engulfs Al Asad in 2005. team helps secure the airfield as
Air Force One lands at Al Asad with President
George W. Bush on board, 3 September 2007.
Qadisiyah Airbase The base was originally named
Qadisiyah Airbase (قاعدة القادسية الجوية), a reference to the
Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (c. 636). Qadisiyah AB was one of five new air bases built in Iraq as part of their Project "Super-Base", launched in 1975 as a response to the lessons learned during the Arab-Israeli wars of
1967 and
1973. The base was built sometime between 1981 and 1987 by a consortium of Yugoslav companies under contract to the government of Iraq. Two
Yugoslav government agencies led the project. The FDSP (Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement) acted as the project manager and Aeroengineering acted as the project engineer. Known as 'Project 202-B' and 'Project 1100', the companies involved in its construction included
Granit, Vranica d.d. Sarajevo, The US$280,000,000 project at Qadisiyah AB included accommodation for 5,000 personnel and the necessary infrastructure including public facilities (mosques, outdoor and indoor Olympic-size swimming pools, football field, sports hall, cinema, library, elementary school, high school, hospital and clinic) and fortified military facilities (military airport, shelters for personnel and equipment, shelters for bombers and fighters and military barracks). and then eventually was renamed
Al Asad Airbase, which means "
The Lion" in Arabic.
Iraq War 2003–2011 The base was initially secured during the
Iraq War by the
Australian Special Air Service Regiment on 16 April 2003, and was turned over to the
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR) in May 2003. The 3rd ACR was relieved by the Marines of the
1st Marine Expeditionary Force in March 2004. Al Asad became the largest U.S. base in western Iraq and the western equivalent of
Baghdad's
Green Zone. Al-Asad was a major convoy hub, hosting hundreds of fuel and supply trucks every day. Huge shipments of fuel, aircraft ammunition, construction materials, drinkable water and food were commonly run along the dangerous routes coming out of
Jordan, and
Kuwait and, despite insurgent attempts, a majority of these convoys arrived at their destinations untouched. A single convoy operation would sometimes last a couple of days with trucks on the road for over 8 hours a day. The 482nd TC ran one operation that was 48 hours straight out of Al-Asad carrying supplies into the hot spots (Most of the fighting) of Iraq such as
Fallujah l during the second siege in late 2004. Like other large bases in Iraq, Al-Asad offered amenities including an indoor swimming pool, movie theater (which was a carbon copy of the Sustainer Theatre at
Camp Anaconda), post office,
Morale, Welfare and Recreation center, several gyms,
Post Exchange, towards the end of 2005 a
Burger King,
Cinnabon,
Kentucky Fried Chicken,
Pizza Hut,
Subway Restaurant,
Combat Support Hospital, and a Green Beans Coffee Shop. The base is self-sufficient for producing drinking water, having both a
reverse osmosis water purification plant and a bottling plant. Most of the housing on base are "
cans" –
shipping containers converted to, or manufactured as, living areas. Some of the original barracks still remain, however, and were used as well. Overflow tents were used when required, such as transition periods, which can nearly double the number of troops on the base. The base was a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting American troops in Iraq, such as
Chuck Norris and
Toby Keith. While the towns and routes near Al Asad were as dangerous as anywhere else in Iraq, it is relatively remote and is easily accessible by air. The base often received indirect fire from Iraqi insurgents which usually caused little to no damage, though there were occasional casualties. The controversial song "
Hadji Girl" was recorded at Al Asad in 2005. On 3 September 2007,
President George W. Bush,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace visited Al-Asad and spent
Labor Day with the
servicemembers deployed to the base. As the Marines withdrew from Iraq, Al-Asad remained one of the last American-occupied bases in Al Anbar. In 2009 and 2010, Marines with the 2nd MEF removed the majority of gear and personnel from the base. The MEF concluded its operations at Al Asad in March 2010. The last of the civilian personnel were airlifted from Al-Asad on 16 December 2011, and the base officially closed on 31 December 2011.
