they were in the time of [[Saddam Hussein]]. *[[November 28]] **Iraqi [[President]] [[Jalal Talabani]] has called the former [[prime minister]] [[Iyad Allawi|Iyad Allawi's]] comments "''nonsense''". Allawi claimed that the [[human rights abuses in Iraq]] were as bad now as they were under [[Saddam Hussein]]. Talabani stated that the government was against any form of [[torture]] or harming of [[prison]]ers. **The tribunal trying [[Saddam Hussein]] and seven co-defendants adjourned for a second time after hearing posthumous evidence. *[[November 30]] **The [[Military of the United States|US Military]] has been [[covert]]ly paying to run news stories written by US Military "[[information operations]]" [[troop]]s. The stories, usually praising the work of the [[United States|U.S.]] Military, appeared in Baghdad newspapers. **A new campaign against Iraqi insurgents begins with joint U.S.-Iraqi troops conducting [[Operation Iron Hammer]] in western Iraq. **New policy document on American involvement in Iraq, "[[National Strategy for Victory in Iraq]]", is published by the [[White House]]. ===December=== *[[December]] - The U.S. has long maintained its involvement there is with the support of the Iraqi people, but in 2005 when asked directly, 82–87% of the Iraqi populace was opposed to U.S. occupation and wanted U.S. troops to leave. 47% of Iraqis supported attacking U.S. troops. The poll taken also showed that a large majority of Iraqis favored setting a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces, though this majority divided over whether it should be six months or two years.<ref>[http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/jan06/Iraq_Jan06_rpt.pdf "What the Iraqi Public Wants" -A WorldPublicOpinion.org Poll-, Program on International Policy Attitudes, January 31, 2006]</ref> *[[December 2]] - 10 [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] are killed following an [[insurgent]] [[improvised explosive device|roadside bomb]] attack in [[Falluja]]. *[[December 3]] - An attack about 60 miles from Baghdad, involving a [[improvised explosive device|roadside bomb]], kills 19 Iraqi soldiers. *[[December 4]] **Former chief of the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary|RUC]] police force will head a [[United Kingdom|British]] investigation into possible infiltration of Iraq's police force by insurgents. **Former prime minister [[Iyad Allawi]] says he survived an [[assassination]] attempt at the [[Imam Ali Mosque]] in [[Najaf]]. Police say his group fled from the [[Shi'ite]] [[Muslim]] shrine under a hail of debris by a [[Crowd|mob]]. *[[December 6]] **Two [[suicide bomb]]ers kill 27 [[Iraqi Police]] at a police academy in Baghdad. **[[Deposition (politics)|Deposed]] Iraq [[President of Iraq|president]] [[Saddam Hussein]] has refused to attend his trial for crimes against humanity, throwing the sometimes chaotic Iraqi proceedings into further confusion. *[[December 7]] - [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] winner [[Harold Pinter]] accuses [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and the [[United States]] of engaging in [[state terrorism]] in Iraq and demands the prosecution of [[George W. Bush]] and [[Tony Blair]]. *[[December 8]] - At least 32 people have died following an attack on a bus in Baghdad. *[[December 13]] **Four [[United States|American]] soldiers are killed following an [[improvised explosive device|IED]] attack in the Iraqi [[capital]] Baghdad. **The U.S. [[ambassador]] issues a statement saying that the total number of abused prisoners found so far in jails run by the Shiite-led Interior Ministry is about 121. **The [[President of the United States]], [[George W. Bush]], acknowledges the deaths of approximately 30,000 Iraqi civilians since the commencement of the [[Iraq War]]. *[[December 14]] - [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] says that the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was the result of faulty [[Intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]], and accepts responsibility for that decision. He maintains that his decision was still justified. *[[December 15]] - [[Iraqi legislative election, December 2005|Voting starts in Iraq]] to elect the first permanent 275-member [[Iraqi National Assembly]] under the new [[Constitution of Iraq]]. *[[December 16]] **[[Bulgaria]] starts withdrawing its [[Multinational force in Iraq|troops]] from Iraq. **[[Iraqi Police]] claim that they captured [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] in 2004 and then released him by mistake. *[[December 18]] - [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] defends the [[Iraq War]] in a rare primetime [[Oval Office]] address. He said, "Not only can we win the war in Iraq — we are winning the war in Iraq." *[[December 19]] **Early returns in the [[Iraqi legislative election, December 2005]] indicate that religious parties have done quite well, winning up 80% of the vote. Election officials are investigating more than 1,000 complaints about irregularities, 20 of them considered serious. Final results will not be released until early January. **An [[insurgent]] group broadcasts a video over the Internet of what they claim is the death of [[United States|American]] [[Ronald Allen Schulz]]. *[[December 21]] - The former [[President of Iraq]], [[Saddam Hussein]], claims in court that American officials [[torture]]d him. Part of his testimony is censored and the US strongly denies the accusations. *[[December 22]] - [[Tony Blair]] makes a surprise visit to [[Basra]] in Iraq, to address 4,000 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[soldier]]s and discuss withdrawal. He states that "we can eventually draw down our own capability" once the Iraqi forces "build up their own strength". *[[December 27]] **The new right-wing government of [[Poland]] announces it will keep troops in Iraq until the end of 2006, longer than previously planned. **A [[mass grave]] is discovered in the predominantly [[Shia]] city of [[Karbala]] south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. *[[December 29]] - The [[Associated Press]] reports story of Farris Hassan, a young Iraqi-American teenager who travelled to Iraq without informing his parents and was picked up by the [[101st Airborne]]. ==Deaths== {{portal|United States Marine Corps|USMC_logo.svg}} {{portal|Iraq War|Flag_of Iraq.svg}} {{portal|Iraq|Flag of Iraq.svg}} *[[January 1]] - Nawfal Abdel Hussein, council leader in Baquba *[[January 2]] - Ali Herdan, council member *[[January 2]] - Colonel Abdel Karim Riyadh, police chief of Jebala *[[January 4]] - [[Ali Al-Haidri]], governor of Baghdad province *[[January 5]] - Khalifa Hussein, police chief of Baquba and electoral commission officer *[[January 6]] - Abdel Karim, police chief of Sadr City *[[January 8]] - Abboud Khalaf al-Lahibi, deputy secretary-general of the National Front for Iraqi tribes *[[January 9]] - Colonel Mohamed Mudhafir al-Badri, acting police chief of Samarra *[[January 9]] - Midhat Jassim Abdul Hassan, official in Iraqi National Accord party *[[January 10]] - Brigadier Amer, Baghdad deputy police chief *[[January 13]] - Mouayad Sami, Communist Party member of Diyala council *[[January 16]] - Younes Idris Al-Hiyali, Mosul Law Council member *[[January 17]] - Shaker Jabbar Sahl, Shia election candidate *[[January 18]] - Alaa Hamid, election candidate *[[January 25]] - Judge Qais Hashim Shameri *[[February 12]] - Taha al-Amiri, Judge in Basra *[[March 4]] - [[Nicola Calipari]], [[Italy|Italian]] secret agent ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:2005 in Iraq|2005 in Iraq]] [[Category:Timelines of military conflicts]]