List of conflicts in Iraq explained

This is a list of conflicts in Iraq arranged chronologically from ancient to modern times. This list includes any raid, strike, skirmish, siege, sacking, and/or battle (land, naval, and air) that occurred on the territories of what may today be referred to as Iraq; however, in which the conflict itself may have only been part of an operation of a campaign in a theater of a greater war (e.g. any and/or all border, undeclared, colonial, proxy, liberation, global wars, etc.). There may also be periods of violent, civil unrest listed; such as, shootouts, spree killings, massacres, terrorist attacks, coups, assassinations, regicides, riots, rebellions, revolutions, and civil wars (as well as wars of succession and/or independence). The list might also contain episodes of human sacrifice, mass suicide, and ethnic cleansing/genocide.

Ancient times (c. 3300 BCE – c. 651 CE)

Approximated dates	Name of conflict	Belligerents
		Victorious parties (if applicable)	Defeated parties (if applicable)
Early Dynastic period
	Sumer–Elam war	Sumerians	Elamites
	Siege of Uruk Part of Mesopotamia Early Dynastic Period wars	Urukians (Sumerians)	Kishites (Semites)
	Umma–Lagash war	Lagashites (Sumerians)	Ummaites (Sumerians)
	Battle of Uruk Part of the Conquests of Sargon of Akkad	Akkadians (Semites)	Urukians (Sumerians)
Neo-Assyrian period
693 BCE	Battle of Diyala River Part of the Campaigns of Sennacherib	Assyrians	Babylonians (Semites)
689 BCE	Siege of Babylon Part of the Campaigns of Sennacherib
Neo-Babylonian period
626 BCE	Revolt of Babylon Part of the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire	Babylonians (Semites)	Assyrians
616 BCE	Battle of Arrapha Part of the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire	Babylonians (Semites) Medians
614 BCE	Fall of Assur Part of the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire	Medians
612 BCE	Battle of Nineveh Part of the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire	Babylonians (Semites) Medians Scythians Persians Cimmerians
Achaemenid period
September 539 BCE	Battle of Opis Part of the Persian conquest of Babylonia	Persians	Babylonians (Semites)
1 October 331 BCE	Battle of Gaugamela Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great	Macedonians	Persians
Hellenistic period
May–August 311 BCE	First Siege of Babylon Part of the Wars of the Diadochi and Babylonian War	Seleucids	Antigonids
311 BCE	Battle of the Tigris Part of the Wars of the Diadochi and Babylonian War
310 BCE	Second Siege of Babylon Part of the Wars of the Diadochi and Babylonian War
January–March 309 BCE	Third Siege of Babylon Part of the Wars of the Diadochi and Babylonian War	Antigonids	Seleucids
10 August 309 BCE	Battle of the 25 of Abu Part of the Wars of the Diadochi and Babylonian War	Seleucids	Antigonids
Roman period
198 CE	Battle of Ctesiphon Part of the Roman–Parthian Wars	Romans	Parthians
217 CE	Battle of Nisibis Part of the Roman–Parthian Wars	Parthians	Romans
243 CE	Battle of Resaena Part of the Roman–Persian Wars	Romans	Persians
Winter of 244 CE	Battle of Misiche Part of the Roman–Persian Wars	Persians	Romans
252 CE	Battle of Barbalissos Part of the Roman–Persian Wars	Persians	Romans
Spring 260 CE	Battle of Edessa Part of the Roman–Persian Wars	Persians	Romans

• Roman-Sassanid Wars
  • Battle of Ctesiphon
  • Battle of Satala
  • Siege of Singara
  • Siege of Amida
  • Siege of Pirisabora
  • Battle of Ctesiphon
  • Battle of Samarra
• Byzantine–Sassanid wars
  • Anastasian War
  • Iberian War
  • Byzantine–Sassanid War
  • Byzantine–Sassanid War
• Muslim conquest of Persia
  • Battle of River
  • Battle of Walaja
  • Battle of Ullais
  • Battle of Hira
  • Battle of Ayn al-Tamr
  • Battle of Muzayyah
  • Battle of Saniyy
  • Battle of Zumail
  • Battle of Firaz
  • Battle of the Bridge
  • Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
  • Siege of Ctesiphon
  • Battle of Jalula

Medieval times (c. 651 – c. 1517 CE)

