Triangle of Death (Iraq)



The Triangle of Death is a name given during the 2003–2010 occupation of Iraq by U.S. and allied forces to a region south of Baghdad which saw major combat activity and sectarian violence from late 2004 into the fall of 2007.

Description
The "Triangle of Death" (not to be confused with the much larger Sunni Triangle further north) lies between Baghdad and Al Hillah, is inhabited by a Sunni majority, and contains several large towns in the Mahmudiya District including Yusufiyah, Mahmoudiyah, Iskandariyah and Latifiyah. The major terrain feature of the Triangle of Death is the Euphrates River, which borders the Triangle to the southwest. The terrain is mostly farm land, but is sliced by many irrigation ditches. These farms are usually small, being maintained by the families that own the land. The weather is generally consistent with the rest of Iraq, with the exception of increased humidity due to the area's proximity to the Euphrates River and irrigation canals used for farming.

Musayyib is home to the Musayyib Power Plant, a frequent target of insurgent attacks due to its infrastructure importance. The power plant is capable of supplying one-fourth to one-third of Iraq's electricity demands if it were fully operational. As of October 2006, it is at roughly 33% of its maximum output. Because of the indirect fire attacks on the facility, U.S. forces formerly manned Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah (previously known as FOB Chosin) on the grounds of the power plant. Attacks diminished due to increased security in 2007 and with an overall increase in the security situation of Babil Province in 2008, the facility was closed as a U.S. base.

Sociological causes of violence
Analysts generally attribute this area's high level of violence to the tension from the Sunni majority population, the Saddam Hussein era military industrial complex in the area (such as the al-Quds General Company for Mechanical Industries, the al-Musayyib Ammunition Depot, and the Al Qa'qaa Munitions Facility), the current lack of economic alternatives to joining the insurgency, and the near endless supply of munitions stored throughout the area (in part due to the looting of the munitions facilities after the fall of the Hussein Regime).

Recent violence
After the fall of the Hussein Regime, the area's population suffered from unemployment. One city in the Northern Babil Governorate, al Hillah, has been a frequent target of insurgent attacks. As of January 2006, al Hillah has seen the single most deadly suicide bombing in the Iraq War when on 28 February 2005 125 Iraqis were killed. Other suicide attacks on 30 May 2005 (20 killed), 30 May 2006 (12 killed), and 30 August 2006 (12 killed) have occurred in al Hillah. On 16 July 2005, Musayyib saw one of the most savage attacks of the war, when a suicide bomber driving a fuel truck detonated himself and the fuel truck killing at least 98 Iraqis. The Triangle of Death often sees catastrophic attacks like these due to the proximity to both Baghdad and Fallujah-Ramadi area, where suicide bombers usually meet before heading to their intended targets. The Triangle of Death has also reportedly used as the staging area for attacks in Baghdad, specifically the 24 October 2005 attack on the Palestine Hotel. The Triangle of Death saw several deadly sectarian attacks during the 2007 Ashura celebrations.

Even though most insurgent attacks in the Triangle of Death are against Iraqi civilian and Iraqi government forces, U.S. forces have also been the target of a variety of attacks.

On June 16, 2006, one American Soldier (SPC David J. Babineau) was killed and two other Soldiers (PFC Thomas L. Tucker and PV2 Kristian Menchaca) were kidnapped near the Jurf as Sakhr Bridge (located on the Euphrates River in southwestern Yusufiyah) after their HMMWV was attacked. Their remains were found four days later, on the side of a canal road near Patrol Base Swamp in Shakaria (approximately 10 kilometers northeast from where they were ambushed). The bodies were discovered by 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion,502nd Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division). The report from the U.S. Army Graves Registration team indicated that the bodies had been dismembered, mutilated, burned and beheaded, as well as rigged with an IED between one of the victim's legs.

On May 12, 2007, members of Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment (of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division) were attacked with IED, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire while operating in the vicinity of the Qarghouli tribe region of Yusufiyah. The ambush left five Soldiers dead and three missing. The body of one of these missing Soldiers, PFC Joseph Anzack was found in the Euphrates River in Musayyib by members of D Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment (Airborne) and members of the local Iraq police force. The other two missing Soldiers, SGT Alex Jimenez and PFC Byron Fouty, remained missing for over a year until their remains were discovered following efforts with locals by 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment west of the town of Jurf as Sakhr.

Military in the area
Numerous units have been stationed in the Triangle since 2003. Initial deployments began with very rudimentary and temporary quartering, sometimes in individual houses, but later expanded to extensive troop commitments and culminated in 2007 with multiple brigades incurring 15-month deployments under the command of Multi-National Division-Central headed by 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters. Attacks dropped dramatically from the spring through fall of 2007 following the activation of Multi-National Division-Central and an increase in operational tempo following the kidnapping of soldiers from 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry near Yusifiyah in May 2007. Most areas are now under effective control of local authorities with local inhabitants declining to participate in insurgencies led by Al Qaeda in Iraq and Jaysh al Mahdi.