Ar-Rutbah

This article is about the town. For the district, see Ar Rutba District.
Ar-Rutbah
Arabic: الرطبة‎

A street in Rutbah, 2004
Ar-Rutbah
Coordinates: 33°2′17″N 40°17′4″E / 33.03806°N 40.28444°E / 33.03806; 40.28444
Country  Iraq
Province Al-Anbar
Population
 • Total 22,370[1]
Time zone GMT+3 (UTC+3)
Postal code 31011

Ar-Rutbah (Arabic: الرطبة‎, also known as Rutba, Rutbah, or Ar-Rutba) is an Iraqi town in western Al Anbar province. The population is approximately 22,000. It occupies a strategic location on the Amman-Baghdad road, and the Mosul–Haifa oil pipeline. Considered a "wet spot", it receives 114.3 mm (4.5 inches) of rain annually, and is located on a high plateau.

History

During the British administration, Rutbah Wells, as it was then known, was a stopover for Imperial Airways on flights from Britain to India and the Persian Gulf region.[2] Aircraft were routed Cairo - Gaza - Rutbah Wells - Bagdhad. It was also a water stop on the overland drive from Baghdad to Damascus by the Nairn Transport Company. Travelers who stopped lodged in a fort.[3][4] Sixten kilometers south of Rutbah (Rutbah Wells, in 1934), the famous aircraft "Uiver" ["Stork"], a winner of the MacRobertson Air Race, a DC-2 type from the KLM, (now known as Air France-KLM), crashed there on its first flight after the MacRobertson Air Race in December 1934, on its way to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). There were seven people dead, including Dominique Willem Berretty, a Dutch media magnate.

Anglo-Iraqi War

During the Anglo-Iraqi War in 1941 forces loyal to Rashid Ali took control of the Fort on 2 May 1941. As a response bombs were dropped by RAF Blenheim V bombers from No. 203 Squadron RAF on and around the fort. The fort was retaken by Arab Legion forces with support from No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF after the fort defenders left overnight on 10 May.

Persian Gulf War

Due to Rutbah's strategic location, the town has played a role in later conflicts between the United States and Iraq. During the Persian Gulf War of 1991 it was reportedly a Scud launching location.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Children In Al Rutba

After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the base was occupied by the Army's 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment and was known as FOB Buzz. An Army Captain was charged and court-martialed for staging mock executions of Iraqi prisoners.[5]

In 2004, Marines from Regimental Combat Team 7 relieved the Army soldiers and took control of the town, resolving to engage the populace more proactively. By July 2004, Camp Korean Village (also known as Camp KV), a Marine logistical support base, was established nearby. The base served as a regional air field, convoy rest stop, shock trauma hospital and headquarters of the local Marine garrison. The base is named after the historical lineage of the Marine Corps 7th Marine Regiment who fought during the Korean war (as also did the 5th Marine Regiment).[6]

On January 26, 2005, a Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed outside of town, killing 30 Marines and one Navy corpsman.[7] This was the single deadliest day for American forces in the Iraq conflict. The cause of the crash was a severe wind storm that had come upon them unexpectedly.

By March 2006, the city was being guarded by elements of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR) and an Iraqi rifle company from the 3d Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Iraqi Army. U.S. and Iraqi forces had built a 7-foot (2.1 m)-high and 20-foot (6.1 m)-wide berm in order to restrict access into the city from all but 3 guarded vehicle checkpoints.[8] This was done to restrict weapons and explosives smuggling into the city and force insurgent elements to hide weapons caches in the open desert, as well as reduce the number of roadside bombs inside the populated areas.

In July 2006, increased violence and lawlessness in Baghdad, forced the transfer of the 4-14 Cavalry Squadron, U.S. Army, from the cities of Rawah and Anah in the northern Anbar province to Baghdad in order to augment security there. The gap in forces was replaced, initially, with personnel and resources from 3rd LAR in Rutbah.

In September 2006, Rutbah was once again handed over to 2nd LAR by 3rd LAR.[9]

In early 2007, the Rutbah government progressed in the transition to providing its own security. The town's efforts included recruiting approximately 200 men to send to an Iraqi Police training academy to increase counterinsurgency practices.[10]

In March 2009 the Marines transferred control of Camp Korean Village over to, C CO. 2-142 Infantry 56th IBCT 36th Infantry Division which is a Texas Army National Guard unit. Control was then turned over to C-CO. 186th INF Oregon Army national Guard. The Camp was handed over to the Iraqi Army on May 1, 2010.[11]

ISIL Control

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or ISIL (also known as ISIS) took control of several Anbar province towns in 2014 and on 22 June 2014 a member of the local council told the New York Times that "around fifty vehicles full of militants and weapons came from Houran valley and after sporadic clashes with police they took control over the central town. Then they left a group of them to secure the town and then headed toward the border."[12] On 24 June a Syrian air-force raid on Rutba, to assist the Iraqi army during the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, killed at least 50 ISIS militants.[13] It has been estimated that anti ISIL coalition forces have conducted around 50 airstrike missions on and around the town. [14]

Geography

Rutba is 70 miles (110 km) from both the Iraq-Jordan border and the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Ar Rutbah population
  2. ↑ Saudi Aramco World : Flying the Furrow
  3. ↑ "Rutbah, Irak 1930". museenkoeln.de (in German).
  4. ↑ "Little Story of the Imperial Airways". flyandrive.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
  5. ↑ "Officials: Officers Staged Mock Executions". Fox News. 2005-05-17.
  6. ↑ Sutton, Matthew E., personal account of Major Matthew E. Sutton from his experience serving on the First Marine Expeditionary Force staff, June - December 2004.
  7. ↑ "H-3 Airfield". Global Security. 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  8. ↑ Paulsgrove, Cpl. Graham (29 March 2006). "Marines keep watchful eyes on Iraq’s rural western region". Marine Corps News. 1st Marine Division. Archived from the original on 4 April 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Ricks, Thomas (11 September 2006). "Officer in Iraq calls Anbar situation dire". The Boston Globe. Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Roggio, Bill (2007-03-25). "Rutbah – Fact vs Fiction". Long War Journal.
  11. ↑ "USD-C signs over Camp Korean Village, Camp Ubaydi to GoI control". May 3, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31.
  12. ↑ Alissa J. Rubin (22 June 2014). Sunni Militants Capture Iraq’s Last Major Border Post With Syria The New York Times
  13. ↑ Iraq: Will the jihadist tide be stemmed?, economist.com
  14. ↑ "Battle for Iraq and Syria in maps". BBC. 2015-07-02.
  15. ↑ "Could Saudi Arabia Be the Next ISIS Conquest?". Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.

External links

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