Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein

US troops captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein near his home town of Tikrit in a major coup for Washington's beleaguered occupation force in Iraq.

Here is a short chronology of events in Iraq since the war to topple Saddam started.

March 20 - US launches war against Iraq with selective strikes on Baghdad targeting "very senior" leadership.

April 9 - US forces sweep into Baghdad as Saddam Hussein's 24-year rule crumbles into chaos and looting. On May 1 US President George W Bush says major fighting in Iraq is over.

May 6 - Bush names former State Department counter terrorism chief Paul Bremer as the top civil administrator for Iraq.

May 11 - The US commander of coalition forces in Iraq tells Iraqis that Saddam's Baath Party is dissolved.

July 13 - A 25-member US-backed Iraqi Governing Council holds its inaugural meeting in Baghdad.

July 22 - US military confirms that Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a gun battle in Mosul.

Aug 7 - A truck bomb explodes outside the Jordanian embassy compound in Baghdad, killing at least 17 people.

Aug 19 - A massive truck bomb devastates the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Twenty-two people are killed including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top UN envoy to Iraq.

Aug 29 - A car bomb kills at least 83 Iraqis, including top Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim, at the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf.

Sept 1 - The Governing Council appoints 25 ministers to run the day-to-day work of ministries.

Sept 9 - The Governing Council takes a step towards international legitimacy after its delegate occupied Iraq's vacant seat at an Arab League ministerial meeting in Cairo.

Sept 21 - Iraq unveils sweeping reforms allowing foreign investors into all sectors except oil, ending 30 years of state economic control.

Sept 25 - Akila al-Hashemi, a member of the Governing Council, dies from wounds sustained in a gun attack on Sept 20.

Oct 12 - Iraq's oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum and his aide survive an assassination attempt in central Baghdad.

Oct 15 - Iraq adopts a new currency, banishing the face of Saddam. Oct 16 - The US-drafted Security Council resolution 1511 on Iraq's future is adopted unanimously despite misgivings.

Oct 24 - International donors pledge at least US$33 billion ($51.85 billion) in aid and loans over the next four years at a conference in Madrid to raise funds for Iraqi reconstruction.

The United Nations and World Bank have estimated that Iraq needs about US$56 billion to rebuild over that period.

Oct 27 - Bombers strike four times in Baghdad killing at least 35 people near a Red Cross building and three police stations. Some 230 people are wounded.

Nov 12 - A car bomb kills at least 28 people including 19 Italians in Nassiriya. Of the 19 Italians killed, 17 are military police, two civilians.

Nov 17 - US soldiers capture former Iraqi special forces officer and Fedayeen militia leader Kathim Mohammad Faris who is suspected of staging attacks on American troops in the "Sunni triangle" region around Baghdad.

Nov 22 - Suicide bombers detonate cars packed with explosives outside Baquba's police headquarters and a police station in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad killing at least 18.

Dec 9 - Citing national security reasons, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz rules that prime contracts to rebuild Iraq will exclude firms from nations such as France and Germany that opposed the war.

Dec 14 - US officials announce capture of Saddam.

- A car bomb rips through a police station in Khalidiyah in western Iraq, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq