Plaque commemorating the completion of Qadisiyah AB in 1987
The sprawling base is located within the districts of Haditha and Hīt of the largely Sunni Al Anbar Governorate, about 100 miles (160km) west of Baghdad and 5 miles (8.0km) west of the village of Khan al-Baghdadi.
The airbase is divided by Wādī al Asadī (وادي الاسدي), a wadi whose course passes through the oasis along the base's western edge and then continues eastward, emptying into the Euphrates River at Khan al Baghdadi. This oasis is locally referred to as "Abraham's Well".
The ‘Ayn al Asad spring surfaces within the base and flows into the Wādī al Asadī.
Geologically, the base resides in the Al-Ḥammād sector of the Syrian Desert, composed mostly of a rock and gravel steppe.
History
A haboob engulfs Al Asad in 2005.A U.S. Navy SEAL team helps secure the airfield as Air Force One lands at Al Asad with President George W. Bush on board, Sept. 3, 2007.Ballistic missile damage to a hangar at Al Asad, January 2020
Qadisiyah Airbase
The base was originally named Qadisiyah Airbase (قاعدة القادسية الجوية), a reference to the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (c. 636). Qadisiyah AB was one of five new air bases built in Iraq as part of their Project "Super-Base", launched in 1975 as a response to the lessons learned during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973.[8]
The base was built sometime between 1981[9] and 1987 by a consortium of Yugoslav companies under contract to the government of Iraq. Two Yugoslav government agencies led the project. The FDSP (Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement) acted as the project manager and Aeroengineering acted as the project engineer. Known as 'Project 202-B' and 'Project 1100', the companies involved in its construction included Granit,[10][11] Vranica d.d. Sarajevo,[9] I.L. Lavčević d.d. Split, and Unioninvest d.d. Sarajevo.[12]
The US$280,000,000 project at Qadisiyah AB included accommodation for 5,000 personnel and the necessary infrastructure including public facilities (mosques, outdoor and indoor Olympic swimming pools, football field, sports hall, cinema, library, elementary school, high school, hospital and clinic) and fortified military facilities (military airport, shelters for personnel and equipment, shelters for bombers and fighters and military barracks).[9] The hardened aircraft shelters built here and throughout Iraq by the Yugoslavs were nicknamed 'Yugos'. At the time they were considered state of the art but were rendered obsolete in 1991 after the development of the GBU-28 laser-guided bunker-buster bomb.[citation needed]
Al Asad was a major convoy hub, hosting hundreds of fuel and supply trucks every day. Huge shipments of fuel were commonly run along the dangerous routes coming out of Jordan and, despite insurgent attempts, a majority of these convoys arrived at their destinations untouched. A single convoy operation would sometimes last a couple days with trucks on the road for over 8 hours a day.
Like other large bases in Iraq, Al Asad offered amenities including an indoor swimming pool, movie theater (which was a carbon copy of the Sustainer Theatre at Camp Anaconda), post office, Morale, Welfare and Recreation center, several gyms, Post Exchange, Burger King, Cinnabon, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Subway Restaurant, Combat Support Hospital, and a Green Beans Coffee Shop. The base is self-sufficient for producing drinking water, having both a reverse osmosiswater purification plant and a bottling plant. Most of the housing on base are "cans"– shipping containers converted to, or manufactured as, living areas. Some of the original barracks still remain, however, and were used as well. Overflow tents were used when required, such as transition periods, which can nearly double the number of troops on the base. The base was a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting American troops in Iraq, such as Chuck Norris and Toby Keith. While the towns and routes near Al Asad were as dangerous as anywhere else in Iraq, it is relatively remote and is easily accessible by air. The base often received indirect fire from Iraqi insurgents which usually caused little to no damage, though there were occasional casualties.[15]
The controversial song "Hadji Girl" was recorded at Al Asad in 2005.
As the Marines withdrew from Iraq, Al Asad remained one of the last American-occupied bases in Al Anbar. In 2009 and 2010, Marines with the 2nd MEF removed the majority of gear and personnel from the base.[16] The MEF concluded its operations at Al Asad in March 2010. The last of the civilian personnel were airlifted from Al Asad on December 16, 2011, and the base officially closed on December 31, 2011.
