A local sheikh arrives to receive instructions on how to carry out guerilla war in the provinces at the beginning of the Iraq War. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

Members of the ruling Baath Party watch TV during a sandstorm downtown Baghdad, at the start of the Iraq War. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

Residents of Baghdad look to the sky for signs of a US plane at the beginning of the Iraq War. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

The ruins of a house destroyed by a US led rocket attack in the north of Baghdad. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

Ali Ismail (12), is tended to by a distant relative in the Al-Kindy hospital in downtown Baghdad, unaware that the rocket blast, which mutilated him, killed both his parents, his brother, and 11 other relatives in the Jisser Diala neighborhood in the southern outskirts of Baghdad. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

A cemetery worker carries a reusable coffin to the storage house after the funeral of a woman killed in a rocket blast in Baghdad at the beginning of the Iraq War. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

A boy looks in amazement at a painted Barbie Doll picture on a wardrobe door, looted by his father from the villa of Saddam Hussein's step-brother Watban Al-Hassan in Baghdad. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

US soldiers from the 22nd infantry battalion with the body of a Fedayeen killed in a firefight during a night patrol in Tikrit during the Iraq War. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

US Army soldiers, belonging to the 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division speak to the family of Adnan Abdullah Abid Al Musslit, who, according to the army, was one of Saddam Hussein's most important bodyguards, after he was taken into custody in his home in the city of Tikrit. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

Citizens of Saddam's ancestral town Tikrit bury the bodies of the toppled Iraqi leader's sons Uday and Qusay, and of Qusay's son Mustafa, who were killed in a gun battle in the city of Mosul in July. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

A journalist climbs out of the hole where Saddam Hussein was discovered hiding out. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

In a former palace of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, a US soldier prays during a commemoration for the victims of the 9/11 attacks two years previously. A long, ongoing stand-off with Iraq came to a head when a coalition of British and American forces attacked the country; the initial offensive comprised a pre-dawn bombing raid on Baghdad on March 20. This was followed by an advance of ground troops across the south of the country, and an extensive 'shock and awe' bombing campaign on the capital and other strategic cities. The Americans said they targeted sites identified as having military significance, or as possibly sheltering the Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein. By April 9, US forces had reached central Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's grip on the city was broken, but he and leading members of the ruling Baath Party had disappeared - the Iraqi leader would not be captured until December 14. The Americans abolished the Baath party and established an interim Governing Council (IGC), which received cautious backing from the UN Security Council.

Portraits,1st prize