Nukhayb

History

During the British Mandate, John Bagot Glubb established a post at the well of Nukhayb to allow the Iraqi government to control its western deserts. Throughout 1929, sections of the Royal Air Force Armoured Cars served outpost duty in Nukhayb.

In 1960, Nukhayb was upgraded from village to subdistrict.

In 2010, Qatari royal Khalifa bin Abdulla bin Hassan bin Ali al-Thani was killed in Nukhayb when his GMC hit a bump and rolled during a hunting trip.

In September 2011, 22 Shia pilgrims en route from Damascus to Karbala were stopped at a fake checkpoint near Nukhayb, and then killed by gunmen affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq. In another false checkpoint attack, 14 Iraqi border guards were killed by Islamic State militants in June 2013.

Reports in summer of 2014 indicated that the Iraqi Army and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) clashed in the town, with government troops "fleeing" towards Karbala. ISIS was reported as having taken control of the town in late June of that year; the Iraqi government forces stated that they regained control of the town in late August of that year. There were several attempts by ISIS to recapture the town in the following years however they ultimately failed to do so.

Nukhayb is mainly populated by the Al-Shammari and Al-Anezi tribes.

Climate

In Nukhayb, there is a desert climate. Most rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BWh. The average annual temperature in Nukhayb is 21.6 °C. About 57 mm of precipitation falls annually.

References

References

1. Turki, Ibrahim. "Battle For The Iraqi Outback Town On A Cultural Crossroads".
2. "Fears of fresh outbreak of sectarian violence grip Iraq". The National.ae.
3. (1975). "Bajallat Markaz Buḥūth Al-Tārīkh Al-Ṭabīʻī". The Center.
4. Sir John Bagot Glubb. (1960). "War in the desert: an R. A. F. frontier campaign". Hodder and Stoughton.
5. "RAF Armoured Car Companies in Iraq, 1920-1945".
6. (6 November 2010). "Qatar royal killed in car crash in Iraq". Khaleej Times.
7. "Criminals behind Nikhaib massacre confess in front of media". All Iraq News.
8. (12 September 2011). "Iraqi police: Gunmen ambush Shiite pilgrims, killing 22". CNN.
9. (June 5, 2013). "14 Iraqi border police gunned down at fake checkpoint, 2 bodies burned". [[Agence France-Presse]].
10. (3 July 2014). "Iraq denies withdrawal of forces from Saudi border". BBC News.
11. (26 June 2014). "In the Shadows of Shrines, Shiite Forces Are Preparing to Fight ISIS". New York Times.
12. (26 August 2014). "Iraqi forces drive ISIL from 3 Anbar cities". Al Shorfa.