This is a timeline of events during the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) in 2021.

Chronology

January 17, 2021 - An IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle in a village north of Tal Afar, about 60 km west of Mosul. Lieutenant Colonel Haidar Adel Mohammad, an Iraqi army foj commander, was killed. In addition, eight soldiers were killed, as well as the mukhtar of one of the nearby villages. According to ISIS, he was an Iraqi army collaborator. January 21, 2021 - The 2021 Baghdad bombings took place, killing at least 34 people (including the two attackers) and injuring 110 of those 36 are being treated in hospitals. ISIS is suspected of carrying out the attack. This was the first major deadly terrorist attack in the city since January 2018. January 22, 2021 - ISIS targeted an Iraqi army compound with machine gun fire about 70 km south of Kirkuk. Two soldiers were killed. January 23, 2021 - At least 11 fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) militias, were killed in an ambush by ISIS in Saladin Province. January 24, 2021 - Iraq's president, Barham Salih, ratified 340 death sentences of arrested ISIS militants and affiliates. January 27, 2021 - 11 ISIS fighters including three leaders, one of them Abu Yasser al-Issawi, were killed in a counter-terrorism operation in Al-Chai Valley, southern Kirkuk. January 29, 2021 - an Iraqi policeman was targeted by machine gun fire on the Kirkuk-Tikrit road. He was killed. An Iraqi police assistance force arriving at the scene was targeted by RPG rockets and machine gun fire. Several policemen were killed or wounded. Six vehicles were put out of commission. January 30, 2021 - an Iraqi army force killed Muthanna Shataran al-Marawi, ISIS's military commander in charge of the Al-Rutba region, in western Iraq.

February February 1, 2021 - British Royal Air Force carry out airstrikes against ISIS sleeper cells. An IED was activated against an Iraqi police vehicle near a village about 70 km southwest of Kirkuk. Two policemen were killed. February 2, 2021 - 5 members of the PMF were killed by IS militants in a clash in Diyala province. ISIS operatives fired machine guns and RPG rockets at an Iraqi army position west of Tuz Khormato, about 100 km northeast of Samarra. Two soldiers were killed and another was wounded. In addition, ISIS operatives fired machine guns at a Popular Mobilization camp in the Karmah region, about 20 km northeast of Fallujah. A Popular Mobilization fighter was killed and another was wounded. February 4, 2021 - ISIS operatives attacked an Iraqi army force west of Khanaqin. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded. February 5, 2021 - At least one soldier was killed and two wounded in an ISIS attack that targeted Iraqi security forces in northern Kirkuk province. In addition, ISIS operatives fired at an Iraqi police camp about 30 km south of Kirkuk. One policeman was killed and three others were wounded. February 6, 2021 - ISIS operatives fired machine guns at an Iraqi army force that tried to ambush them about 20 km south of Fallujah. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded. February 10, 2021 - Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the Iraqi Army forces in the eastern province of Diyala, killing at least one soldier. February 11, 2021 - an Iraqi police compound was targeted by machine guns south of Daquq, in southern Kirkuk. Four policemen were killed and three others were wounded. February 13, 2021 - an Iraqi soldier was targeted by machine gun fire north of Jalula, about 75 km northeast of Baqubah. The soldier was killed. A thermal camera was destroyed. February 15, 2021 - an IED was activated against an Iraqi army force in the southern Daquq area, about 70 km south of Kirkuk. One soldier was killed and several others were wounded. The Iraqi Air Force also attacked ISIS targets in the province of Diyala. At least five ISIS operatives were reportedly killed. February 17, 2021 - an Iraqi army compound west of Tuz Khormato, about 100 km northeast of Samarra, was targeted by machine gun fire and RPG rockets. Two soldiers were killed. February 18, 2021 - the Popular Mobilization Forces announced that three of its members were killed and 5 were wounded in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) in the outskirts of Khanaqin district in Diyala. February 20, 2021 - the government-backed Popular Mobilization Forces killed two ISIS leaders in an operation in the Tarmiyah area around 30 kilometers north of Baghdad, afterwards clashes erupted between the two sides in the same area, leaving three Popular Mobilization Forces members killed and two others wounded while three ISIS members were killed. On the same day a roadside bomb planted by ISIS members exploded near a Popular Mobilization Forces vehicle in Jurf al-Sakhar around 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, killing a paramilitary member and wounding two others. February 28, 2021 - Eight Iraqi soldiers and Tribal Mobilization fighters were killed and at least 7 more wounded after ISIS militants set off a car bomb in tha Haditha area of Anbar province, close to the Syria-Iraqi border. On the same day, a PMF vehicle was targeted with gunfire in the Kanaan area. Three PMF fighters were killed and the vehicle was destroyed. Two Iraqi soldiers were also targeted by gunfire in the Tarmiyah area, killing one soldier and wounding the other. February 29, 2021 - A soldier and four tribal fighters were killed and four others were injured in a bombing as they were carrying out a search operation in al-Madham, 80 kilometers west of Haditha.

