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Almost 3000 people are killed in the attacks coordinated by Al Qaeda, a radical Islamic organization based in Afghanistan.
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US planes strike targets in Baghdad launching Operation Iraqi Freedom. American, British, Australian, and Polish troop commence the land invasion on 20 March.
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Former President of Iran Saddam Hussein is captured, ending his reign under a seven-year envasion.
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President George W. Bush announces that he will send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq as part of a shift in American military strategy.
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President Barack Obama announces that an additional 30,000 American troops will be sent to Afghanistan bringing US and NATO troop totals to more than 140,000.
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Osama Bin Laden is killed by American Special Forces in a surprise raid against his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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Washington PostOn Sept. 11, 2012, heavily armed Islamist militants launched an organized attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, setting fire to buildings before all U.S. personnel could escape or reinforcements could arrive.
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Isis seizes control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, then the day after the group takes Tikrit.
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Al-Baghdadi calls for all Muslims to gather to his new land and unite to “capture Rome” and own the world.
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Militants capture the city of Sinjar. They begin a massacre that culminates in the deaths of over 5,000 men from the Yazidi religious sect. Thousands of women are raped and sold into slavery. 200,000 Yazidi flee with as many as 50,000 becoming stranded on the Sinjar Mountains surrounded by ISIS.
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The CIA announces that Isis now has between 20,000 to 31,500 fighters.
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Libyan Isis militants release a video that appears to show the group beheading 21 Egyptian Christians.
