Editing History of Iraq (section)

=== Occupation (2003–11) ===
{{Main|Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)}}

[[File:Iraq 2003 occupation.png|thumb|250px|Occupation zones in Iraq in September 2003]]
In 2003, after the American and British invasion, Iraq was occupied by U.S.-led [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|Coalition forces]]. On 23 May 2003, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution lifting all economic sanctions against Iraq. As the country struggled to rebuild after three wars and a decade of sanctions, it was plagued by violence between a growing [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–11)|Iraqi insurgency]] and occupation forces. Saddam Hussein, who vanished in April, was captured on 13 December 2003 in [[ad-Dawr]], [[Saladin Governorate]].[[File:A U.S. Soldier searches an Iraqi boy before allowing him access to the Basra Operations Center during a Medical Civic Assistance Program in Basra, Iraq, March 7, 2011 110307-A-WO967-008.jpg|thumb|[[U.S. Army]] soldier searches an Iraqi boy, March 2011.]] [[Jay Garner]] was appointed Interim Civil Administrator with three deputies, including [[Tim Cross]]. Garner was replaced in May 2003 by [[Paul Bremer]], who was himself replaced by [[John Negroponte]] on 19 April 2004. Negroponte was the last US interim administrator and left Iraq in 2005. [[Iraqi parliamentary election, January 2005|A parliamentary election was held in January 2005]], followed by the drafting and ratification of [[Constitution of Iraq|a constitution]] and [[Iraqi parliamentary election, December 2005|a further parliamentary election in December 2005]].

Terrorism emerged as a threat to Iraq's people not long after the invasion of 2003. [[Al Qaeda]] now had a presence in the country, in the form of several terrorist groups formerly led by [[Abu Musab Al Zarqawi]]. Al Zarqawi was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a militant training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings and attacks during the Iraq war. Al Zarqawi was killed on 7 June 2006. Many foreign fighters and former Ba'ath Party officials also joined the insurgency, which was mainly aimed at attacking American forces and Iraqis who worked with them. The most dangerous insurgent area was the [[Sunni Triangle]], a mostly Sunni-Muslim area just north of Baghdad.

Reported acts of violence conducted by an uneasy tapestry of insurgents steadily increased by the end of 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gordon |first1=Michael R. |last2=Mazzetti |first2=Mark |last3=Shanker |first3=Thom |date=17 August 2006 |title=Bombs Aimed at G.I.'s in Iraq Are Increasing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/17/world/middleeast/17military.html |work=[[nytimes.com]] |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716055723/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/17/world/middleeast/17military.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Sunni jihadist forces including [[Al Qaeda in Iraq]] continued to target Shia civilians, notably in the 23 February 2006 attack on the [[Al Askari Mosque]] in [[Samarra]], one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites leading to a [[Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)|civil war]] between Sunni and Shia militants in Iraq. Analysis of the attack suggested that the [[Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq)|Mujahideen Shura Council]] and Al-Qaeda in Iraq were responsible, and that the motivation was to provoke further violence by outraging the Shia population.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022200454.html|title=Bombing Shatters Mosque In Iraq|first=Ellen Knickmeyer and K. I.|last=Ibrahim|date=23 February 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=3 December 2017|archive-date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214033507/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022200454.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In mid-October 2006, a statement was released stating that the Mujahideen Shura Council had been disbanded and was replaced by the "[[Islamic State of Iraq]]". It was formed to resist efforts by the U.S. and Iraqi authorities to win over Sunni supporters of the insurgency. Shia militias, some of whom were associated with elements in the Iraq government, reacted with reprisal acts against the Sunni minority. A cycle of violence thus ensued whereby Sunni insurgent attacks were followed reprisals by Shiite militias, often in the form of Shi'ite death squads that sought out and killed Sunnis. Following a surge in U.S. troops in 2007 and 2008, violence in Iraq began to decrease. The U.S. ended their main military presence in 2011, however, resulting in [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)|renewed escalation into war]].<ref name="reuters 2011">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-withdrawal-idUSTRE7BH03320111218 |title=Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war |work=Reuters |date=18 December 2011 |access-date=12 August 2014 |author=Logan, Joseph |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525214722/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-withdrawal-idUSTRE7BH03320111218 |url-status=live }}</ref>