Buhriz ( ar, بهرز) is an
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
i town of about 35,400 located 25 miles (40 km) north of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and 6 miles (9.5 km) south of the major city of
Baqubah
Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populat ...
.
Background
The town of Buhriz is heavily agricultural, located on fertile land along the
Diyala River and engaged in the cultivation of
date palms,
orange trees, and other crops.
The town has a beautiful old bazar that lies near the small river of Sariah (Khuraisan), it sells all kind of local fruit & vegetables. close to the bazar are two of the oldest mosques in Diyala province, The Big Mosque and Abu Al Gaith Mosque. Not far from it are 3 very nice local tea bars. or as locals call it (Gahwa), where usually people sit and have a nice cup of tea and chit chat about their days, and also it's a place to gather and watch matches of football.
It maintains a rural character despite its proximity to Baqubah and Baghdad, with many residents living in traditional mud huts with some concrete-block houses. The town was known under the regime of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
as the home of many members of the
Ba'ath Party, as well as being particularly conservative with traditional religious and tribal values predominate. Following the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
in 2003, Buhriz emerged as a flashpoint for
guerrilla fighters opposed to the
Coalition troops and their Iraqi allies. It became the scene of repeated battles between U.S. forces and rebels throughout the spring and summer of 2004, essentially falling under guerrilla control. Local leaders blame the detention of over 200 Buhriz residents as provoking further hostility.
Yet in a shocking change of events in April 2007 and after the town was taken by al-Qaeda, the locals of the town had an agreement with the U.S. force in the area; it simply stated that they're going to help Americans kill and capture all of those who are associated with Al-Qaeda, in exchange U.S. forces will help them return safely to their homes that were taken by Al-Qaeda; this was the beginning of a great change in the balance of forces that led eventually to the full control over Diyala province by U.S. and Iraqi forces.
History
Buhriz may be the site of the medieval city of
Bajisra. Its modern name is probably in honor of
Mujahid ad-Din Buhriz, the engineer who in made the last serious effort to repair and re-open the nearby
Nahrawan Canal
The Nahrevan Canal (Persian: کانال نرهوان) was a major irrigation system of the Sassanid and early Islamic periods in central Iraq, along the eastern banks of the Tigris and the lower course of the Diyala River. Created in the 6th centu ...
in 1140.
[Adams, Robert M. (1965). ''Land Behind Baghdad''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .]
Notable people
*
Noor Sabri
Noor Sabri Abbas Hasan Al-Baidawi ( ar, نور صبري عباس حسن البيداوي), simply known as Noor Sabri (born 6 June 1984 in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Iraqi professional goalkeeper. He plays for Samarra in the Iraqi Premier League. He ...
, Iraqi football goalkeeper.
References
Populated places in Diyala Province
{{Iraq-geo-stub