2003:

  April 28: U.S. soldiers fire on anti-American demonstration outside school, killing 16 protesters and bystanders.

  Nov. 2: Chinook helicopter shot down near Fallujah, killing 16 soldiers and wounding 26.

  

2004:

  Jan. 8: Black Hawk medevac helicopter, possibly hit by rocket, crashes near Fallujah, killing nine soldiers.

  Feb. 14: Insurgent assault on police station kills 25 people in Fallujah, most of them policemen.

  March 31: Four private security employees ambushed and killed in Fallujah, their bodies hung on bridge. U.S. Marines later attack city but call off assault under intense political pressure from Iraqis and city falls under insurgent control.

  Nov. 8: U.S. forces launch major assault in Fallujah using ground troops, tanks and aircraft, wresting back control in most intense urban combat of war.

  

2005:

  Dec. 1: Roadside bomb kills 10 Marines on foot patrol, wounds 11 near Fallujah.

  May: Sixteen American security guards jailed by Marines in Fallujah after allegedly firing on U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians. Guards sent back to U.S.; none charged.

  

2006:

  September: Tribal leaders and clerics hold series of meetings to establish Anbar Salvation Council with 20,000 volunteers to fight al-Qaeda.

  

2007:

  Jan. 10: President Bush says more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops being sent to Baghdad and Anbar.

  Jan. 28: Suicide bomber driving dump truck filled with explosives and toxic chlorine gas strikes quick reaction force and Iraqi police in Ramadi, killing 16 people.

  Feb. 7: Marine CH-46 helicopter shot down by insurgents, killing all seven people on board.

  Feb. 22: U.S. troops find car bomb factory with propane and chlorine.

  April 6: Suicide bomber driving truck loaded with TNT and chlorine crashes into police checkpoint in Ramadi, killing at least 27 people and wounding dozens.

  Sept. 13: Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded revolt against al-Qaeda in Anbar, dies when bomb explodes near Ramadi home only days after he met with President Bush.

  

2008:

  June 27: Handover ceremony for Anbar delayed after forecast of sandstorms. Later becomes clear also put off due to worries over political squabbling among Sunni camps in Anbar.

  Sept. 1: U.S. military hands Anbar over to Iraqis, 11th of 18 provinces to switch from U.S. to Iraqi control.