March March 3, 2021 - An IED exploded, targeting Iraqi soldiers in the Hamrin area. The blast killed one soldier. An Iraqi army camp was also targeted in the Mashahida area, resulting in the death of 1 soldier. March 5, 2021 - 5 Iraqi policemen were killed and another 5 were wounded after IS attacked police checkpoints in the Mutaybijah area. March 8, 2021 - 1 Iraqi army captain was killed in a gunfight in northern Baghdad and another civilian was killed and 8 injured in a separate attack as a person threw a grenade at them in Baghdad. On the same day, 8 ISIS militants were arrested in three provinces. March 9, 2021 - Airstrikes destroyed a site containing 10 ISIS militants in Nineveh province in northern Iraq. Iraqi security forces also killed two ISIS militants. March 10, 2021 - British RAF jets conducted airstrikes on IS held caves west of Erbil, northern Iraq. Two caves were successfully destroyed. March 11, 2021 - One Iraqi soldier was killed after he was targeted by machine gun fire in the outskirts of Miqdadiya. March 11, 2021 - Two Iraqi soldiers were killed after an army outpost was attacked south of Daquq. March 12, 2021 - IS militants dressed in military uniforms massacred 7 members of the same family in the village of Albu Daur, south of Tikrit in Salah ad-Din province. March 13, 2021 - One Iraqi policeman was killed and another was wounded after an armed attack on a police post in the Riyad area, southwest of Kirkuk. On the same day, Iraqi army personnel attacked IS militants travelling over the Syrian-Iraqi border. The militants eventually fled to Syria after an exchange of fire that left one Iraqi soldier dead. March 14, 2021 - IS militants killed a Tribal PMF member and his daughter after they stormed their house in Tarimiya district, north of Baghdad. March 15, 2021 - One Iraqi soldier was killed and another was wounded after IS militants activated an IED targeting an Iraqi army foot patrol in the Al-Ghaith area. March 18, 2021 - ISIS ambushed a PMF convoy near the Samarra area. Six PMF fighters were killed in the exchange of fire. Another PMF fighter was also killed and two policemen were wounded by gunfire in a separate incident in the Rashad area, near Kirkuk. March 20, 2021 - Two Shi’ite civilians were abducted and executed by ISIS fighters in the Abarah area. March 22, 2021 - The coalition announces that it has conducted 133 airstrikes against ISIL over the past ten days in Iraq destroying 61 hideouts, 24 caves and killing dozens of ISIL militants with Iraqi forces leading the ground effort. March 24, 2021 - An Iraqi army camp was attacked by IS militants west of Tuz Khormato. The attack left 1 Iraqi soldier dead and 2 more wounded. March 26, 2021 - The Iraqi government announced that fortifications, including thermal cameras and control towers, have been installed along the Iraqi-Syrian border to prevent the infiltration of ISIS from neighboring Syria which comes as ISIS militants have stepped up their attacks in 2021. On the same day ISIL forces detonated an IED targeting PMF forces in the Saadiya region, leaving one PMF fighter dead and three others wounded. March 29, 2021 - the PMF announced that the commander of the 314th PMF Brigade and a member of the 315th PMF Brigade were both killed after clashing with militants in an anti-ISIL operation in the Samarra area.

April April 1, 2021 - The coalition destroyed a cave killing an ISIS militant in Therthar valley between Saladin and Anbar Governorate, meanwhile, Iraqi forces found 60 IEDs belonged to ISIS in Kirkuk Governorate. April 5, 2021 - An Iraqi policeman was killed after an IS attack on a police outpost in the Riyad region, near Kirkuk. April 7, 2021 - Iraq announces that it has killed 34 ISIS militants and arrested 99 during a 3-month long operation against the terrorist group around the country. 60 ISIS militants were also killed in a 10-day long operation near the town of Makhmur in northern Iraq. April 10, 2021 - An Iraqi policeman was killed in Daquq after ISIL militants targeted a police outpost. April 11, 2021 - a Tribal Mobilization outpost was targeted by ISIL gunfire in southern Daquq, in the southern part of Kirkuk. One fighter was killed and another was wounded. April 12, 2021 - Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 2 more were wounded after an IED exploded in the Kara Tapa area. An Iraqi intelligence operative was also assassinated near Tarmiyah. April 13, 2021 - Three Iraqi policemen were killed and another wounded after ISIL operatives attacked their camp in the Daquq area. April 14, 2021 - A Turkish soldier was killed after rockets were fired at a Turkish military base in Iraq's north Bashiqa region. April 15, 2021 - Two joint Iraqi-PMF camps were attacked by ISIS operatives in the Tuz Khormato region, leaving three soldiers dead. April 16, 2021 - Four Iraqi soldiers were killed after IS militants attacked three joint Iraqi-PMF army camps near the Al-Haliwa airport, south of Kirkuk. An Iraqi army camp was also attacked near Al-Kayf, killing two Iraqi soldiers. Furthermore, an Iraqi police camp was also targeted by gunfire in the Riyad region, killing two policemen. April 19, 2021 - Two army camps south of the Al-Azim area, were targeted by IS gunfire. Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and an officer and a soldier were wounded. IS militants also destroyed 40 generators and transformers used by Tribal Mobilisation forces. April 20, 2021 - Houses of Shiite residents were targeted by gunfire about 90 km northeast of Baqubah. One resident was killed, and four houses and two cars were set on fire. An Iraqi army patrol arriving on the scene to provide assistance was targeted by an IED and gunfire. Three soldiers were killed and two officers and another soldier were wounded. ISIL later posted images of the events on their telegram. April 22, 2021 - An IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle in the Al-Waqf region, northwest of Baqubah. One soldier was killed and three others were wounded. An Iraqi police patrol that arrived on the scene was targeted by gunfire and also hit by an IED. Six policemen, including an officer, were killed, and two others were wounded. Two Iraqi policemen were also killed after militants attacked an Iraq police camp Al-Sous, south of Kirkuk.