Events in the year 2008 in Iraq.
Incumbents
President: Jalal Talabani
Prime Minister: Nouri al-Maliki
Vice President: Tariq al-Hashimi, Adil Abdul-Mahdi
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (autonomous region) President: Massoud Barzani Prime Minister: Barham Salih Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President: Massoud Barzani Prime Minister: Nechervan Barzani
Events
January
1 January – A suicide bomber kills more than 30 people and injures 32 in an attack in Baghdad. The blast is targeted at mourners at the funeral of a Shia army officer, Nabil Hussein Jassim, who had himself been killed by a car bombing in central Baghdad three days earlier. 7 January – A double bombing in Baghdad kills at least 14 people, including Riyadh Samarrai, leader of the US-backed Adhamiya Awakening group, which fights al-Qaeda in Sunni areas of the city. 8 January – Operation Phantom Phoenix begins in an attempt to hunt down the remaining 200 al-Qaeda extremists in the province of Diyala following the end of the previous offensive. The operation also includes targeting insurgent elements in Salah ad-Din province. Nine Americans and up to 30 insurgents are killed in the first two days of fighting. 9 January – One of the largest surveys to date of Iraqi casualties of violence since the US-led invasion in 2003 is released and reports that around 151,000 Iraqis have died. The study by the Iraq Family Health Survey Study Group involved a survey of Iraqi homes and estimated the number of violent deaths at 151,000 (with a 95% uncertainty range of 104,000 to 223,000) for the period March 2003 through June 2006. 10 January – Continuing offensives as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix saw over 18,000 kg (40,000 lb) of explosives dropped by two USAF B-1 Lancers and four F-16 fighter aircraft on al-Qaeda positions in the Arab Jabour area of Baghdad. 11 January – Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time in over 50 years. Thawing on contact with the ground, the snow failed to settle, although residents gathered in the streets to watch the flurries. Anecdotal evidence suggests snow may have fallen in northern parts of the city 40 years ago however the 2008 snowfall is thought to be the first in living memory. 13 January – The Federal government of Iraq announces the passing of a law which will allow former members of the Baath Party to take up military and civil service positions. Following the cessation of formal hostilities in 2003 the US-led administration under Paul Bremer had prohibited former Baath members from holding positions. The new law, aimed at reconciliation, offers an amnesty in respect of Baath party members whose re-appointment is not resisted following a three-month review period. Pensions may also be offered to former officials regardless of whether they take up new positions. 14 January – A senior Iraq Appeals Court judge is assassinated in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Jawdat Naeib was shot (along with his driver) when his car was ambushed. He was also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, the body which supervises and nominates members of the judiciary in Iraq. 15 January – United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice visits Baghdad meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari. 16 January – A suicide bomber blows herself up near a Shia mosque in Khan Bani Saad, a town south of Baqubah, the capital of Diyala Governorate. 11 people were killed and eighteen others wounded in the attack. 17 January – The International Monetary Fund and the United Nations release reports suggesting Iraq is facing a period of economic growth and a stabilising political process. The IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, said GDP growth may exceed 7% in 2008 and hold at between 7% and 8% in 2009 (in each case dependent on continuing oil production). Meanwhile, the UN praised political reconciliation efforts exemplified by the new laws regarding former Baathists returning to public employment. 22 January – The parliament of Iraq approves a new flag for the country. The new design no longer has the three green stars of the old flag, which represented the ideals of the Baath Party. 24 January – A suicide bomber kills a high-ranking police chief and two other police officers in Mosul at the site of an explosion that had killed at least 34 people and wounded at least 217 the day before. Brigadier General Salah Mohammed al-Jubouri, the director of police for Ninawa Governorate, was inspecting the scene of Wednesday's blast when gunmen ambushed his convoy.