K-1 Air Base
{{Short description|Military airbase in Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = K-1 Air Base
| ensign = Flag of the Iraqi Ground Forces.svg
| ensign_size = 90px
| native_name = Kaywan
| partof =
| location = Kirkuk Governorate
| nearest_town =
| country = Iraq
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| coordinates = {{Coord|35|30|45|N|44|17|03|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
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| type = Military Airbase
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| pushpin_map = Iraq
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| pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Iraq
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| pushpin_label = K-1 Air Base
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| ownership = Ministry of Defence (Iraq)
| operator = Iraqi Army
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| built = {{Start date|2003}}
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| used = 2003 – present
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File:Iraqi_army_swat_soldier.jpg
K-1 Air Base, or Kaywan, is a former Iraqi Air Force base and military base in the Kirkuk Governorate of Iraq. It was captured by Coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, later served as the headquarters of the 12th Division of the Iraqi Army. In 2014 it was taken over by the Kurdish Peshmerga. On October 16, 2017, the base was taken back by Iraqi special forces during the Battle of Kirkuk.
History
K-1 was a primary air base for the Iraqi Air Force prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is named after the pumping station at mile 0 (at the Kirkuk oil field) of the Kirkuk-Haifa oil pipeline that was commissioned in 1934.
=Iraq war 2003–2011=
It was used as a Contingency Operating Location by the United States Army after the 2003 U.S. invasion.
During the American presence in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces used training centers at K1 as hubs for combined instruction between U.S. soldiers and various units of Iraqi Security Forces, including Iraqi Army infantry and route clearance units.
"This base will eventually be turned over from Location Command to the 12th Division," said Hall. “The 12th IA is planning on using the K1 facility to support a new tank regiment that is forming. The regiment is not on the ground yet, but it is in the working for the future.”
Soldiers of Company C, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion and 101st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, vacated and transferred control of Contingency Operating Location K1 to Iraq Security Forces, July 25, 2011.
=2014–present=
During the Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014) by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the 12th Division of the Iraqi Army, consisting of over 12,000 soldiers, fled this base. It was briefly captured by the Islamic State but they were swiftly pushed out by the Kurdish Peshmerga. During this period the base suffered looting both by IS and local residents.{{cite news |last=Hawramy |first=Fazel |title=Kurdish peshmerga seize a chaotic victory in Kirkuk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/12/kurdish-peshmerga-kirkuk-iraq-maliki |newspaper=The Guardian |date=12 June 2014 |access-date=4 January 2019 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited}}{{cite news |title=Iraq's military base reduced to wreckage |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2014/06/iraq-military-base-reduced-wreckage-20146165245682801.html |work=aljazeera.com |date=16 January 2014 |access-date=4 January 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |agency=Al Jazeera Media Network}}{{cite news |title=Peshmerga keep Kirkuk army bases abandoned by Iraqi soldiers |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070120171 |work=Rudaw.net |date=7 January 2017 |access-date=4 January 2019}}
The base has since hosted military personnel from multiple countries participating in the coalition war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including Americans, Italians, French, Norwegians and others.{{cite news |title=As economic crisis continues, will Kurdish peshmerga desert? |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/iraq-kurdistan-peshmerga-popular-mobilization-forces-isis.html |work=Al-Monitor |date=3 March 2016 |access-date=4 January 2020 |first=Shelly |last=Kittleson}} There are reportedly American soldiers present at the base, training and advising Peshmerga.
On May 7, 2017, at least two soldiers were killed and six injured when multiple Islamic State suicide bombers attacked the base.{{cite news |title=Iraq: ISIL suicide bombers target Kirkuk military base |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/iraq-isil-suicide-bombers-target-kirkuk-military-base-170507094317220.html |work=aljazeera.com |date=7 May 2017 |access-date=4 January 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |agency=Al Jazeera Media Network}}{{cite news |title=Islamic State attacks kill two at Iraqi base where U.S. advisers stationed |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-security-idUSKBN18307O |work=Reuters |date=7 May 2017 |access-date=4 January 2020 |first1=Mustafa |last1=Mahmoud |first2=Ahmed |last2=Tolba |editor-first=Larry |editor-last=King |editor2-first=Isabel |editor2-last=Coles |publisher=The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles}}
On October 16, 2017 the base was taken back from Kurdish control by Iraqi special forces during the Battle of Kirkuk (2017).
On December 27, 2019, around 7:20 pm, a rocket attack targeting the base killed a U.S. civilian contractor and wounded several American and Iraqi personnel.{{cite news |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/american-defense-contractor-killed-troops-wounded-in-rocket-attack-on-base-in-kirkuk-1.612677 |title=American defense contractor killed, troops wounded in rocket attack on base in Kirkuk |access-date=28 December 2019 |first=Chad |last=Garland |date=28 December 2019 |newspaper=Stripes.com}} The attack was suspected to be conducted by Iran-backed militants of Kata'ib Hezbollah.{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-civilian-contractor-killed-troops-injured-rocket-attack/story?id=67949811 |title=US civilian contractor killed, several troops injured in rocket attack on Iraqi military base |access-date=28 December 2019 |first1=Elizabeth |last1=McLaughlin |first2=Luis |last2=Martinez |date=27 December 2019 |work=ABC News |editor-first=Conor |editor-last=Finnegan}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-12-27/iraqi-military-base-housing-us-forces-attacked-with-rockets-statement |title=U.S. Civilian Contractor Killed in Iraq Base Rocket Attack: Officials |access-date=28 December 2019 |date=27 December 2019 |work=US News}} That led to retaliatory airstrikes conducted by United States in Iraq and Syria, killing 25 Kata'ib Hezbollah militiamen.{{Cite news|title=US attacks Iran-backed militia bases in Iraq and Syria|work=BBC News|date=30 December 2019|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50941693}}
The United States Army left the air base on March 29, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/03/29/us-pulls-out-of-a-third-base-in-iraq/|title=U.S. pulls out of a third base in Iraq|publisher=Military Times|date=March 29, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Spc. Justin Naylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs, [https://www.army.mil/article/30409/Iraqi_Army_opens_new_center_for_engineers Iraqi Army opens new center for engineers, November 13, 2009]
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Category:Army installations of Iraq
Category:Iraqi Air Force bases