Iraq
In 1988 the Ba'ath government's Anfal campaign killed 50,000–100,000 Kurds and destroyed about 1,200 villages, and the gas attack on Halabja killed 3,200–5,000. In 1991 the regime crushed the uprisings in the south and the north, and nearly two million fled. After the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq Body Count has documented over 200,000 civilian deaths, including the sieges of Fallujah, Haditha and Nisour Square, alongside torture at Abu Ghraib. ISIS killed captives such as the Speicher cadets and blew up mosques and shrines like al-Nuri and Nabi Yunus, while the battle to retake Mosul killed 9,000–11,000 people. Government-linked militias made hundreds of Sunni men disappear, as at Saqlawiya.
Key numbers
Who is responsible
Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath government (Ali Hassan al-Majid led Anfal); the US-led coalition and US forces after 2003, including US Marines, US Army military police and State Department contractors (Blackwater); Iraqi government forces and Popular Mobilization Units; al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Islamic State (ISIS).
Timeline
- 1988 Anfal campaign; Halabja gas attack
- 1991 Amiriyah shelter bombed; uprisings crushed, nearly 2 million flee
- 2003 US-led invasion; torture at Abu Ghraib
- 2004 Two sieges of Fallujah
- 2005 Haditha: 24 civilians killed by US Marines
- 2006 Al-Askari shrine bombed in Samarra
- 2007 Nisour Square: 17 killed by Blackwater guards
- 2013 Army raid on Hawija protest camp
- 2014 ISIS: Speicher massacre; Nabi Yunus mosque blown up
- 2016 643 men of Saqlawiya disappear after PMU detention
- 2017 Battle of Mosul ends; al-Nuri mosque destroyed
Records (17)
Anfal campaign
In eight stages in 1988 the Iraqi regime destroyed Kurdish villages and killed or disappeared their people. Human Rights Watch said the toll 'cannot conceivably be less than 50,000, and it may well be twice that'; about 1,200 villages were destroyed.
50,000–100,000 killed1,200 mosques & sacred places destroyed
Source: Wikipedia: Anfal campaign (quoting HRW 1993) · Human Rights Watch: Genocide in Iraq
Halabja chemical attack
Iraqi aircraft hit the Kurdish town with mustard gas and nerve agents; 3,200–5,000 were killed and 7,000–10,000 injured. An Iraqi court ruled it genocide in 2010.
3,200–5,000 killed
Source: Wikipedia: Halabja massacre
Amiriyah shelter bombing
Two US laser-guided bombs struck public shelter No. 25 in Baghdad, where families slept; more than 400 civilians were killed. The US said it was a command centre.
400–408 killed
Crushing of the 1991 uprisings
Loyalist forces put down the uprisings in the south and Kurdistan with indiscriminate fire, summary executions and helicopter attacks; estimates of the dead range from 25,000 to 180,000. Nearly two million fled, 1.5 million of them Kurds.
25,000–180,000 killed1,500,000–2,000,000 displaced
Source: Wikipedia: 1991 Iraqi uprisings
Civilian deaths since 2003
Iraq Body Count has documented 200,065–226,628 civilian deaths from violence since the 2003 invasion, by all parties, from news and official reports.
200,065–226,628 killed
Source: Iraq Body Count
Abu Ghraib torture
An Army inquiry (Taguba report) found 'sadistic, blatant and wanton' abuse of detainees by US military police at Abu Ghraib in Oct–Dec 2003: beatings, sexual abuse, dogs, and photos of naked and dead detainees; some detainees were hidden from the Red Cross.
First siege of Fallujah
After four Blackwater contractors were killed, US forces besieged Fallujah. Doctors at Fallujah General Hospital said 736 Iraqis were killed, at least 60% of them civilians.
441–736 killed
Source: Al Jazeera
Second assault on Fallujah
The November US-led assault killed several thousand people, never fully counted; locals estimate 70% of the city was heavily damaged or destroyed in the 2004 sieges, and Iraqi officials reported dozens of mosques destroyed.
Source: Al Jazeera · Britannica
Haditha killings
After a roadside bomb killed a Marine, US Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians in houses and a car, including women and children; death certificates list five girls aged 1 to 14 in one house. No one was convicted.
24 killed
Source: Spokesman-Review (Knight Ridder)
Al-Askari shrine bombed
Explosions destroyed the golden dome of the al-Askari shrine in Samarra; Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda. Sectarian reprisals followed, including attacks on Sunni mosques; the two minarets were blown up in 2007.
1 mosques & sacred places destroyed
Nisour Square shooting
Blackwater guards escorting a US State Department convoy opened fire in a crowded Baghdad square, killing 17 Iraqi civilians; FBI findings said at least 14 deaths were unjustified.
14–17 killed
Source: Human Rights Watch
Hawija protest camp raid
Iraqi army units stormed a Sunni protest camp in Hawija, burning tents; the army's own account gave 42 dead, most of them protesters, and 153 injured. Organisers said troops fired indiscriminately.
42 killed
Source: Wikipedia: 2013 Hawija clashes
Camp Speicher massacre
ISIS captured unarmed air force cadets near Tikrit, separated them by sect and killed an estimated 1,700, most of them Shia; Iraq Body Count recorded 625–1,566.
1,095–1,700 killed
Source: The New Arab · Iraq Body Count
Nabi Yunus mosque blown up
ISIS destroyed with explosives the historic mosque and shrine held to be the tomb of the prophet Yunus (Jonah) in Mosul.
1 mosques & sacred places destroyed
Saqlawiya disappearances
During the operation to retake Fallujah, Popular Mobilization Units separated about 1,300 men and boys fleeing Saqlawiya; at least 643 were taken away on buses and a truck and their fate is unknown.
643–1,300 detained
Source: Amnesty International
Battle of Mosul
An AP investigation found 9,000–11,000 people died in the nine-month battle; at least 3,200 civilians were killed by coalition and Iraqi bombardment and about a third by ISIS. The coalition admitted 326.
9,000–11,000 killed
Source: Al Jazeera (AP investigation)
Al-Nuri mosque and al-Hadba minaret destroyed
ISIS blew up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, built in 1172, and its leaning al-Hadba minaret as Iraqi forces approached. It was rebuilt with UNESCO and the UAE.
1 mosques & sacred places destroyed
Source: UN News (UNESCO) · The World (AP)