Approximated dates	Name of conflict	Belligerents
		Victorious parties (if applicable)	Defeated parties (if applicable)
8 December 656 CE	Battle of the Camel Part of the First Islamic Civil War	Forces of Ali	Forces of Aisha
17 July 658 CE	Battle of Nahrawan Part of the First Islamic Civil War	Rashidun caliphate	Kharijites
10 October 680 CE	Battle of Karbala Part of the Second Islamic Civil War	Umayyad caliphate	Husayn ibn Ali and his partisans
Mid-October 691 CE	Battle of Maskin Part of the Second Islamic Civil War		Zubayrid Caliphate
744–750 CE	Third Islamic Civil War	Abbasid caliphate	Umayyad caliphate Alids Kharijites
25 January 750 CE	Battle of the Zab Part of the Abbasid Revolution		Umayyad caliphate
September 762 – February 763 CE	Alid Revolt		Alids
August 812 – 28 September 813 CE	Siege of Baghdad Part of the Fourth Islamic Civil War	Forces of al-Ma'mun	Forces of al-Amin

• Anarchy at Samarra
• Buyid-Hamdanid Wars
  • Battle of Baghdad
• Abbasid-Seljuq Wars
  • Siege of Baghdad
• Mongol invasions and conquests
  • Siege of Baghdad

Modern times (c. 1517 CE – Present)

Ottoman empire (c. 1517 – c. 1917 CE)

• Ottoman–Persian Wars
  • Ottoman–Safavid War
    • Capture of Baghdad
  • Ottoman–Safavid War
    • Capture of Baghdad
    • Capture of Baghdad
• World War I
  • Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
    • Mesopotamian campaign
      • Fao Landing
      • Battle of Basra
      • Battle of Qurna
      • Battle of Shaiba
      • Battle of Es Sinn
      • Battle of Ctesiphon
      • Siege of Kut
      • Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad
      • Battle of Wadi
      • Battle of Hanna
      • Battle of Dujaila
      • March 8, 1,917 C.E. — March 11, 1,917 C.E. Fall of Baghdad
      • February 23, 1,917 C.E. Second Battle of Kut
      • September 28, 1,917 C.E. — September 29, 1,917 C.E. Battle of Ramadi
      • March 26, 1,918 C.E. — March 27, 1,918 C.E. Action of Khan Baghdadi
      • October 23, 1,918 C.E. — October 30, 1,918 C.E. Battle of Sharqat
• 1,918 C.E. — 2,003 C.E. Iraqi–Kurdish conflict

Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (c. 1917 – c. 1920 CE)

• May 1,920 C.E. — October 1,920 C.E. Iraqi revolt against the British

Kingdom of Iraq (c. 1932 – c. 1958 CE)

• September 1, 1,939 C.E. — September 2, 1,945 C.E. World War II
  • June 10, 1,940 C.E. — May 2, 1,945 C.E. Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
    • May 2, 1,941 C.E. — May 31, 1,941 C.E. Anglo-Iraqi War
      • April 1, 1,941 C.E. Iraq coup
• 1,918 C.E. — 2,003 C.E. Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
  • November 1,922 C.E. — July 1,924 C.E. Mahmud Barzanji revolts
  • 1,931 C.E. — 1,932 C.E. Ahmed Barzani revolt
  • 1,943 C.E. — October 1,945 C.E. Barzani revolt

Ba'athist Iraq (c. 1968 – c. 2003 CE)

