| IRAQ:
Sunday, April 6, 2003: A friendly fire incident kills fifteen in
Northern Iraq including one translator working with John Simpson of the BBC
who, along with his cameraman, sustained minor injuries when their Kurdish
convoy was struck by American forces.
Thursday, April 3, 2003: Reports are unclear in the last 24 hours
but what is apparent is that coalition forces are flanking Baghdad from the
East, West and South with some forces as little as 12 miles from central
Baghdad. US military sources confirm that a fierce battle was fought over night
to secure over 75% of Saddam International Airport to the northeast of the
Iraqi capitol.
Wednesday, April 2, 2003: BBC cameraman Kaveh Golestan, 52, was
accidentally killed in northern Iraq Thursday after stepping on a land mine as
he climbed out of his car, according to a statement put out by the British
Broadcasting Corporation. Golestan was an Iranian freelance cameraman working
as part of a four-man team filming at Kifri.
Wednesday, April 2, 2003: A U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet went down
over Iraq early Thursday. A search-and-rescue operation has been launched, U.S.
officials said. The single-seat fighter jet from the USS Kitty Hawk went down
around 12:45 a.m. Thursday (3:45 p.m. ET Wednesday).
Wednesday, April 2, 2003: A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was
shot down by small arms fire Wednesday night in south-central Iraq, military
officials said, but there were conflicting reports on casualties. The Pentagon
said seven soldiers were killed and four others wounded and rescued. But a
statement from U.S. Central Command headquarters in Qatar said only six people
were on the Black Hawk and that casualties could not be confirmed.
Tuesday, April 1, 2003: Coalition forces rescued two U.S. Navy
pilots Tuesday after their F-14 "Tomcat" crashed in southwestern Iraq after
suffering a mechanical error, a statement from the U.S. Central Command
said.
Tuesday, April 1, 2003: Al-Sahaf said Tuesday a U.S. warplane
struck two buses in western Iraq filled with human shields. Al-Sahaf accused
coalition forces of "indiscriminately killing people." U.S. Central Command
said it was "not aware of any reports" of such a U.S. airstrike and was
investigating the allegation.
Tuesday, April 1, 2003: Two surface-to-surface missiles hit near
U.S. troops in the vicinity of the central Iraqi town of Najaf.
Monday, March 31, 2003: Pentagon officials confirmed the rescue of
Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, who had been listed as missing in action after
intense fighting near Nasiriya on March 23
Monday, March 31, 2003: More than 3,000 precision-guided munitions
have been dropped in the past three days alone, bringing the total to 8,000 for
the entire 12 days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Pentagon said Monday.
Monday, March 31, 2003: At a checkpoint near Najaf Monday,
soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division fired on a van that turned out to be
carrying women and children when it failed to stop. Seven passengers were
killed and two were wounded, Central Command said Monday in a written
statement.
Monday, March 31, 2003: At a checkpoint near Najaf Monday,
soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division fired on a van that turned out to be
carrying women and children when it failed to stop. Seven passengers were
killed and two were wounded, Central Command said Monday in a written
statement.
Sunday, March 30, 2003: In southern Iraq, British Royal Marine
commandos captured five high-ranking Iraqi paramilitary leaders and a senior
officer Sunday in a village southeast of Basra, said Capt. Al Lockwood, a
British military spokesman.
Sunday, March 30, 2003: A Marine UH-1 Huey helicopter crashed in
southern Iraq, killing three people and injuring a fourth, Central Command
officials said.
Saturday, March 29, 2003: U.S. Central Command
announced Saturday that two Marines have been killed in separate incidents in
Iraq.
Central Command said one Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force was
killed late Friday night when he was hit by a Humvee during a firefight with
Iraqi soldiers in south-central Iraq.
The other Marine, also from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, drowned early
Friday when the Humvee in which he was riding rolled over into a canal in
south-central Iraq.