Units involved • 561st Corps Support Group (US Army Reserve) Between November 2004 and September 2005 • 482nd Transportation Company (US Army Reserve) Between November 2004 and September 2005 • 10th Mountain Division - Providing Gun Truck Support • 855th QM Co. Between November 2008 and October 2009 •
VMFA(AW)-242 (F/A-18D) between August 2004 and January 2005 •
VMFA(AW)-224 (F/A-18D) between January and August 2005 •
VMA-542 (
AV-8B) between May 2004 and November 2004 Fifty U.S. advisers were sent to the base. Also to conduct a site survey for U.S. advisers can use the installation to support the
Iraqi military, said Navy Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Defense Department spokeswoman. It now hosts 320 advisers. During the early morning hours of 14 December 2014, U.S. Marines hosted there allegedly clashed with ISIL alongside the
Iraqi Army and Tribal Forces near
Ayn al Asad base, west of Anbar, in an attempt to repel them from the base of which includes about 100 U.S. advisers in it at the time, when ISIL attempted to overrun the base. According to a field commander of the Iraqi Army in Anbar province, "the U.S. force equipped with light and medium weapons, supported by
F-18, was able to inflict casualties against fighters of ISIL organization, and forced them to retreat from the al-Dolab area, which lies 10 kilometers from Ain al-Assad base." Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader in the region, added that "U.S. forces intervened because of ISIL started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense," he responded, welcoming the U.S. intervention, and saying "which I hope will not be the last." This was said to be the first encounter between the United States and the Islamic State,
in four years. However, this claim has been stated to be "false" by
the Pentagon. The airbase and surrounding region came under repeated attack by Islamic State militants in October 2014. Between 6–7 February 2015, U.S. Marines and Danish soldiers with Task Force Al-Asad taught Iraqi soldiers basic defense and ambush techniques. In February 2015, ISIL took control of most of the town of
al-Baghdadi which is close to Al-Asad Airbase and began what a Defense Department spokeswoman called "ineffective indirect fire" against Al Asad base. Later, according to CBS News, "Eight suicide bombers managed [on February 13] to get onto [Al Asad] ... but were killed by an ISF counter attack almost immediately." Further, CBS news reported that "ISIL [had] been regularly shelling Ain al-Assad for the past couple days, but there have been no reports of damage from the shelling or the attempted bombing on Friday." In early March, Iraqi forces cleared ISIL out of al-Baghdadi. The airbase continues to be used by coalition forces in Iraq, including British troops. In 2016 it was announced that the UK would send 250 more troops to be stationed at Al-Asad base. In February 2018, it was announced that Capt Dean Sprouting had been killed at the base, possibly as a result of an accident. The Captain had been serving with the
Black Watch, 3rd Battalion,
Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Post-ISIL defeat , 26 December 2018, during his visit to Al Asad Airbase. On 26 December 2018, President
Donald Trump and First Lady
Melania Trump visited Al-Asad Airbase. In a speech given there, Trump claimed that the military hadn't gotten a raise in ten years, and that he would be giving them a raise of over 10 percent. However, American military personnel had received a pay hike of at least one percent for the past 30 years, got a 2.4 percent pay increase in 2018, and would receive a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2019. During the visit, Trump took photos with
Seal Team 5 special operators and posted images of their faces without obscuring them. The
Office of the Secretary of Defense said that no rules were broken, because the special operators volunteered to participate in the press event.
2020 Iranian missile attack According to a 3 January 2020
Reuters article, a "security source" inside Al-Asad Airbase and a "local official at a nearby town" said that the reports that the Al-Asad Airbase were under attack, are false. On 8 January 2020, Iranian media, shortly followed by American media, reported that missiles had been
launched by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the airbase. State TV reported that the operation's name was "Martyr Soleimani" and was in response to the killing head of the IRGC's Quds Force
Qasem Soleimani. The Pentagon confirmed that "more than a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iran." A defense official said, "10 of the missiles hit Al Asad Airbase, one struck Irbil in northern Iraq and four "failed in flight."
Attacks during the Gaza War On 17 October 2023, amid the
Gaza war, Iraqi militants launched a
drone strike on the airbase. The airstrike was intercepted. The next day, a false alarm in the airbase caused the death of a civilian contractor from
cardiac arrest. On 20 October, the US ordered all non-emergency staff to leave their embassy in
Baghdad and consulate in
Erbil. On 20 November, eight US and coalition soldiers were injured from a ballistic missile attack, and there was minor infrastructural damage after the air base was attacked by a ballistic missile. On 20 January 2024, the
Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for striking the base with dozens of missiles which injured several US military personnel and an Iraqi service member. At 6:30 p.m.
Baghdad time, the IRI launched multiple
ballistic missiles and other
rockets at the Al-Asad Airbase. The United States military attempted to defend the base with Patriot
missiles. More than 15 MIM-104 Patriot
missiles were launched to defend the base. On 5 August 2024, a missile attack targeted the airbase, resulting in injuries to at least five US servicemembers and two contractors. The attack involved the firing of two
Katyusha rockets, which landed inside the base. One of the injured servicemembers sustained serious injuries. The incident is seen as a potential escalation in the ongoing tensions between
Iran and the
United States. On 23 June 2025, Iran launched missiles, targeting al-Asad airbase that housed U.S. troops, in retaliation for the
United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
US withdrawal In accordance with an agreement signed in 2024 between the governments of Iraq and the United States, following the territorial defeat of ISIS and the end of
Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, US forces were scheduled to withdraw completely from Al-Asad base by September 2025, but due to the
Fall of the Assad regime in Syria and new developments regarding increasing ISIS activity subsequent to the regime change in Syria and – according to prime minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani – in order to not allow ISIS to "exploit the security vacuum", a force of 250–350 US troops remained in the base in October 2025. On 17 January 2026, the remaining troops withdrew and the Iraqi armed forces assumed full control of the base. ==See also==