Government of Iraq

Status of Forces Agreement Draft - Unofficial Translation

The link below contains the translation of the Status of Forces Agreement that was recently approved by the Iraqi Cabinet after months of contentious negotiations.  The agreement will be put up for a vote by the Iraqi National Assembly before November 25.

 

Full translation of the SOFA draft

 

Hosted by McClatchy Newspapers

Translated from the Arabic by Sahar Issa, Jenan Hussein and Hussein Kadhim of the McClatchy Baghdad Bureau.

Karkh (الكرخ)

The Karkh security district is located in the heart of Baghdad; a significant portion of the district is occupied by the International Zone, also known as the Green Zone, site of the U.S. Embassy. Karkh is perhaps best known for the main road, Haifa Street, which runs from the International Zone northwest to the neighborhood of Sheikh Ma’arouf and Kadhimiyah.

Sadr City (مدينة الصدر)

Sadr City, a sprawling slum in northeastern Baghdad, is home to over 2 million Iraqis and has the largest Shi’a population in Baghdad. Sadr City was built in 1959 and unofficially named for Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, the highly-revered Shi’a cleric who was assassinated by the Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1999. Sadr City presents one of the biggest security challenges for U.S. forces in Baghdad.

Northeast

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.

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