10-Year Iraq War Timeline

March 19, 2013 -- intro: On the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, here's a look back at pivotal moments of the war, from the capture of former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein to the prison scandal of Abu Ghraib.

RELATED: Lingering Questions 10 Years On

quicklist:1title: Congress Authorizes Iraq War category: Oct. 2, 2002text: On Oct. 2, President George W. Bush announced the introduction of the Joint Resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Congress came to an agreement on U.S. involvement in Iraq later that month and Bush signed the bill Oct. 16. This bill ultimately gave Bush the authorization to use force as he deemed necessary.

See More: Storify: A Look Back On The Iraq War

"In Baghdad, the regime will note that full compliance with all U.N. security demands is the only choice," Bush read in the Rose Garden after Congress's decision. "And the time remaining for that choice is limited."

What ensued was a nine-year combat engagement that cost more than 4,400 U.S. lives and more than $728.4. billion in direct appropriations.

media: 11239238

quicklist:2title: Combat Beginscategory: March 19, 2003text: President Bush announces the United States will invade Iraq. Military strikes began against targeted members of Saddam Hussein's regime. Two days earlier, Bush issued an ultimatum to Hussein to step down as leader of the country, but the deadline for Hussein to step down came and went.

media: 9098587

quicklist: 3title: Saddam Hussein Iraq Airport Overtakencategory: April 3, 2003text: The U.S. troops faced almost no military opposition as they took over the Saddam International Airport. The U.S. military's strategy for taking over Baghdad was to isolate it from the rest of the country.

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings called it a "tremendous psychological impact" on the Iraqi psyche and regime.

media: 9931117

quicklist:4title: Hussein's Regime Toppledcategory: April 9, 2003text: With the symbolic toppling of a statue of Hussein came the toppling of an era in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime officially collapsed in April 2003 as the U.S. military and its allies gained control of certain areas in Iraq's capital after days of fighting.

Troops were greeted by smiling and waving citizens who thanked the U.S. government for fighting against Hussein's regime.

media: 9957542

quicklist:5title: George W. Bush Says 'Mission Accomplished'category: May 1, 2003text: Bush lands on the USS Abraham Lincoln and states that the mission in Iraq has been accomplished as "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." He said U.S. allies and troops had prevailed but did not say that the United States had yet won the war.

But the battles continued. A grenade attack wounded seven U.S. soldiers in Fallujah earlier in the week Bush announced the end to major combat operations.

media: 9099537

quicklist: 6title: Saddam Hussein Capturedcategory: Dec. 14, 2003

text: After nine months of hiding, Saddam Hussein was captured by the United States in a "spider hole" next to a farmhouse 15 miles from his hometown of Tikrit. Hussein reportedly surrendered without a fight. Iraqi citizens celebrated in streets across the country. There were no shots fired or injuries sustained during the capture. About $750,000 and two AK-47 rifles were found on the scene. Hussein was later taken into custody and given medical attention but was described as "disoriented" and "haggard."

media: 12346812

quicklist: 7title: Fierce Fighting in Fallujahcategory: Nov. 10, 2004text: The city of Fallujah became a flashpoint of the growing Iraqi insurgency after four U.S. contractors were killed following an ambush. Their burned bodies were hung from a bridge in March 2004. U.S. forces fought to gain control over the insurgent-filled city, ultimately turning control over to Iraqi forces. But the city became a haven for insurgents, many of them foreign fighters, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. U.S. Marines launched an offensive in November. It was ultimately successful but 95 American troops were killed. Fallujah is remembered as the biggest battle of the war and the bloodiest for U.S. forces since the Vietnam War.

media: 9116262

Read More: Marines Search Fallujah for Insurgents and Weapons

quicklist: 8title: Saddam Hussein's Sons Killedcategory: July 22, 2003text: Uday and Qusay Hussein were captured and killed July 22, 2003. A regional tribal leader, Sheikh Nawaf al-Zaydan Muhammad, tipped off U.S. troops about the brothers' hideout location in Mosul, Iraq. The brothers were using his villa as shelter.

An intense, six-hour fight ensued as troops swarmed the villa. Resistance from inside the building was fierce, prompting U.S. forces to use antitank missiles, rockets and gunfire. At the time, the capture of Hussein's sons was the most successful U.S. operation in Iraq.

Al-Zaydan earned a $30 million reward from the Pentagon, $15 million for each son. His villa was destroyed as a result of the fight.

media: 9105902

quicklist: 9 title: Abu Ghraib Prison Scandalcategory: April 2004text: In April 2004, the now infamous photographic evidence of torture practices in Abu Ghraib prison surfaced. Photos of Iraqi prisoners wearing hoods while being positioned in humiliating poses brought on a mass worldwide outrage at U.S. practices in Iraq. Responses to the evidence in Middle Eastern countries were overwhelmingly negative.