Units involved
561st Corps Support Group (US Army Reserve) Between November 2004 and September 2005
855th QM Co. Between November 2008 and October 2009
When Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command returned in September 2014, Commanding Officer Colonel Jason Bohm said it was "like a scene out of the Twilight Zone. Our headquarters was a former Marine air logistics squadron headquarters. There were items that were just left there when we picked up and left. Literally newspapers with the date the last person that was in that office (departed are) still there, except there’s a lot of dust on it now."[4]
In late October 2014, the airbase and surrounding region came under repeated attack by Islamic State (ISIL) militants.[24][25] Fifty U.S. advisers were sent to the base. Also to conduct a site survey for U.S. advisers can use the installation to support the Iraqi military, said Navy Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Defense Department spokeswoman. It now hosts 320 advisers.
During the early morning hours of 14 December 2014, U.S. Marines hosted there allegedly clashed with ISIL alongside the Iraqi Army and Tribal Forces near Ayn al Asad base, west of Anbar, in an attempt to repel them from the base of which includes about 100 U.S. advisers in it at the time, when ISIL attempted to overrun the base. According to a field commander of the Iraqi Army in Anbar province, "the U.S. force equipped with light and medium weapons, supported by F-18, was able to inflict casualties against fighters of ISIL organization, and forced them to retreat from the al-Dolab area, which lies 10 kilometers from Ain al-Assad base." Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader in the region, added that "U.S. forces intervened because of ISIL started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense," he responded, welcoming the U.S. intervention, and saying "which I hope will not be the last."[26][27][28] This was said to be the first encounter between the United States and the Islamic State, in four years. However, this claim has been stated to be "false" by the Pentagon.[29] The airbase and surrounding region came under repeated attack by Islamic State militants in October 2014.[24][25]
On January 5, 2015, the Pentagon acknowledged that ISIL has been ineffectively mortaring the base.[30]
On February 6–7, U.S. Marines and Danish soldiers with Task Force Al Asad taught Iraqi soldiers basic defense and ambush techniques.[31]
In February 2015, ISIL took control[32] of most of the town of al-Baghdadi which is close to Al Asad Airbase and began what a Defense Department spokeswoman called "ineffective indirect fire"[33] against Al Asad base. Later, according to CBS News, "Eight suicide bombers managed [on February 13] to get onto [Al Asad] ... but were killed by an ISF counter attack almost immediately." Further, CBS news reported that "ISIL [had] been regularly shelling Ain al-Assad for the past couple days, but there have been no reports of damage from the shelling or the attempted bombing on Friday."[34] In early March, Iraqi forces cleared ISIL out of al-Baghdadi.[21]
The airbase continues to be used by coalition forces in Iraq, including British troops. In 2016 it was announced that the UK would send 250 more troops to be stationed at Al Asad base.[35] In February 2018, it was announced that Capt Dean Sprouting had been killed at the base, possibly as a result of an accident. The Captain had been serving with the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland.[36]
Post-ISIL defeat
President Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, speaks on the phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi, Dec. 26, 2018, during his visit to Al Asad Airbase.