Saturday, March 29, 2003: Twenty-six U.S. service members are
unaccounted for in Iraq. Another 57 U.S. and British service members have been
confirmed killed since the fighting began.
Saturday, March 29, 2003: U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea and
Mediterranean Sea have stopped firing their cruise missiles at Iraq after
complaints by Turkey and Saudi Arabia that some of the missiles have fallen on
their countries, a Pentagon official said. There has been no reported damage or
casualties from any of the stray missiles.
Thursday, March 27, 2003: Four U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force were killed Thursday when the driver of their M1A1 tank was
shot as they crossed a bridge and the tank then plunged into the river below,
U.S. Central Command said Monday. Their bodies and the tank were recovered
Sunday.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003: Elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment
face Medina armoured Republican Guard divisions outside Karbala as they push
for Baghdad.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003: Elements of the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force headed to Al Kut to push into Baghdad along the Tigris and
hit the Republican Guard's southern forces.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003: Battle continues near Nasiriyah.
Marines capture Iraqi military hospital along with weapons, ammunition,
chemical suits and gas masks.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003: US troops secure Talil Air base in
southern Iraq.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003: US-led war planes bombed targets in the
northern part of the country including Mosul, Kirkuk and Tikrit.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003: American Marines are engaged in a heavy
battle east of Najaf for control of the Euphrates valley region and river
crossings.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003: Coalition forces confirm that 43 soilders
have been killed in the campaign to date.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003: British troops have amassed outside the
southern Iraqi city of Basra in preparation for an urban assualt on the city
that previously was not a military target.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003: Coalition forces bomb two Iraqi bunkers
in northern Iraq destroying one.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003: A friendly fire exchange results in the
death of 2 British soliders.
Monday, March 24, 2003: A US Apache helicopter is downed in
fighting ouside Karbala. The 2 US pilots have been captured by Iraqi forces and
shown on Iraqi TV and al Jazeerah.
Monday, March 24, 2003: US Apache helicopters attacked Armored
Republican guard positions between Karbala and Al Hillah, meeting with stiff
resistence.
Monday, March 24, 2003: 70 US Special Forces troops are said to be
working with Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq to destroy Ansar al-Islam strong
holds in the moutainous border region between Iran and Iraq. Ansar al-Islam is
beleived to have ties to al Qaeda and is blamed for a suicide bombing in
northern Iraq this past weekend that killed and independent journalist.
Monday, March 24, 2003: US coalition forces report that cruise
missles have been launched again Ansar al-Islam position in northern Iraq.
Monday, March 24, 2003: More than 200 special forces are said to
be operating in northern Iraq and more continue to arrive on regular coalition
flights through Turkish airspace.
Monday, March 24, 2003: A heavy battle still rages in the southern
Iraqi town of Basra that has led coalition forces to draw back from the city.
Fierce fighting to control the city, which the coalition said was siezed
Friday, continues.
Monday, March 24, 2003: A bus carrying 36 civilians was bombed
accidently by coalition forces as it tried to cross a bride in northwest Iraq.
5 Syrian nationals were killed and many injured, all were trying to escape
fighting by fleeing to Syria.
Sunday, March 23, 2003: An unmanned, remote-controlled Predator
drone destroyed an antiaircraft artillery gun in southern Iraq on Saturday. It
was the first Predator strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition defense
officials said. The MQ-1 Predator dropped one Hellfire II missile on the mobile
antiaircraft artillery piece outside Amarah at 1:25 p.m. (5:25 a.m. Saturday
EST), near the Iranian border, according to the Combined Forces Air Component
Command. about 90 miles south of Baghdad.
Sunday, March 23, 2003: The U.S. military has secured a facility
in southern Iraq that Pentagon officials said might have been used to produce
chemical weapons. The officials cautioned that it wasn't clear what materials
were at the facility in Najaf, about 90 miles south of Baghdad.
Sunday, March 23, 2003: US Army 11th Helicopter attack force
engages the elite 2nd Armored Brigade of the Republican Guard outside Karbala,
meeting stiff resistence and a hail of anti-aircraft fire described by one
pilot as a 'wall of fire.'
