Iraqi Sunni Triangle
Encyclopedia
The Sunni Triangle is a densely-populated region of Iraq
to the northwest of Baghdad
that is inhabited mostly by Sunni
Muslim
Arab
s.
The roughly triangular area's corners are usually said to lie near Baqubah
(on the east side of the triangle), Baghdad
(on the South side), Ramadi
(on the west side) and Tikrit
(on the north side). Each side is approximately 125 miles long. The area also contains the cities of Samarra
and Fallujah
.
The area was a center of strong support for former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
's government; starting in the 1970s many government workers, politicians, and military leaders came from the area. Saddam himself was born just outside Tikrit.
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, the area became a focus of armed Sunni opposition
to Coalition rule. It was widely predicted in the Western press that Saddam would seek shelter from Sunni supporters and on December 13, 2003, he was captured in a raid on the village of ad-Dawr
about 15 km south of Tikrit.
The term "Sunni triangle" was used intermittently from the 1970s among academic Iraq specialists, usually to differentiate it from the northern and southern parts of the country. An early use in mainstream media is a San Francisco Chronicle article of September 14, 2002 in which former United Nations
weapons inspector Scott Ritter
says: "We may be able to generate support for an invasion among some of the Shiites and some of the Kurds, but to get to Baghdad you must penetrate the Sunni Triangle." However, it did not achieve widespread use until a New York Times article of June 10, 2003 popularised the term in a report on "a new U.S. effort to quell nascent armed resistance in Sunni Muslim-dominated areas north and west of Baghdad [in an] area known as the 'Sunni triangle'." It has since become virtually ubiquitous in reports on the US-led coalition's efforts to control the region.
The "Sunni Triangle" should not be confused with the so-called "Triangle of Death", an area south of Baghdad
inhabited by Sunni majority which was the focus of major combat activity in November and December 2004.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to the northwest of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
that is inhabited mostly by Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s.
The roughly triangular area's corners are usually said to lie near Baqubah
Baqubah
Baqubah 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 population of some 467,900 people....
(on the east side of the triangle), Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
(on the South side), Ramadi
Ramadi
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.-History:Ramadi is located in a fertile, irrigated, alluvial plain.The Ottoman Empire founded Ramadi in 1869...
(on the west side) and Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
(on the north side). Each side is approximately 125 miles long. The area also contains the cities of Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
and Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
.
The area was a center of strong support for former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's government; starting in the 1970s many government workers, politicians, and military leaders came from the area. Saddam himself was born just outside Tikrit.
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, the area became a focus of armed Sunni opposition
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
to Coalition rule. It was widely predicted in the Western press that Saddam would seek shelter from Sunni supporters and on December 13, 2003, he was captured in a raid on the village of ad-Dawr
Ad-Dawr
Ad-Dawr, is a small agricultural town near the Iraqi town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's birthplace....
about 15 km south of Tikrit.
The term "Sunni triangle" was used intermittently from the 1970s among academic Iraq specialists, usually to differentiate it from the northern and southern parts of the country. An early use in mainstream media is a San Francisco Chronicle article of September 14, 2002 in which former United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
weapons inspector Scott Ritter
Scott Ritter
William Scott Ritter, Jr. was an important United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, and later a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass...
says: "We may be able to generate support for an invasion among some of the Shiites and some of the Kurds, but to get to Baghdad you must penetrate the Sunni Triangle." However, it did not achieve widespread use until a New York Times article of June 10, 2003 popularised the term in a report on "a new U.S. effort to quell nascent armed resistance in Sunni Muslim-dominated areas north and west of Baghdad [in an] area known as the 'Sunni triangle'." It has since become virtually ubiquitous in reports on the US-led coalition's efforts to control the region.
The "Sunni Triangle" should not be confused with the so-called "Triangle of Death", an area south of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
inhabited by Sunni majority which was the focus of major combat activity in November and December 2004.