• • September 11, 1,961 C.E. — 1,970 C.E. First Kurdish–Iraqi War
  • April 1,974 C.E. — Mid 1,975 C.E. Second Kurdish–Iraqi War
  • 1,975 C.E. — 1,983 C.E. PUK insurgency
  • September 1,983 C.E. — September 1,988 C.E. Kurdish Rebellion
  • May 1,994 C.E. — November 24, 1,997 C.E. Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
• September 22, 1,980 C.E. — August 20, 1,988 C.E. First Persian Gulf War
  • 1,980 C.E. Iraqi invasion
    • September 23, 1,980 C.E. Operation Kaman 99
    • October 29, 1,980 C.E. Operation Sultan 10
    • September 30, 1,980 C.E. Operation Scorch Sword
    • November 28, 1,980 C.E. — November 29, 1,980 C.E. Operation Morvarid
  • 1,981 C.E. Stalemate
    • April 4, 1,981 C.E. Attack on H3
  • 1,982 C.E. Iranian offensive
    • Early July 1,982 C.E. Operation Ramadan
  • 1,983 C.E. — 1,985 C.E. Strategic stalemate
    • February 6, 1,983 C.E. — February 26, 1,983 Operation Before the Dawn
    • April 10, 1,983 C.E. Operation Dawn 1
    • July 22, 1,983 C.E. Operation Dawn 2
    • July 30, 1,983 C.E. — August 9, 1,983 Operation Dawn 3
    • October 19, 1,983 C.E. — mid November 1,983 Operation Dawn 4
    • Early 1,984 C.E. Operation Dawn 5
    • February 14, 1,984 C.E. — March 19, 1,984 Operation Kheibar
    • February 22, 1,984 C.E. — February 24, 1,984 C.E. Operation Dawn 6
    • 1,984 C.E. Battle of the Marshes
    • March 10, 1,985 C.E. — March 20, 1,985 C.E. Operation Badr
  • 1,986 C.E. — 1,987 C.E. Duel offensives
    • 1,986 C.E. — 1,989 C.E. Al-Anfal Campaign
    • March 16, 1,988 C.E. Halabja poison gas attack
    • February 9, 1,986 C.E. — February 25, 1,986 C.E. Operation Dawn 8
    • February 11, 1,986 C.E. First Battle of al-Faw
    • December 25, 1,986 C.E. — 27 December 1,986 C.E. Operation Karbala-4
    • January 8, 1,987 C.E. — February 26, 1,987 C.E. Operation Karbala-5
    • Early 1,987 C.E. Operation Karbala-6
    • May 1,987 C.E. Operation Karbala 10
    • May 1,987 C.E. — early June 1,987 C.E. Operation Nasr 4
  • 1,988 C.E. Final stages
    • Mid-March 1,988 C.E. Operation Zafar 7
    • April 17, 1,988 C.E. Second Battle of al-Faw
  • 1,981 C.E. International incidents
    • June 7, 1,981 C.E. Operation Opera
• August 2, 1,990 C.E. — February 28, 1,991 C.E. Second Persian Gulf War
  • 1,991 C.E. Operation Desert Storm
    • February 15, 1,991 C.E. — February 20, 1,991 C.E. Battle of Wadi al-Batin
  • January 17, 1,991 C.E. — February 23, 1,991 C.E. Gulf War air campaign
    • January 19, 1991 C.E. Package Q Strike
    • February 13, 1991 C.E. 4:30 am (GMT+3) Amiriyah shelter bombing
  • February 24, 1,991 C.E. — February 28, 1,991 C.E. Liberation of Kuwait campaign
    • February 26, 1,991 C.E. — February 27, 1,991 C.E. Battle of 73 Easting
    • February 26, 1,991 C.E. Battle of Phase Line Bullet
    • February 27, 1,991 C.E. Battle of Medina Ridge
    • February 27, 1,991 C.E. Battle for Jalibah Airfield
    • February 27, 1,991 C.E. Battle of Norfolk
    • March 2, 1,991 C.E. Battle of Rumaila
    • March 1, 1,991 C.E. Safwan Airfield Standoff
• March 1, 1,991 C.E. — April 5, 1,991 C.E. Uprisings in Iraq
  • March 1, 1,991 C.E. — mid-April 1,991 C.E. Uprising in Basra
  • March 5, 1,991 C.E. — March 19, 1,991 C.E. Uprising in Karbala
  • March 5, 1,991 C.E. — April 3, 1,991 C.E. Uprising in Sulaymaniyah
  • March 11, 1,991 C.E. — March 29, 1,991 C.E. Uprising in Kirkuk
  • March 10, 1,991 C.E. — March 24, 1,991 C.E. Uprising in Tuz Khormato
• 1,991 C.E. — 2,002 C.E. Air engagements of the Post Gulf War
• September 3, 1,996 C.E. Operation Desert Strike
• December 16, 1,998 C.E. – December 19, 1,998 C.E. Operation Desert Fox
• March 20, 2,003 C.E. — December 15, 2,011 C.E. Third Persian Gulf War
  • March 19, 2,003 C.E. — May 1, 2,003 C.E. Invasion of Iraq
    • March 21, 2,003 C.E. — March 25, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Umm Qasr
    • March 20, 2,003 C.E. — March 24, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Al Faw
    • March 21, 2,003 C.E. — April 6, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Basra
    • March 23, 2,003 C.E. — March 29, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Nasiriyah
    • March 24, 2,003 C.E. Attack on Karbala
    • March 24, 2,003 C.E. — April 4, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Najaf
    • March 26, 2,003 C.E. — Operation Northern Delay
    • March 28, 2,003 C.E. — March 30, 2,003 C.E. Operation Viking Hammer
    • March 30, 2,003 C.E. — April 4, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Samawah
    • March 31, 2,003 C.E. — April 6, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Karbala
    • April 2, 2,003 C.E. — April 4, 2,003 C.E. Battle of the Karbala Gap
    • April 3, 2,003 C.E. — April 12, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Baghdad
    • April 6, 2,003 C.E. Battle of Debecka Pass

Coalition Provisional Authority (c. 2003 – c. 2004 CE)

