Battle of Baghdad (2003)

Belligerents

• United States
• United Kingdom

IraqCommanders and leadersGeorge W. Bush
Tommy Franks
David D. McKiernan
Tony Blair
Brian BurridgeSaddam Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Saif Al-Din Al-Rawi
Ra'ad al-HamdaniStrength 30,000 45,000Casualties and losses 34 killed
1 A-10 Thunderbolt II shot down
2 Abrams tanks destroyed
17 vehicles destroyed 1,700–2,120 killed (independent estimate)
2,320 killed (U.S. military estimate)

The Battle of Baghdad (Arabic: مَعْرَكَةُ بَغْدَاد, romanized: Maʿrakatu baghdād), also known as the Fall of Baghdad (Arabic: سُقُوطُ بَغْدَاد, romanized: suqūṭu baghdād), was a military engagement that took place in Baghdad in early April 2003, as part of the invasion of Iraq.

Three weeks into the invasion of Iraq, Coalition Forces Land Component Command elements, led by the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division, captured Baghdad. Over 2,000 Iraqi soldiers as well as 34 coalition troops were killed in the battle. After the fall of Baghdad, Coalition forces entered the city of Kirkuk on April 10 and Tikrit on April 15, 2003. The United States officially declared victory against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein on April 15, and President George W. Bush gave his Mission Accomplished speech on May 1.

Baghdad suffered serious damage to its civilian infrastructure, economy, and cultural inheritance from the battle and following unrest, including looting and arson.