The OIF GenerationA field guide to the Iraq War and the generation that fought it
Battles and Operations

Baghdad and the Thunder Runs, April 2003

Firdos Square, Baghdad, April 9, 2003.
Firdos Square, Baghdad, April 9, 2003. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lt. Tim McLaughlin (public domain)
Dates: April 3–9, 2003. Lead U.S. unit: 3rd Infantry Division. Key events: airport seized April 3; Thunder Runs April 5 and 7; Firdos Square, April 9.

The airport

On the morning of April 3, U.S. forces seized Saddam International Airport on Baghdad's western edge, soon renamed Baghdad International Airport.

The Thunder Runs

Rather than besiege the city, commanders tested its defenses with armored raids. On April 5, a battalion task force of the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade drove tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles through the city to the airport. On April 7, the brigade drove into the heart of Baghdad and stayed, seizing government palaces.

The fall

On April 9, the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was pulled down, an image broadcast worldwide. Coalition forces entered Kirkuk on April 10 and Tikrit on April 15.

Aftermath

Looting and the collapse of public order followed the fall of the regime, challenges that would shape the occupation.