Sunday, March 23, 2003: US Army support team is ambushed and
captured by Iraqi forces after straying from forces in the Nasiriyah area. As
many as 4 were US soilders killed in the ambush and up to 6 captured. Captured
troops and those killed have been shown on Iraqi television and al Jazera.
Sunday, March 23, 2003: Heavy fighting in Nasiriyah has resulted
in the death of at least 4 American troops.
Sunday, March 23, 2003: Late reports from US are saying that a RAF
plane was accidently shot down by a Patriot missile in a friendly fire
incident. Details as to the pilot's condition and the circumstances of the
friendly fire incident are not yet available.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: In a Kurdish region of northern Iraq, a freelance
cameraman working for the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Paul Moran, 39, died
when a taxicab exploded at a checkpoint in Sayed Sadiq, the network said. Three
Kurdish fighters also died, and an ABC correspondent was wounded, it said.
Security officials of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan blamed the blast on a
suicide bomber from an Islamic extremist group, Ansar al-Islam, which U.S.
officials believe has links to al Qaeda.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Two British helicopters collided in the Persian
Gulf during the support operations killing all 7 troops on board; 1 American
and 6 British, bringing the casulties to 21 - 7 Americans and 14 British.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: As many as 1,500 Turkish troops are reported to be
poised to cross the border into Kurdish controlled northern Iraq creating some
tensions between the US and Turkey. Turkey claims that the troops have been
sent to the border region near Iraq to aid in any humanitarian efforts and also
to monitor the Kurdish situation as the war progresses.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: The city of Al Basrah in southern Iraq was
encircled by allied forces who opted not to enter the city. After engaging
minimal resistence on the outskirts of the city coalition forces passed by the
without claiming continuing to Baghdad.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: The H2 and H3 air fields, beleived to be site of
Scud launchers in western Iraq, have been taken by coalition forces who clain
tentative control of both installations.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Kurdish forces and CNN sources confirm that the
city of Kirkuk has been the target of aerial bombardment for the third night of
the campaign.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: The northern city of Mosul is reported to have
come under heavy bombardment for the third night in a row.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Though coalition forces claimed tentative control
over Umm Qasr -- over 24 hours ago, allied forces continue to
come under fire from pockets of resistence.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: The port city of Umm Qasr --
Iraq's only outlet to the Gulf - has fallen to allied forces. The old port was
taken by British troops; U.S. Marines seized the new port.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: The port city of Umm Qasr --
Iraq's only outlet to the Gulf - has fallen to allied forces. The old port was
taken by British troops; U.S. Marines seized the new port.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Retreating Iraqi troops are confirmed to set 9 oil
wells a blaze outside the southern city of Al Basrah.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: U.S.-led forces strike the northern city
of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Intense bombing of Kirkuk resumes
for the second night. Anti-aircraft fire is visible over the city.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: A second Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force was killed during the fight for Umm Qasr.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: A US Marine has been killed in the line of fire,
details are not yet available.
Friday,
March 21, 2003 : Coalition forces bombed the Iraqi-controlled
northern city of Mosul just before 4:30 a.m. Friday (8:30 pm Thursday
EST).
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Kurdish fighters in the Mosul
region confirm that an air field outside of Mosul was bombed by US forces.
Friday,
March 21, 2003 : British troops moved into the Al
Faw Peninsula of southern Iraq. The Al Faw Peninsula runs from the
Iraqi city of Basra to the Persian Gulf and is home to a significant portion of
Iraq's oil industry.
Friday,
March 21, 2003 : Iraqi television early Friday said targets hit by
coalition forces included a military site in the southern city of Basra, near
the Kuwaiti border, and another target in Akashat, a town about 300
miles west of Baghdad near the Syrian border. Iraqi television reported four
Iraqi soldiers were killed.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Several
thousand US airborne troops are expected to land in northern Iraq with the
objective of capturing the strategically important city of Kirkuk and
securing oil fields. The US had wanted to station about 60,000 troops in Turkey
with the aim of carrying out a full scale ground invasion - but the plan
has been blocked by the Turkish Government.
