[1/5] A general view of Tahrir square as demonstrators take part during the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq November 5, 2019.
Here is a look at some of the violence, including suicide bombings and beheadings, that has plagued Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and key U.S. ally, since the 2003 war.
* March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein.
* October 2004 - Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi starts waging bloody attacks designed to turn majority Shi’ite Muslims against minority Sunnis in a civil war.
* January 2007 - Bush announces a new war strategy including a “surge” of U.S. troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency.