The Za’ab Triangle consists of the areas north of Baiji along the Tigris to Qayyarah, and east to Kirkuk. The Greater and Lesser Za’ab Rivers form rough boundaries to the north and south. Za’ab straddles northern Salah ad Din, southern Ninewah, eastern Tamim, and southeastern Arbil provinces. Much of the Za’ab Triangle is desert.  Outside of the cities of Sharqat and Qayyarah, most of the population resides in small rural villages. Prior to September 2007, the Za’ab Triangle had seen little Coalition presence and had therefore become a hotbed of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) activity.

 

The 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, which is responsible for Ninewah province, was given operational control of the Za’ab Triangle in February 2007. Currently, the 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment has responsibility for the Za’ab Triangle. Coalition forces in the region are based out of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Qayarrah West near Qayarrah; Combat Outpost (COP) Nespa, near the village of Heschel; and a second COP, currently under construction near Sharqat. Elements of the 2nd and 4th Iraqi Army Divisions are also participating in security operations in Za’ab.

 

Multi-National Division-North (MND-N) has launched a series of operations to target AQI elements in the Za’ab Triangle. These include Operations Lightning Hammer II and Iron Hammer, which sought to pursue and dismantle al Qaeda and other insurgent groups, by targeting its cell networks, financiers, leadership structure, and transport structure.  In early September 2007, Coalition Forces expanded operations into Za’ab during Operation Lightning Hammer II, as the targeting AQI in the Tigris and Diyala River Valleys pushed insurgent elements into the Za’ab triangle. During that time, Coalition and Iraqi forces conducted a number of intelligence-driven operations against AQI in Za’ab, particularly in the villages of the Sharqat district. For two weeks in November 2007, U.S. forces conducted Operation Iron Hammer, the follow-on to Lightning Hammer II, during which operations in the Za’ab triangle intensified. 

 

The current division-level operation in MND-N, Operation Iron Reaper, is continuing the pursuit of al-Qaeda in the Za’ab Triangle.