The Baghdad Airport Road is a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) stretch of highway in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

linking the

Green Zone The Green Zone ( ar, المنطقة الخضراء, translit=al-minṭaqah al-ḫaḍrā) is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It was a area in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental ...

, 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. It became prominent after the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

following its capture by the

Coalition Forces ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

. Although it was commonly referred to by the military Main Supply Route (MSR) designation ''Route Irish'', the route from the International Zone to the airport stretches over two MSRs: Route Aeros, the section leading into and out of the International Zone, and Route Irish, which stretches east from the airport, then turns south (past the junction with Route Aeros) to a junction with Highway 1 (MSR Tampa). Because of heavy military traffic and high-profile convoys, the route from the International Zone to the airport was extremely dangerous in the years following the invasion. The many roadside bombs, suicide bombers attacking its checkpoints,

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

s and random shooting from the areas on both sides of the road have led to its notoriety. In late 2004 after aggressive patrolling by 1/ 7th Cavalry, the 1st Cav 4/5 ADA (Dakota and Foxtrot Batteries), and the 1/ 69th Infantry during Operation Wolfhound the road became safer and more reliable. In 2008, Baghdad Airport Road underwent construction to repair and repave the road. A beautification and redevelopment plan for the road was announced in 2010 in anticipation of the Arab Summit in 2011.

References

Transport in Baghdad Roads in Iraq Occupation of Iraq {{Iraq-road-stub