Time in Iraq is given by Arabia Standard Time (AST) (UTC+03:00). Iraq does not currently observe daylight saving time. [1]
Baghdad is the capital and largest city of Iraq. Situated on the Tigris, it is part of the Baghdad Governorate and is located near the Diyala River. With a population variously estimated at 6 or over 7 million, Baghdad forms 22% of Iraq's total population. In comparison to its large population, the city has a small area at just 673 square kilometers. It is the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo, and the second-largest city in West Asia after Tehran. Baghdad is historically known as a global cultural hub.
The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert, Upper Mesopotamia, the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf.
Baghdad International Airport, previously Saddam International Airport from 1982 to 2003, is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about 16 km (9.9 mi) west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Iraq's national airline, Iraqi Airways.
The Battle of Baghdad, also known as the Fall of Baghdad, was a military engagement that took place in Baghdad in early April 2003, as part of the invasion of Iraq.
The Green Zone is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It is a 10-square-kilometer (3.9 sq mi) area in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, Iraq, and the seat of the Iraqi government. View over Green Zone, which contains governmental headquarters and the army, in addition to containing the headquarters of the American embassy and the headquarters of foreign organizations and agencies of other countries.
Un Ponte Per is an Italian-based humanitarian organization created in the aftermath of the first Iraq War in 1991. Its purpose is to oppose the domination of the Southern countries of the world by those of the North and to prevent further conflict, particularly in the Mideast. In addition to its activities in the Middle East, it opened a second zone of operations in the former Yugoslavia.
The Baghdad Airport Road is a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) stretch of highway in Baghdad, Iraq linking the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area at the centre of Baghdad, to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). It also links different parts of Baghdad to the Airport and connects neighbouring areas to each other.
Operation Together Forward, also known as Forward Together, was an unsuccessful offensive against sectarian militias in Baghdad to significantly reduce the violence in which had seen a sharp uprise since the mid-February 2006 bombing of the Askariya Mosque, a major Shiite Muslim shrine, in Samarra.
The 22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings was a terrorist attack that occurred when two powerful car bombs ripped through the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, killing at least 88 people and wounding 160 others in one of the bloodiest days since the US invasion of Iraq. The attack occurred two days after the start of the 10-day Shiite mourning period leading up to Ashura. It also coincided with the arrival of 3,200 additional troops into Baghdad as part of the Iraq War troop surge of 2007.
Al-Karkh or just Karkh is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as al-Rusafa. Historically, al-Karkh has been a commerce market during the Abbasid Caliphate, located outside the main Round City due to safety concerns. It saw many exports and was the main business place for merchants and craftsmen. Al-Karkh has also historically suffered from infighting, fire, and floods that impacted its population and topography.
Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon or Baghdad Security Plan (BSP), was a joint Coalition-Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad. Under the Surge plan developed in late 2006, Baghdad was to be divided into nine zones, with Iraqi and American soldiers working side by side to clear each sector of Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents and establish Joint Security Stations so that reconstruction programs could begin in safety. The U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, went so far as to say Iraq would be "doomed" if this plan failed. Numerous members of Congress stated the plan was a critical period for the U.S. presence in Iraq.
The siege of Sadr City was a blockade of the Shi'a district of northeastern Baghdad carried out by US and Iraqi government forces in an attempt to destroy the main power base of the insurgent Mahdi Army in Baghdad. The siege began on 4 April 2004 – later dubbed "Black Sunday" – with an uprising against the Coalition Provisional Authority following the government banning of a newspaper published by Muqtada Al-Sadr's Sadrist Movement. The most intense periods of fighting in Sadr City occurred during the first uprising in April 2004, the second in August the same year, during the sectarian conflict that gripped Baghdad in late 2006, during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and during the spring fighting of 2008.
Bab Al-Sharqi is a neighborhood of central Baghdad, Iraq. The area surrounding Bab Al-Sharqi market is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army, the main Shia militia in central Iraq..
Iraqi-Emirati relations are foreign relations between the Republic of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Iraq has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulates general in Dubai, while the United Arab Emirates has an embassy in Baghdad.
The August 2009 Baghdad bombings were three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on 19 August 2009. The explosives were detonated simultaneously across the capital at approximately 10:45 in the morning, killing at least 101 people and wounding at least 565, making it the deadliest attack since the 14 August 2007 Yazidi communities bombings in northern Iraq which killed almost 800 people. The bombings targeted both government and privately-owned buildings.
The 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings were attacks in Baghdad, Iraq which killed 155 people and injured at least 721 people.
The Iraqi-Polish relations are the official bilateral relations and diplomatic relations between Iraq and Poland. Iraq has an embassy held in Warsaw. Poland has an embassy in Baghdad.
As sequel to protests in 2011, 2012 and 2013, Iraqi citizens have also in 2015 up until 2018 often and massively protested against the corruption and incompetence in their government which according to analysts and protesters had led to long-running problems in electricity supplies, clean water availability, Iranian interference in Iraqi politics, high unemployment, and a stagnant economy.
A series of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience took place in Iraq from 2019 until 2021. It started on 1 October 2019, a date which was set by civil activists on social media, spreading mainly over the central and southern provinces of Iraq, to protest corruption, high unemployment, political sectarianism, inefficient public services and foreign interventionism. Protests spread quickly, coordinated over social media, to other provinces in Iraq. As the intensity of the demonstrations peaked in late October, protesters' anger focused not only on the desire for a complete overhaul of the Iraqi government but also on driving out Iranian influence, including Iranian-aligned Shia militias. The government, with the help of Iranian-backed militias responded brutally using live bullets, marksmen, hot water, hot pepper gas and tear gas against protesters, leading to many deaths and injuries.
The 2022 Baghdad clashes was a civil conflict that broke out between supporters of Iraqi politician Muqtada al-Sadr and pro-Iranian forces, following Sadr's announcement of his resignation from politics. The move came after the resignation of Grand Ayatollah Kadhim Al-Haeri, the leader of his Iran-based Sadrist movement, which Sadr believed wasn't of his own volition. The unrest was considered the most serious crisis in the country since the defeat of ISIL in the country in 2017, since which Iraq has had relative stability. The clashes left at least 30 people dead and 700 more injured, including 110 members of the security forces.