January • 21 January –
US Central Command launches an operation to transfer up to 7,000
IS detainees from
Syria to Iraq. • 24 January – • The
Coordination Framework, which hold a majority in the
Council of Representatives, nominates former prime minister
Nouri al-Maliki to return to office, which he previously held between 2006 and 2014. • Academics and university staff begin an open ended
strike after the
Ministry of Finance announces cuts to their salaries. • 27 January –
2026 Iraqi presidential election.
February • 6 February – A man detonates an
explosive belt while being arrested, killing himself and injuring two
security forces members in al-Khaseem,
Al-Qa'im District. • 9 February – The National Security Service announces the execution of Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, a former major general during the
Saddam Hussein regime who had been convicted of crimes against humanity including the assassinations of cleric
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister,
Amina al-Sadr, in 1980. • 22 February –
Kuwait summons the Iraqi
chargé d'affaires in protest over the submission by Iraq of revised maps and maritime boundaries to the
United Nations. • 28 February – • Iraq closes its airspace after the
U.S. and Israel launch an attack on Iran. • At least two airstrikes targeting
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) headquarters in
Jurf al-Nasr kills two and injures eight militia members. •
Erbil International Airport is targeted twice with drone attacks, which were reportedly intercepted. • Four PMF members are killed in an unidentified airstrike targeting one of their headquarters in
Diyala Governorate. • A US
kamikaze drone falls without exploding on a farm in western Iraq. • 2 March – The US orders all non-emergency personnel and their families to evacuate Iraq alongside other countries in the region. • 3 March – • Iraq shuts down production at the
Rumaila oil field for lack of storage space as oil exports struggle to exit the
Strait of Hormuz. • An unidentified force, suspected to be American or Israeli, is spotted flying helicopters from Syria and landing in the
Najaf desert before being intercepted by Iraqi forces, resulting in a shootout that kills one and injures two Iraqi soldiers. • 4 March – A nationwide
blackout occurs with the
Ministry of Electricity saying the
power grid has gone down entirely, and that the cause is under investigation. • 5 March – Iraqi forces shoot down a drone that attempted to attack the United States Victoria airbase near Baghdad. • 6 March – •
U.S. Air Force helicopters launch
air-to-surface missiles at PMF positions near
Mosul. • Drones hit a hotel in
Erbil. • 7 March – The US embassy in Baghdad is targeted by rockets. • 9 March – A drone attack damages the
UAE's consulate in Erbil. • 10 March • Four members of the militant group
Kata'ib al-Imam Ali are killed in a US airstrike in
Dibis District,
Kirkuk Governorate. • Cardinal
Louis Raphaël I Sako, the head of the
Chaldean Catholic Church and the
Patriarch of Baghdad, retires at the age of 76. • 11 March – Two oil tankers are attacked near
Basra, resulting in authorities stopping all oil operations in the port. • 12 March – • At least 20 people are killed in an
airstrike targeting a building of the PMF in
Akashat. • The
Italian military base in
Erbil is struck by a missile, with no casualties of injuries reported. • A
French soldier is killed while six others are injured in a drone attack on their base in
Mala Qara,
Erbil Governorate. • A
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the US Air Force crashes in Iraq during refueling operations, killing all six crew members. • 14 March – • The
US embassy in Baghdad is hit by a missile strike. • The
Hungarian Defence Forces announces its withdrawal from its garrison in
Erbil airbase due to war. • 15 March – Iraqi militia groups use
FPV drones to attack a US military base near Baghdad International Airport. • 16 March – • Three PMF members are injured in an airstrike near the
Badush Dam in Mosul. • At least eight Iraqi soldiers and PMF member are killed in a suspected US attack on a checkpoint in
Al-Qaim near the
Iraq–Syria border. • At least four people are killed in an airstrike on a house in the
Al-Jadriya district of Baghdad, reportedly used as a headquarters by the PMF. • 19 March – Two PMF fighters are killed in airstrikes in
Nineveh and
Saladin Governorates. • 20 March – • Polish defence minister
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announces the withdrawal of
Polish forces from Iraq, stationed there as part of the
CJTF–OIR joint task force against the
Islamic State, citing the regional threat from Iran. • The headquarters of the National Intelligence Service in central Baghdad is targeted in a drone strike, killing one police officer. • 21 March – The
Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims responsibility for targeting 27
American military bases in Iraq and across the region over the past 24 hours. • 23 March –
Kata'ib Hezbollah says that it will extend its pause on strikes on the United States embassy in Baghdad for five more days. • 24 March – Fifteen PMF fighters, including a commander, are killed in a US airstrike on a PMF base in
Al Anbar Governorate. • 25 March – Seven fighters are killed and 13 others are injured in a strike on a PMF base in Al Anbar Governorate, the second strike on the same base in two consecutive days. • 31 March – American journalist
Shelly Kittleson is abducted in Baghdad.
April • April 1 – The
Iraq national football team wins against
Bolivia in the
2026 FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoffs in
Mexico, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. • April 3 – Pro-Iran supporters in
Baghdad gather to
protest against the
Iran war. • April 6 – Two people are killed in an Iranian drone strike on the village of Zarka Zoy in Darashakran District ,
Erbil Governorate. • April 7 –
Kata'ib Hezbollah announces the release of American journalist
Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped by gunmen in
Baghdad on 31 March, on condition that she leave Iraq. • April 10 – Iraqi airspace is opened to civilian flights after being closed for around 40 days. • April 11 –
2026 Iraqi presidential election:
Nizar Amidi is elected by parliament as the new president. • April 20 – The Rabia border crossing with Syria reopens for the first time since 2011. • April 27 – The Coordination Framework nominates
Ali al-Zaidi as their candidate for prime minister. ==Holidays==