Muthenna Airbase

Coordinates: 33°19′38″N 44°22′08″E / 33.3271°N 44.3690°E / 33.3271; 44.3690 Muthanna Airbase was an Iraqi military facility west of the center of Baghdad. It consisted of one 3,000 m asphalt/concrete runway sited in a developed industrial/residential area. It was the home base for Iraqi Air Force transport squadrons and navigation school.

During the 1991 Gulf War, three of Baghdad's 42 targets—Iraqi Air Force headquarters, Muthanna airfield, and Ba'ath party headquarters—absorbed 20 percent of the effort. The Ba'ath party headquarters were hit with 28 bombs, Iraqi air force headquarters 17, and Muthenna airfield with 25. The 13-story Iraqi Air Force headquarters building, on the southeast edge of Muthanna airfield, was shown in the first publicly unveiled air strike videotape.

During the Second Gulf War Coalition forces again struck Iraqi Air Force headquarters buildings in central Baghdad, located west of the Tigris River, near the Baghdad/Muthanna airfield. Coalition aircraft struck the buildings with JDAMs. The strike degraded Iraqi Air Force capabilities to command and control Iraqi air assets.

The damage at Muthanna was so extensive that it was subsequently abandoned as a functioning aviation facility.

Iraqi Army Recruiting Station

The heavily fortified Iraqi Army Recruiting Station at Muthenna airport was hit by a car bomb on 11 February 2004, when up to 47 people died. A sedan carrying explosives drove to the front of the recruiting station where numerous Iraqis were waiting in line to enlist in the Iraqi Army. US soldiers from Task Force 1st Armored Division's 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment provided aid to the victims and secured the blast site. The bomb was four to five hundred pounds and a mixture of C4 explosive and artillery shells. The vehicle carrying the bomb was completely destroyed. Rush hour traffic and a large crowd of people were on the street when the blast occurred, and a group of men angrily shouted at American soldiers wanting to know how this could have happened.

References

• Global Security page on Muthenna