The Bush Administration maintained that the practices shown in the photos were the actions of a few bad apples and were not indicative of U.S. policy in the region. The soldiers involved in the documented torture practices were either convicted in military court proceedings or removed from duty.

media: 9120643

quicklist: 10title: Haditha Killingscategory: Nov. 19, 2005 text: Twenty-four Iraqi civilians are shot and killed in their homes by a squad of Marines in the rural town of Haditha. The Marines had allegedly entered the homes looking for those responsible for a roadside blast that had killed one of their own as they drove in a convoy. Eight Marines were initially charged for their involvement in the shootings, but seven had their charges dropped or dismissed. In January 2012, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich accepted a plea deal for leading the Marines squad into the houses. Wuterich was found guilty of a single count of negligent dereliction of duty and was reduced in rank to a private, but avoided jail time.

media: 15439234

quicklist: 11title: Bob Woodruff, Cameraman Injuredcategory: Jan. 29, 2006text: On Jan. 29, 2006, ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff was reporting from Iraq when he and cameraman Doug Vogt were injured in a roadside bomb explosion. Both men suffered head injuries and had serious wounds on their upper bodies.

Woodruff and Vogt were rushed to a U.S. military hospital in Iraq where they underwent surgery before being transferred to another hospital in Germany.

Following his recovery, Woodruff turned his experience into an in-depth look at how military personnel deal with life-altering war injuries.

media: 1553996

Photo Story: Baghdad Since Invasion

quicklist: 12title: Samarra Shrine Bombedcategory: Feb. 22, 2006 text: On Feb. 26, 2006, a bomb completely destroyed one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines, the iconic golden dome of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, Iraq, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

In response to the attack on the Shrine, Shiite militia members crowded the streets, launching grenades and firing shots with machine guns at Sunni mosques. Twenty-seven Sunni mosques were destroyed and at least 15 people were dead, but the violence was a sign of things to come as the bombing ignited the sectarian killings between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis that dominated Iraq for several years.

media: 18758678

quicklist: 13title: Bush Announces Plan for Troop Surgecategory: Jan. 10, 2007text: President George W. Bush announces a "surge" of 20,000 additional U.S. troops to provide greater security in Baghdad and surrounding areas. To facilitate the arrival of the troops in the following six months, many Army soldiers and Marines saw their tours of duty extended. Bush said the surge would aim to teach Iraqis how to govern themselves and secure their local populations.

media: 4294011

quicklist: 14title: Martha Raddatz Publishes Book on Iraq Warcategory: January 2, 2008text: Martha Raddatz's book" The Long Road Home" is published. The book tells the story of a group of soldiers from the Army's First Cavalry Division who survived a surprise attack in Sadr City April 4, 2004. Eight soldiers died and more than 70 were wounded in the battle, which showed that the Iraqi insurgency was growing. The book also told the story of the battle from the perspective of their families back home at Fort Hood, Texas.

media: 2926509

quicklist: 15title: Condoleezza Rice Says Bush Advisers Were 'Hawkish'category: October 2011text: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos about her time in the Bush Administration. Rice said much of the staff surrounding President Bush at the time of the Iraq War was "very, very hawkish" and "determined to drive policy from the vice president's office."

Rice also said she and Vice President Dick Cheney clashed over a number of policy decisions, including detainee treatment measures. Additionally, the former secretary of state said the Department of Defense did not "execute at critical times" in reference to key issues in Iraq.

media: 14853914

quicklist: 16title: Final U.S. Troops Leave Iraqcategory: December 2011text: In December 2011, after nearly nine years of combat, the last brigades of U.S. troops left Iraq, bringing an end to the Iraq War. In its conclusion, the war lasted longer than the Vietnam War and involved more than 1.5 million military personnel. The war also claimed the lives of 4,488 U.S. soldiers and left 32,226 wounded. In total, more than $700 billion was spent on financing the Iraq War.

Despite the Iraq War's official conclusion, fears of sectarian violence persist, leading to a sizeable presence of security contractors to protect U.S. State Department personnel.

media: 15160333

quicklist: 17title: Obama Speaks About Troop Withdrawalcategory: Dec. 15, 2011text: On Dec. 15, 2011, President Obama thanked returning soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., for their service in the Iraq War. The president also thanked the families of service members for their continued support and service for the duration of the war.

"The last tactical road march out of Iraq will be a symbol, and [the remaining soldiers] are going to be a part of history," President Obama said. "As your commander in chief, I can tell you it will indeed be a part of history."

media: 15154657

Read More: Last U.S. Troops Leave Iraq, Ending Bloodiest U.S. War Since Vietnam