Iraq marks 10th anniversary of US-led invasion amid violence

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and Iraq’s infrastructure was destroyed following the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation of the country.
Iraq is marking the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion as the country grapples with escalating violence.

The Wednesday commemorations come a day after a spate of deadly bombings and gun attacks left over 60 people dead in the country.

On March 19, 2003, US-led forces invaded Iraq under the pretext of wiping out the stocks of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) belonging to the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. However, no such weapons were ever discovered in the country.

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and Iraq’s infrastructure was destroyed following the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation of the country.

According to a report published by the Guardian on March 6, the clean-up of depleted uranium (DU) contamination across Iraq, which has been spread by the US military during the invasion and occupation of the country, would cost at least USD 30 million.

Iraq’s Health Ministry has also reported an increase in cancer cases and birth defects linked to DU exposure in the country.

Ahead of the anniversary, brutal unrest has spiked in Iraq with more than 100 people killed over the past week.

On Tuesday, deadly attacks carried out in Shia-populated neighborhoods of the capital, Baghdad, claimed at least 65 lives and injured 200 others.