On December 26, 2018, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Al Asad Airbase. In a speech given there,[37] Trump claimed that the military hadn't gotten a raise in ten years, and that he would be giving them a raise of over 10 percent. However, American military personnel had received a pay hike of at least one percent for the past 30 years,[38] got a 2.4 percent pay increase in 2018, and would receive a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2019.[39] During the visit, Trump took photos with Seal Team 5 special operators and posted images of their faces without obscuring them. The Office of the Secretary of Defense said that no rules were broken, because the special operators volunteered to participate in the press event.[40]
According to a January 3, 2020 Reuters article, a "security source" inside Al Asad Airbase and a "local official at a nearby town" said that the reports that the Al Asad Airbase were under attack, are false.[41] On January 8, 2020, Iranian media, shortly followed by American media,[42] reported that missiles had been launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the airbase.[43] State TV reported that the operation's name was "Martyr Soleimani" and was in response to the killing head of the IRGC's Quds Force Qasem Soleimani.[43] The IRGC said more than 30 missiles were fired.[44] The Pentagon confirmed that "more than a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iran."[45] A defense official said, "10 of the missiles hit Al Asad Airbase, one struck Irbil in northern Iraq and four "failed in flight."[45]
In late March 2020, U.S. military deployed Patriot air defence systems in Al Asad Airbase as a precaution against possible further Iranian missile attacks.[46]
On 17 October 2023, amid the Israel–Hamas war, Iraqi militants launched a drone strike on the airbase, a United States base in northern Iraq.[47][48] The airstrike was intercepted.[49] The next day, a false alarm in the airbase caused the death of a civilian contractor from cardiac arrest.[50] On 20 October, the US ordered all non-emergency staff to leave their embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil.[51]
On 20 November, eight US and coalition soldiers were injured from a ballistic missile attack, and there was minor infrastructural damage after the air base was attacked by a ballistic missile.[52]
On 20 January 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for striking the base with dozens of missiles which injured several US military personnel and an Iraqi service member.[53][54] At 6:30 p.m. Baghdad time, the IRI launched multiple ballistic missiles and other rockets at the Al-Asad Airbase. The United States military attempted to defend the base with Patriot missiles. More than 15 MIM-104 Patriot missiles were launched to defend the base.[55]
On August 5, 2024, a missile attack targeted the airbase, resulting in injuries to at least five US servicemembers and two contractors.[56] The attack involved the firing of two Katyusha rockets, which landed inside the base.[57] One of the injured servicemembers sustained serious injuries.[58] The incident is seen as a potential escalation in the ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States.[59]
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron, currently consisting of F-35B Lightning II stealth STOVL strike fighter jets. Known as the "Wake Island Avengers" and the "Bastion Defenders", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the II Marine Expeditionary Force.
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Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542) is a United States Marine Corps Aviation fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. VMFA-542 is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 (VMFA-225) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron, known as the "Vikings", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
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Marine Aircraft Group 13 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma that is currently composed of one McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II squadron, three Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II squadrons, an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron, a maintenance and logistics squadron, and a wing support squadron. The group falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
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Khan al-Baghdadi or al-Baghdadi is an Iraqi city on the Euphrates River in al-Anbar province. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Arabs.
On 22 September 2014, the United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war with the stated aim of fighting the terrorist organization ISIS in support of the international war against it, code named Operation Inherent Resolve. The US currently continues to support the Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces opposed to both the Islamic State and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
On 15 June 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched in response to the Northern Iraq offensive of the Islamic State (IS), as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.
Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command (SP-MAGTF-CR-CC) was a Marine Air-Ground Task Force that was based at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.
The Anbar campaign (2015–2016) was a military campaign launched by the Iraqi Armed Forces and their allies aimed at recapturing areas of the Anbar Governorate held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the city of Ramadi, which ISIL seized earlier in 2015. The United States and other nations aided Iraq with airstrikes.
The Battle of Hit, code named Operation Desert Lynx by Iraqi forces, was an offensive launched by the Iraqi Government during the Anbar offensive, with the goal of recapturing the town of Hīt and the Hīt District from ISIL. After the Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Ramadi, Hīt and Fallujah were the only cities still under the control of ISIL in the Al Anbar Governorate. Iraqi Forces fully recaptured Hīt and the rest of the Hīt District on 14 April 2016.
The U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war is the United States-led support of Syrian opposition and Rojava during the course of the Syrian civil war and active military involvement led by the United States and its allies — the militaries of the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia and more — against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front since 2014. Since early 2017, the U.S. and other Coalition partners have also targeted the Syrian government and its allies via airstrikes and aircraft shoot-downs.
On 8 January 2020, in a military operation code named Operation Martyr Soleimani, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 12 ballistic missiles at the al-Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Governorate, western Iraq, as well as another airbase in Erbil, in response to the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a United States drone strike.
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