BAGHDAD - Key dates in the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq:
2003
March 20: The United States, Britain and their allies attack Baghdad and launch an invasion codenamed "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to rid Iraq of alleged weapons of mass destruction.
April 9: US forces enter Baghdad and President Saddam Hussein is overthrown.
May 1: From the deck of a US aircraft carrier, US President George W. Bush declares the end of "major combat."
July 22: US forces kill Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay
August 19: A massive bomb outside the UN headquarters in Baghdad kills at least 17 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Oct 2: The United States and its allies acknowledge that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.
Dec 13: Saddam captured in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.
2004
March 2: Attacks against Shiite pilgrims in the holy city of Karbala and Baghdad kill more than 170
April 4: Fighting erupts between militiamen of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US forces.
April 8: The first of hundreds of kidnappings of foreigners. More than 30 hostages have been killed.
April 28: US media show images of Iraqi prisoners in the American-run Abu Ghraib jail being beaten and sexually humiliated.
June 28: The US-run administration transfers power to an interim Iraqi government.
November 8: More than 10,000 US soldiers backed by 2,000 Iraqi troops launch a massive assault on rebel stronghold of Fallujah.
2005
Jan 30: Iraq holds its first multiparty election with a coalition from the majority Shiite parties taking most seats.
April 6: A Kurd, Jalal Talabani, elected president and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, named prime minister.
Oct 15: Iraqis back a new constitution in a referendum.
Oct 19: Saddam goes on trial for crimes against humanity over the killing of 148 Shiites in the 1980s.
Dec 15: Shiite parties victorious in legislative election.
2006
Feb 22: A bomb destroys the dome of one of the holiest Shiite shrines, in Samarra, sparking widespread Shiite-Sunni violence.
April 22: The transitional assembly agrees on Talabani as president and Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, becomes prime minister.
June 7: US forces kill Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Nov 23: Attacks in Sadr City, a Shiite enclave of Baghdad, kill more than 200.
Dec 6: A report drawn up by American experts led by former secretary of state James Baker calls for a change of US policy in Iraq.
Dec 30: Saddam hanged after being found guilty of crimes against humanity.
2007
Jan 7: US announces death of 3,000th American soldier in Iraq.
Jan 10: Bush sends extra troops to boost security as part of a new Iraq strategy.
03/16/2007 02:08 GMT