In March and April, 2003, a military coalition led by the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew the country's Ba'athist dictatorship under Saddam Hussein. Following the defeat of the Iraqi Army, Saddam and his sons, Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein went into hiding and became wanted fugitives by the occupying Coalition forces. Uday had been the founder and commander of the Fedayeen Saddam, a loyalist paramilitary organization that served as Saddam Hussein's personal guard, while Qusay had been a high-ranking member of the Iraqi Republican Guard.