The Kadhimiyah security district is located in northwest Baghdad. Its eastern neighborhoods line the west bank of the Tigris River. Named after the shrine of the seventh Shi'a Imam, Musa al-Kazimi, the district is principally inhabited by Shi'a Muslims. Its main neighborhoods include Shula, Huriya, Zahra, Kadhimiyah, Salaam, Fajr, and Atifiya.  Although portions of Kadhimiyah were inhabited by Sunnis prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, widespread sectarian violence during 2006 and 2007 forced many of them out.

During 2003 and 2004, Kadhimiyah experienced relative calm as the Sunni insurgency raged elsewhere. However, following the transfer of sovereignty in 2004, and leading up to the January 2005 elections, Sunni rejectionists carried out numerous extra-judicial killings within the district, including the killing the governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidari. Throughout 2005 the violence continued to intensify as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM), Muqtada as-Sadr’s Shi'a militia, acting to provide security for the people of Kadhimiyah, frequently battled along the district's southern border with the predominantly Sunni Arab district of Mansour. This sectarian struggle continued into 2006 and was magnified following the bombing of the Samarra mosque in February of that year. 

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division has maintained responsibility for Kadhimiyah from November 2006-November 2007.  The major U.S. base in the District is Camp Justice, located along the west bank of the Tigris River. As part of the Operation Fardh al-Qanoon in 2007, four Joint Security Stations (JSS) were established in Kadhimiyah, with at least two more planned.