Since US President George W. Bush signalled the end of major hostilities on May 1 2003, Iraq has worked to establish stability as death tolls have continued to rise and tensions have escalated between the majority Shia population and the once-dominant Sunnis.

FT.com looks at major events on Iraq’s road to form a democratic government since the war officially ended.

April 8 2008 - Gen David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, recommends that the Pentagon should pause troop reductions for at least 45 days after the forces that form the so-called surge leave the country in the summer.