Friday,
March 21, 2003 : American troops with about 250 main battle tanks
are pushing into south-western Iraq with the aim of moving swiftly north
towards Baghdad. US Marines and around
25,000 UK ground troops and armour are expected to cross into southern Iraq in
a second offensive, analysts say. Royal Marines from the UK's 3 Commando
Brigade are expected to occupy the strategically important southern city of
Basra.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Iraq fired a ballistic
missile targeting US and British forces as they crossed the Kuwait/Iraq border.
BAGHDAD:
Monday,
April 7, 2003: Heavy fighting continues in and around Baghdad.
Ground troops have been assisted by air strikes that continue throughotu the
day as ground forces make their advances into the city. Some coalition
commanders report being 'in the hear of Baghdad,' who also say the city almost
entirely encircled and all roads leading to and from Baghdad have been cutoff.
Sunday,
April 6, 2003: More substantial raids into Baghdad have been
undertaken that has led to the capturing of Saddam International Airport under
the full control of colaition forces and early report that government centers
and a palace of Saddam are also tentatively unuder coalition control.
Saturday,
April 5, 2003: Baghdad was raided by US coalition forces who made
a short incursion into Baghdad. An unknown number of Iraqi was killed and an
American tank were destroyed under circumstances that have yet to be confirmed.
Thursday,
April 3, 2003: Baghdad was heavily pounded continuously last night
for hours at a time. Large munitions were said to have been used and thousand
of percision weapons in the action to topple the Iraqi leadership in Baghdad.
Wednesday,
April 2, 2003: About 40 satellite-guided bombs late Wednesday
pounded a "heavily secured" storage facility in Baghdad used by forces loyal to
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, U.S. Central Command said.
Saturday,
March 28, 2003: In Baghdad, at least four large explosions rocked
a residential compound where many government officials live northwest of the
Information Ministry.
Friday,
March 27, 2003: In Baghdad Friday, a hospital official claimed 52
Iraqi civilians had been killed and more than 30 wounded in an airstrike on a
residential neighborhood about 6 p.m. (10 a.m. EST). Iraqi Information Minister
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf condemned the strike as a "crime" by the U.S.-led
coalition.
Wednesday,
March 26, 2003: During the continued bombing campaign of Baghdad,
US Pentagon officials confirm that ordinance hit in heavily civilian
marketplace in northern Baghdad.
Tuesday,
March 25, 2003: Coalition forces flew over 3,000 missions in the
last 24 hours and heavily bombed Baghdad. Iraqi television stations were
targeted and destroyed in what an American commander described as 'decapitating
the Iraqi leadership's ability to communicate'. However, Iraqi television was
broadcasting only hours later.
Monday,
March 24, 2003: Baghdad and outlying areas are being bombing in a
effort to 'soften' Republican Guard positions around the city. The coalition
hopes to keep the Republican guard from retreating to Baghdad and engage them
outside the city proper. Saddam International Airport and military airstrip
outside Baghdad have also been hit by cruise missles.
Sunday,
March 23, 2003: Baghdad continues to be the target of night
bombing and air raids. Iraq has set oil filled trench dug around the city on
fire to hinder the coalition's bombing campaign. A US Defense spokesman
regarded this tactic as "useless and ineffective" against percision weapons
technology.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Baghdad is pounded with over 1,000 cruise missiles
and pecision weapons for the third night of the campaign in Iraq. Iraq claims
that over 200 civilians have been injured in the attacks.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Air raid sirens sound at 9:00 pm Baghdad
local time (12:00 pm EST), for a half hour the city waits as anti-aircraft
streaks the night sky. At approximately 9:25 pm Bagdad local
time, heavy percision bombing begins in various parts of Baghdad.
