The week in review

Key battlefield developments in Iraq during the last week:

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Sunday April 6

Sweep into Baghdad

North: A U.S. warplane accidentally bombs a convoy of Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces troops, killing 18 and injuring 45 others.

Central area:

U.S. troops capture one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. U.S. soldiers and Marines surround Baghdad.

South: British officials say Gen. Ali Hassan Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali” for his role in using poisonous gas to kill thousands of Kurds in 1988, is dead after an airstrike on his Basra home. British troops rolling toward the city’s center face minimal opposition.

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Monday April 7

Bombing Hussein

North: U.S. special operations forces destroy Iraqi armored vehicles and troop positions on the outskirts of Irbil and Kirkuk.

Central area: A U.S. B-1B bomber drops four bombs in the Mansour district of Baghdad, where Hussein and his two sons are believed to be meeting. U.S. forces continue to expand their presence in the city. The U.S. Central Command says all but about two dozen of Iraq’s more than 800 tanks have been destroyed.

South: As British control spreads throughout most of Basra, crowds take to the streets and loot government buildings. A body believed to be that of Iraqi Gen. Majid is found.

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Tuesday April 8

Securing Baghdad

North: U.S. warplanes continue to pound Iraqi defenses around Kirkuk, in hopes of weakening Iraqi positions.

Central area: U.S. forces broaden their hold on Baghdad, capturing a second airport and quelling counterattacks. Marines seize a prison where uniforms belonging to U.S. POWs are found. Three journalists are killed and others are injured by U.S. troops in separate attacks.

South: U.S. and British troops quash the last pocket of resistance in Basra, and say administrative control of the city soon will be turned over to civilians.

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Wednesday April 9

A statue toppled

North: Kurdish fighters, backed by U.S. warplanes, weaken Iraqi positions near Mosul and Kirkuk.

Central area: Symbolizing a falling regime, a 40-foot statue of Hussein is toppled by Iraqi civilians with the help of Marines. The statue’s head is broken off and dragged through the streets. As U.S. forces secure their hold on the city, many residents express joy at being freed of Hussein’s control. But U.S. troops still face sporadic resistance from Hussein loyalists. Looters take what they can from government buildings.

South: British troops report minimal resistance in Basra, but make protecting their troops a higher priority than restoring order amid widespread looting, much to the chagrin of some residents.

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Thursday April 10

Kirkuk falls

North: One day after Baghdad falls, the oil-rich city of Kirkuk is secured by U.S. and Kurdish forces. It is the first northern major city to fall. Seeing U.S. troops and Kurdish fighters sweeping toward them, Iraqi troops tear off their uniforms and flee.

Central area: Baghdad turns even more chaotic, with pillaging of buildings ranging from hospitals to government offices grows widespread. Some residents set up barricades, trying to protect their streets even though few private homes have been broken into. Four Marines suffer serious wounds in a suicide bombing in the Saddam City district.

South: Two Islamic leaders are killed at a meeting to decide who will care for the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites.

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Fri. & Sat. April 11 & April 12

Mosul falls

North: Iraq’s third-largest city, Mosul, falls without a fight to U.S.-led forces, cementing the allies’ hold on almost every major population center in the country.

Central area: In Baghdad, Iraqi police agree to join U.S. troops in trying to restore order. But it is too late to prevent at least 170,000 items from being stolen from the Iraq National Museum. Gen. Amir Saadi, Hussein’s top science advisor, surrenders to U.S. forces.

South: U.S. troops kill two children and wound nine other people when a car fails to stop at a checkpoint near Nasiriyah.

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Researched by Times graphics reporter Daryl Strickland