Since Saddam Hussein took power in 1979, Iraq has been through three murderous wars, a series of bloody repressions, including those of the Kurds and Shi'ites, and a trade embargo lasting over ten years. In April 2003, a coalition led by the United States and the United Kingdom toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. A string of terrorist attacks and political crises ensued and between 2003 and 2012, 250,000 civilians were affected by armed violence. Another armed conflict between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State Movement began in 2013 and ended in December 2017.
Iraq is one of the world’s most severely contaminated countries by mines and explosive remnants of war.
