US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021) |
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| Part of the War against the Islamic State (Operation Inherent Resolve), the War in Iraq (2013–2017), Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present), and the War on terror | |||||||||
 An American F/A-18C Hornet aboard USS George H.W. Bush prior to the launch of operations over Iraq in 2014. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Coalition of foreign countries:
Local forces:
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 Islamic State Of Iraq and The Levant White Flags |
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| Strength | |||||||||
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United States:
5,200–6,000 troops
7,000 contractors USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group (replaced USS George H.W. Bush in late October) USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group (replaced USS Carl Vinson in late March) F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18 Super Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and F-22 Raptor fighter jets B-1 Lancer bomber aircraft EA-6B Prowler & EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper drones Australia:
400 RAAF personnel
200 special forces troops 300 regular soldiers (combined with 150 New Zealand soldiers) 6 F/A-18 Super Hornet 1 Boeing 737 AEW&C surveillance aircraft 1 KC-30A refueling plane C-130J Hercules & C-17A Globemaster transport aircraft Belgium:
6 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters (withdrawn "due to financial constraints" in June 2015)
120 supporting troops (for the now withdrawn aircraft) 35 military advisers Canada:
600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel
100 special operations forces 6 McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet 2 Lockheed CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft 1 Airbus CC-150 Polaris refueling tanker C-130J Hercules & C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft Denmark:
7 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters
1 C-130J Hercules transport aircraft 1 mobile radar station 400 troops (support, special forces and trainers) France:
1,000 armed forces
7 Dassault Rafale, 8 Mirage 2000 1 Breguet Atlantique 1 French frigate Forbin (D620) Germany:
Italy:
Netherlands:
6 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters + 2 spare
250 supporting troops 130 trainers for the Iraqi Army 2 Patriot missile batteries and 200 supporting troops in Turkey to defend its NATO ally against cross-border attacks. New Zealand:
10 military advisers.
Spain:
300 trainers for the Iraqi Army
6 Patriot missile batteries and 130 supporting troops in Turkey to defend its NATO ally against cross-border attacks. United Kingdom:
1 Boeing RC-135 Reconnaissance aircraft
8 Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft 2 armed MQ-9 Reaper 1 Type 45 destroyer 1 Trafalgar-class submarine (SSN) Special forces including the Special Air Service (SAS) and additional cargo aircraft and air-to-air tanker aircraft on standby in the area. |
Around 100,000 fighters (according to Kurdistan Region Chief of Staff.) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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70,000+ killed (end of 2017)
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Estimated 6,000+ civilians killed by Coalition airstrikes in Iraq |
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On 15 June 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched in response to the Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) of the Islamic State (IS), as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.
In early August 2014, ISIL began its Northern Iraq offensive. On 5 August, the United States started supplying the Kurdish Peshmerga forces with weapons. On 8 August, the United States began airstrikes against ISIL positions in Iraq. Nine other countries also launched airstrikes against ISIL, more or less in concert with Kurdish and Iraqi government ground troops. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign.
In addition to direct military intervention, the American-led coalition provided extensive support to the Iraqi Security Forces via training, intelligence, and personnel. The total cost of coalition support to the ISF, excluding direct military operations, was officially announced at ~$3.5 billion by March 2019. 189,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers received training from coalition forces.
Despite U.S. objections, the Iraqi parliament demanded U.S. troops to withdraw in January 2020 following the deaths of Iraqi Deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Units and popular Iranian Quds leader Qasem Soleimeni in a U.S. airstrike. It was also announced that both the U.K and Germany were cutting the size of troops in Iraq as well, In addition to withdrawing some of its troops, the U.K. pledged to completely withdraw from Iraq if asked to do so by the Iraqi government and Germany "temporarily thinned out" its bases in Baghdad and Camp Taji. Canada later joined in with the coalition withdrawal as well by transferring some of its troops stationed in Iraq to Kuwait. French and Australian forces stationed in the country have also objected to a withdrawal as well. The United Nations estimated in August 2020 that over 10,000 ISIL fighters remained in Iraq and Syria.
The coalition officially concluded its combat mission in Iraq in December 2021, but U.S. troops remain in Iraq to advise, train, and assist Iraqi security forces against the ongoing ISIL insurgency, including providing air support and military aid.
Images for kids
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Norwegian QRF preparing for nighttime training at Al Asad Airbase, 8 July 2021
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A Royal Danish Air Force F-16, October 2016
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A German Air Force Tornado ECR refuels near Mosul, November 2016
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Spanish (Task Force Toro) and American (Task Force Phoenix) soldiers at Al Asad Airbase, June 2021
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A U.S. Army Soldier advises & assists Iraqi soldiers during a training exercise at Besmaya Range Complex, Iraq, 10 November 2015
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Locations where the U.S. bombed ISIL in Iraq (between 8 August and 16 September.)
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An Australian soldier conducts bayonet training alongside Iraqi soldiers at Camp Taji, January 2016
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General Stephen J. Townsend observes a HIMARS strike that destroyed a building near Haditha, September 2016
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A U.S. Army M109A6 Paladin near Mosul, 16 October 2016
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U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis during his visit to Iraq, 20 February 2017
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Australian Army trainers demonstrate close-quarters combat techniques to Iraqi soldiers at Camp Taji, July 2017
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1st Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army drill with the Battelle DroneDefender in Iraq, 30 October 2018. U.S. troops anticipate ISIL units deploying drones during reconnaissance or attacks
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French and American soldiers in support of the CJTF-OIR in Iraq, 2019. Coalition forces supported SDF advances with airstrikes and cross-border artillery from Iraq
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Contractors load an MRAP onto a flatbed as the CJTF-OIR coalition transfers the K-1 Air Base to Iraqi security forces, 21 March 2020
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Water is loaded on a U.S. C-17 for an airdrop on 8 August 2014
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British aid for Iraq is loaded at RAF Brize Norton
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President Donald Trump visits U.S. troops at the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, 26 December 2018
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See also
- History of Iraq
- International Conferences on Peace and Security in Iraq (2014)
- Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya
- Opération Chammal – included French operation against ISIL
- Operation Shader – included UK operation against ISIL
- Operation Okra – included Australian operation against ISIL
- Operation Impact – included Canadian operation against ISIL
- American-led intervention in Syria
- Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present) – separate Iranian operation against ISIL
- Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL
- Persecution of Christians by ISIL
- Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
- Overseas interventions of the United States
- Fall of Mosul
- Salahuddin campaign (2014–15)
- First Battle of Tikrit
- Siege of Amirli
- Battle of Baiji (October–November 2014)
- Battle of Ramadi (2014–15)
- Battle of Baiji (2014–15)
- Sinjar offensive
- Second Battle of Tikrit (March–April 2015)
- Anbar offensive (2015)
- List of wars and battles involving ISIL
- American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war, for the closely related operations in Syria
- Iraq War, for the war beginning in 2003 and ending in 2011
