An Nukhayb ( ar, النخيب, alt. ''Nukhaib'', ''Nkheeb'') is a town in

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Prior to the 1940s and during a short period in the 1970s, the town was administered by the

Karbala Governorate Karbala Governorate ( ar, كربلاء ''Karbalāʾ'') is a governorate in central Iraq. Its administrative center is the city of Karbala, a holy city for Shia Muslims for housing the shrine of the revered Imam Hussein. The population is majority ...

. There has been conflict regarding to which governorate the town should belong. Nukhayb is located on the

Al-Abyad Wadi Wadi al-Abyad or al-Ubayyid (Arabic: وادي الأبيض, "white wadi") is the second-longest wadi in Iraq (after Wadi Hauran) and extends in west of Iraq within Al Anbar Governorate and Karbala Governorate. It runs for roughly , from Iraqi-Saud ...

at the largest road junction in the region, with roads going south to the Saudi Arabian border, north to the

Ramadi Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate w ...

–

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

highway, and northeast to

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...

. Nukhayb is the last Iraqi town before pilgrims cross into Saudi Arabia on their pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

. It has two satellite villages to the north, Habbariya (28 km) and Kesrah (51 km).

Mudaysis Air Base Mudaysis is a military airfield located in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. The field was used various times by the United States military during the 2003 Iraq War. During the 1991 Gulf War, the Mudaysis radar site was knocked out by F-15 Eagles. Seve ...

is located 50 km to the northwest of Nukhayb.

History

During the British Mandate,

John Bagot Glubb Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan's Arab Legion between 1939 a ...

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. البوركيبة في لواء الدليم

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. In another false checkpoint attack, 14 Iraqi border guards were killed by militants in June 2013. Reports in summer of 2014 indicated that the Iraqi Army and the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

(ISIS) clashed in the town, with government troops "fleeing" towards

. 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.

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 . About of precipitation falls annually.

History

Climate

References

Further reading