Secret Iraq

The series has gained access to Iraqi insurgents who speak about their operations against coalition forces, and the motives which drove them. To gain access to insurgents the film makers worked in some of the most dangerous trouble spots in Iraq, including Fallujah - where pitched battles took place between US forces and insurgents - and Mahmoudiya, the insurgent stronghold, as well as in Basra, the capital of what was until 2009 the British-controlled South of Iraq.

The film picks up the story of Iraq after Saddam in the third year of occupation. Evidence suggests that the coalition knew the Iraqi government and police force it had created were deeply involved in sectarian killing that cost tens of thousands of Sunni and Shia Iraqis their lives. A senior US commander reveals the secret report he wrote and describes the actions of Iraqi politicians as war crimes. Insurgents and others who were close to Al Qaeda explain how the organisation thrived in the chaos and soon controlled large swathes of Iraq.