City areas are pounded for several hours.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: U.S. officials said approximately 20 cruise
missiles were launched in the most recent attacks from U.S. Navy ships and
submarines in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf and - for the first time - from two
British submarines. Two of the three main buildings in the Tigris complex
of ministerial office have been completely destroyed and left unusable
after being struck by percision bombs. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's
palace and government offices along with Special Republican Guard
strongholds were among targets hit during this second day of bombing in
Baghdad.
Thursday,
March 20, 2003 :
An intense U.S. and coalition bombing attack rocked the Iraqi capital with a succession of explosions and
fires that destroyed at least two buildings -- including the government
facility containing the offices of Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
KUWAIT:
Saturday, March 29, 2003: Kuwaiti military officials said a
coalition Patriot missile battery destroyed an incoming missile Saturday
afternoon aimed at Kuwait. Earlier, a missile struck a closed shopping mall in
Kuwait City, the first time the capital has been hit since the war began,
Kuwaiti authorities said. A mall worker suffered minor injuries and was treated
at a hospital, authorities said.
Friday, March 28, 2003: A popular shopping mall in Kuwait City is
hit by an Iraqi ballistic missile.
Monday, March 24, 2003: Iraq has launched 6 additional ballistic
missles on Kuwait. 4 were intercepted by Patriot missiles and the remaining two
were said to have hit in southern Iraq.
Monday,
March 24, 2003: A Patriot missile intercepted an Iraqi missile
fired toward Kuwait about 1 a.m. Monday [5 p.m. Sunday EST], a Kuwaiti army
spokesman said. The missile was intercepted north of Kuwait City and came down
away from any residential area, Col. Youssef Al-Mulla told CNN. The resulting
explosion could be heard as a muffled, distant boom in the Kuwaiti capital.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Iraq is reported to have fired another ballistic
missile into Northern Kuwait. Coalition forces say the missile was shot down by
a Patriot missile.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: A US soilder of the 101st Airborne based in
northern Kuwait is being held for a grenade attack in Camp Pennsylvania that
killed 1 American troop and wounded at least 12 others. Early reports say that
it was an act of defiance and sabatoge by an American troop who recently
converted to Islam and disagrees with coalition actions in Iraq.
Friday,
March 21, 2003: Iraq retaliates against invasion forces by firing
up to 7 missiles into northern Kuwait.
Friday,
March 21, 2003 : U.S. Marine CH-46 helicopter crashed in northern
Kuwait early Friday morning, killing all 16 people on board - 12 British
military personnel and four American crew members, Pentagon officials said.
Thursday,
March 20, 2003: Iraq responded to the attack by firing at least
four missiles into northern Kuwait, two of which U.S. Patriot missiles
intercepted, U.S. military officials said. U.S. forces sounded numerous alerts
in the hours after the strikes, sending troops at several bases scrambling for
chemical protection gear and running for bunkers. Air raid sirens also sounded
in Kuwait City.
IRAN:
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Washington has confirmed that they are in tense
diplomatic talks with Iran who claims that as many as three cruise missiles
misfired and landed inside Iran. Reports remain unconfirmed and Washington says
it is investigating the situation.
TURKEY:
Sunday,
March 23, 2003: Two U.S. cruise missiles fell in unpopulated areas
of Turkey on Monday, the Pentagon said. No one was hurt.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Turkish and U.S. military authorities investigated
an undetonated missile that appeared to have fallen into a remote village in
southeastern Turkey. No one was hurt by the missile, which witnesses said left
a crater 13 feet [4 meters] wide and 3.3 feet [1 meter] deep. The missile fell
in Ozveren, 430 miles [688 kilometers] northwest of the border with Iraq, at
about 5:30 p.m. [9:30 a.m. EST], as planes were seen flying overhead, witnesses
said.
Saturday,
March 22, 2003: Turkey grants the use of its airspace for US
military and coalition over flights.
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