Al-Faw peninsula
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- This article is about the Iraqi peninsula. See also the Al-Fao artillery system.
The al-Faw peninsula (Arabic: شبه جزيرة الفاو; also transliterated as al-Fao or al-Fawr) is a marshy region adjoining the Persian Gulf in the extreme south-east of Iraq, between and to the south-east of the cities of Basra (Iraq) and Abadan (Iran). It is the site of a number of important oil installations, most notably Iraq's two main oil tanker terminals: Khor Al-Amaya and Mina Al-Bakr. Its chief importance is its strategic location, controlling access to the Shatt al-Arab waterway (and thus access to the port of Basra). The only significant town on the peninsula is Umm Qasr, a fishing town and port which comprised Iraq's main naval base under the regime of Saddam Hussein. The peninsula is otherwise lightly inhabited with few civilian buildings other than a few fishermen's huts.
During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, al-Faw was bitterly contested due to its strategic location at the head of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway, and was the site of many large-scale battles. In 1987, the Iranians capitalized on the weakness of the Iraqi defences located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula. On February 11, 1987, the Iranians launched a surprise attack against the Iraqi troops defending al-Faw. The Iraqi units in charge of the defences were mostly comprised of poorly-trained Iraqi Popular Army conscripts that collapsed when they were suddenly attacked by the Iranian Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard) forces. It marked the first time that the Iranians had successfully invaded and occupied Iraqi territory. The Iranians defeated several Iraqi counteroffensives and managed to hang on to their foothold.
The occupation of al-Faw placed Basra at risk of being attacked. The Iranians also used the peninsula as a launch pad for Silkworm missiles which were deployed against shipping and oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, and also against Kuwait, which supported Iraq throughout the war. On April 17, 1988, the newly-restructured Iraqi Army began a major operation aimed to clear the Iranians out of the peninsula. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the battled-hardened Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij soldiers. Employing the use of massive artillery barrages, air bombardments, and even chemical weapons, the Iranians were expelled from the peninsula within thirty-five hours, with much of their equipment captured intact. The event was even marked as an official national holiday under the former regime of Saddam Hussein - it was celebrated as the Faw City Liberation Day.
The 1991 Gulf War was fought to the south and west of al-Faw, but the peninsula's military installations were heavily bombed by Allied forces during the conflict. The Allied forces effectively closed down all of Iraq's shipping activities, thus rendering its access to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf useless.
The peninsula was one of the first targets of the Allied forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with British troops principally involved. Forces from the Royal Marines 40 Commando Brigade staged a successful midnight amphibious assault on the peninsula. Their goal was to secure the port of Umm Qasr to allow humanitarian goods to be shipped in, and to secure the key oil installations located in the area before they could be sabotaged by retreating Iraqi forces. The peninsula fell quickly with minimal Iraqi resistance, although unexpectedly fierce resistance in Umm Qasr required several days' fighting before the town was secured.
Currently, security patrols and anti-smuggling operations are being performed by the Multi-National Forces, principally the British Royal Marines. However, sovereignty is slowly being transferred back to the newly-formed and trained Iraqi Coast Guard.