Khamisiyah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khamisiyah (Arabic: بغداد Khamisiyah) is the small city in southern Iraq located approximately 350km south east of Baghdad, 200km north-west of Kuwait City and 270km north of Al Qaysumah at lat 30.9402778 and longitude 47.2941667 and which falls under the province of Basrah [1]. This city, with estimated a population of 13,000, is most famous for the its Khamisiyah Ammunition Storage Facility, a site of approximately 25 square kilometres consisted of two sections: one of 88 warehouses; the other of 100 hardened concrete bunkers. An earth berm and security fencing surrounded the latter.[2] Destruction of ordnance on this site is thought to have consequently released nerve agents into the atmosphere that drifted south and reached allied troops. Records show that Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) sensors monitoring the air soon reported traces of nerve agents. These NBC detection units were attached to a number of allied countries, including the United States, Great Britain, and Poland.
[edit] 2002 Department of Defense Reports on Khamisiyah
In April 2002, the U.S. Department of Defense released several reports saying that had "released today two reports relating to the events at Khamisiyah during the Gulf War. The first report is a final version of its case narrative "U.S. Demolition Operations at Khamisiyah." The second, "Modeling and Risk Characterization of U.S. Demolition Operations at the Khamisiyah Pit," is a technical report detailing the modeling and risk characterization of possible chemical-warfare-agent exposure in the Gulf War. [3]
[edit] See also
- chemical weapons
- weapons of mass destruction
