March 20th 2003: The Iraq War begins

On this day in 2003, in the early hours of the morning, the United States, United Kingdom, and their allies began a military invasion of Iraq. The reasons for the invasion were the supposed presence of weapons of mass destruction, which it was later discovered Iraq had none, and to combat the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The forces drove into the country and occupied areas, eventually driving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein into hiding. Hussein was captured in December 2003 and executed in December 2006. The occupation continued until December 15th 2011 when US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declared the Iraq War over.

10 years ago today