Troop Surge

The Kadhimiyah security district is located in northwest Baghdad. Its eastern neighborhoods line the west bank of the Tigris River. Named after the shrine of the seventh Shi'a Imam, Musa al-Kazimi, the district is principally inhabited by Shi'a Muslims. Its main neighborhoods include Shula, Huriya, Zahra, Kadhimiyah, Salaam, Fajr, and Atifiya.  Although portions of Kadhimiyah were inhabited by Sunnis prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, widespread sectarian violence during 2006 and 2007 forced many of them out.

The Rusafa security district is situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in the heart of the city. Rusafa neighbors the Adhamiyah district to the north, and the districts of Karadah and 9 Nissan to the south and southeast. Rusafa also neighbors Sadr City along its northeastern border, and this proximity has given rise to a strong influence of Shi’a militias.

The Karadah security district is located in central Baghdad, on the southeastern bank of the Tigris River. To the north and northeast, Karadah neighbors the districts of Rusafa and 9 Nissan, respectively. Opposite the Tigris, the Karadah peninsula neighbors the Karkh district to the north and the Rasheed district to the south.

The 9 Nissan security district, also referred to as Tissa Nissan or New Baghdad, is located in eastern Baghdad. The Diyala River runs along 9 Nissan’s eastern border. On its southwestern edge, 9 Nissan borders the Karadah and Rusafa security districts.

Situated in northeast Baghdad along the Tigris River, the Adhamiyah security district neighbors Sadr City to the southeast, Rusafa to the south, and the Kadhimiyah district across the Tigris. The district is made up of a number of smaller neighborhoods, including Adhamiyah, Basateen, Beida, Maghreb, Qahira, Rabi, Shamasiya, Shaab, Tunis, Ur, and Waziriya.

The southwestern belt runs from Fallujah down the Euphrates River corridor, through Sadr al-Yusufiyah, Yusufiyah, east to Mahmudiyah and south to Iskandariyah.

The southeastern belt wraps around the capital in an arc running from Nahrawan east of Baghdad, south through Jisr Diyala down to Salman Pak, and east through Arab Jabour and Hawr Rajab to the city of Mahmudiyah. Most of the area is rural farmland, crisscrossed by irrigation canals that limit mobility and facilitate the creation of insurgent refuges.

The northeastern belt runs from the Tarmiyah area in the Tigris River Valley, east through Khalis and Baqubah and south to Nahrawan east of Baghdad. It controls the road networks that link Baghdad with the eastern shore of the Tigris River Valley, as well the Diyala River Valley and a key border crossing with Iran. Consequently, both al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Jaysh al-Mahdi, and associated Iranian-backed Special Groups have competed to control the area.