• 2003 C.E. — 2004 C.E. Post-invasion insurgency
  • March 20, 2003 C.E. — December 7, 2011 C.E. Iraq War in Anbar Province
  • October 26, 2003 C.E. — November 24, 2003 C.E. Ramadan Offensive
  • December 13, 2003 C.E. Operation Red Dawn
  • April 4, 2004 C.E. — June 24, 2004 C.E. Iraq spring fighting
  • April 4, 2004 C.E. — May 1, 2004 C.E. First Battle of Fallujah
  • April 4, 2004 C.E. — May 11, 2008 C.E. Siege of Sadr City
  • April 6, 2004 C.E. — April 10, 2004 Battle of Ramadi
  • April 17, 2004 C.E. Battle of Husaybah
  • August 5, 2004 C.E. — August 27, 2004 Battle of Najaf
  • August 5, 2004 C.E. — August 28, 2004 CIMIC-House
  • October 1, 2004 C.E. — October 3, 2004 Battle of Samarra
  • November 7, 2004 C.E. — December 23, 2004 Second Battle of Fallujah
  • November 8, 2004 C.E. — November 16, 2004 Battle of Mosul

Republic of Iraq (c. 2004 CE – Present)

• 2,005 C.E. — 2,006 C.E. Post-invasion insurgency
  • May 8, 2,005 C.E. — May 19, 2,005 C.E. Battle of Al Qaim
  • August 1, 2,005 C.E. — August 4, 2,005 C.E. Battle of Haditha
  • September 1, 2,005 C.E. — September 18, 2,005 C.E. Battle of Tal Afar
  • June 17, 2,006 C.E. — November 15, 2,006 C.E. Battle of Ramadi
  • August 28, 2,006 C.E. Battle of Diwaniya
• February 2,006 C.E. — May 2,008 C.E. Civil war in Iraq
  • September 23, 2,006 C.E. — October 22, 2,006 C.E. Ramadan Offensive
  • September 27, 2,006 C.E. — February 18, 2,007 C.E. Operation Sinbad
  • October 19, 2,006 C.E. — October 20, 2,006 C.E. Battle of Amarah
  • November 15, 2,006 C.E. — November 16, 2,006 C.E. Battle of Turki
  • December 25, 2,006 C.E. — October 1, 2,007 C.E. Diyala campaign
  • January 6, 2,007 C.E. — January 9, 2,007 C.E. Battle of Haifa Street
  • January 20, 2,007 C.E. Karbala provincial headquarters raid
  • January 28, 2,007 C.E. — January 29, 2,007 C.E. Battle of Najaf
  • February 14, 2,007 C.E. — November 24, 2,007 C.E. Operation Imposing Law
  • February 27, 2,007 C.E. — September 3, 2,007 C.E. Siege of U.K. bases in Basra
  • April 6, 2,007 C.E. — April 10, 2,007 C.E. Operation Black Eagle
  • June 16, 2,007 C.E. — August 14, 2007 C.E. Operation Phantom Thunder
  • March 10, 2,007 C.E. — August 19, 2007 C.E. Battle of Baqubah
  • June 30, 2,007 C.E. — July 1, 2007 C.E. Battle of Donkey Island
  • February 15, 2,007 C.E. Operation Shurta Nasir
  • August 27, 2,007 C.E. — August 29, 2,007 C.E. Battle of Karbala
  • January 8, 2,008 C.E. — July 28, 2,008 C.E. Operation Phantom Phoenix
  • January 18, 2,008 C.E. — January 19, 2,008 C.E. Iraqi Day of Ashura fighting
  • January 23, 2,008 C.E. — July 28, 2,008 C.E. Ninawa campaign
  • March 25, 2,008 C.E. — May 15, 2,008 C.E. Iraq spring fighting
  • March 25, 2,008 C.E. — March 31, 2,008 C.E. Battle of Basra
  • April 15, 2,008 C.E. — May 19, 2,008 C.E. Al-Qaeda offensive in Iraq
• March 15, 2,011 C.E. — ongoing Arab Winter
  • 2,011 C.E. — ongoing Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
    • December 18, 2,011 C.E. — ongoing Iraqi insurgency
      • January 2,014 C.E. — ongoing Iraq crisis
        • August 7, 2,014 C.E. — ongoing Northern Iraq offensive
          • June 16, 2,014 C.E. — ongoing American intervention in Iraq
            • August 3, 2,014 C.E. — August 14, 2,014 C.E. Sinjar massacre

See also

• List of wars involving Iraq
• Iraqi Army
• Iraqi Navy
• Iraqi Air Force
• Iraqi Armed Forces
• Iraqi Special Operations Forces
• Military history of Iraq