Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya (, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in

Al-Anbar Province Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

, in central

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. A military airfield,

RAF Habbaniya Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya (), (originally RAF Dhibban), was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about west of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah. It was dev ...

, was the site of a battle in 1941, during World War II.

Lake Habbaniyah Lake Habbaniyah ( ''Buḥayrat al-Ḥabbāniya'') is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq. In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial ...

is also nearby.

History

On 25 May 1941, Second Battalion of the Fourth Gurkha Rifles (2/4 GR), forming part of 10 Indian Infantry Division, was airlifted to reinforce and secure Habbaniyah, which was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

airfield under threat from Iraqi ground troops and the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

, located in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, and

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. It has 74,217 citizens.

Climate

References

Populated places in Al Anbar Governorate Populated places on the Euphrates River Assyrian communities in Iraq {{Iraq-geo-stub