Key Facts
- Duration
- February 2006 – May 2008
- Insurgent control at peak
- Over 80% of Baghdad
- Trigger event
- Bombing of Askariya Mosque, February 2006
- Key district secured
- Sadr City, mid-2008
- Coalition operation
- Operation Together Forward (unsuccessful)
Strategic Narrative Overview
Insurgents rapidly seized more than 80 percent of Baghdad and made significant gains in Al Anbar and Babil provinces, temporarily displacing Coalition and Iraqi forces from numerous towns. A Coalition effort, Operation Together Forward, failed to stem the violence. A subsequent major offensive by Iraqi forces and their allies gradually recaptured districts. By late 2007, direct insurgent control of Baghdad had largely collapsed under sustained military pressure.
01 / The Origins
The battle emerged from a dramatic escalation of sectarian violence following the February 2006 bombing of the Askariya Mosque, a major Shia Muslim shrine in Samarra. The attack inflamed Sunni-Shia tensions across Iraq, triggering a civil war that concentrated in Baghdad. Insurgent groups exploited the chaos to seize territory throughout the capital, while Coalition and Iraqi security forces struggled to maintain order amid widespread communal conflict.
03 / The Outcome
By mid-2008, Iraqi forces and Coalition allies had secured most of Baghdad. A negotiated agreement with the Mahdi Army allowed government troops to enter and patrol Sadr City, the last major insurgent-held district. This effectively ended organized insurgent control of the capital, restored a degree of calm to central Iraq, and marked a turning point in the broader Iraqi government's effort to reassert authority over the country.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.