The Polish zone in Iraq (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Polska strefa w Iraku''), designated as the South Central, South Center, Central South, Center South Zone or Sector (

: ''Strefa środkowo-południowa''), was the

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...

for

Multinational Division Central-South Multinational Division Central-South (MND-CS), created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's tr ...

under

command, during the

Occupation of Iraq Occupation of Iraq or Iraq occupation may refer to: * Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) (occupation by American, British and Italian forces) * Mandatory Iraq (Iraq under British Administration, 1921–1932) * Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) ...

. It was created in 2003 when

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 ...

was divided into four zones. The occupation ended on 31 December 2008.Grzegorz Jasiński (editor): ''Polski Kontyngent Wojskowy w Iraku 2003-2008'', in: ''Kronika Wojska Polskiego''. Warsaw: Fundacja Polonia Militaris, 2011. ISSN 1734-2317. Iraq 2003 occupation

The South Central Zone covered the Al-Qādisiyyah,

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

Babil Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-sp ...

and the

Wasit Governorate Wasit Governorate () is a governorate in eastern Iraq, south-east of Baghdad and bordering Iran. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province. Major cities include the capital Al-Kut, Al-Hai and Al-Suwaira. The governorate contains the Mesopota ...

s. The region had a population of about 5 million spread over 65,632 km². The

Najaf Governorate Najaf Governorate () is a governorate in central and southern Iraq. The capital is the city of Najaf, with another major city being Al Kufah. Both cities are holy to Shia Muslims Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branch ...

was passed back to American control in 2004, due to reduction in strength of the forces under Polish command; this reduced the zone to about 3 million of population spread over 28,655 km². Major cities in the Polish zone include

Diwaniyah Al Diwaniyah ( ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2014 the population was estimated at 700,000. Overview The area around Al Diwaniyah, which is well irrigated from the nearby Eu ...

Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...

Hillah Hillah ( ''al-Ḥillah''), also spelled Hilla, is a city in central Iraq. On the Hilla branch of the Euphrates River, it is south of Baghdad. The population was estimated to be about 455,700 in 2018. It is the capital of Babylon Province and is ...

, and

and

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

. The strength of the Polish forces decreased from 2,500 (2003) to 900 (2007); the

numbers about 2,000 troops. Polish casualties number was 25. The casualties of the entire division were 65.

References

Occupation of Iraq Multinational force involved in the Iraq War History of Poland (1989–present) States and territories established in 2003 States and territories disestablished in 2008 * Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate in the Iraq War Babylon Governorate in the Iraq War Karbala Governorate in the Iraq War Najaf Governorate in the Iraq War Wasit Governorate in the Iraq War {{Poland-mil-stub

See also

References