Yusufiyah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yusifiyah (or Yusafiyah or Yusufiyah) is a regional township in the country of Iraq, located in Babylon Province, approximately 40 kilometers southwest of the capital, Baghdad. It is approximately 100 kilometers east of Fallujah, 10 kilometers west of the large city of Mahmudiyah, and 15 kilometers northwest of the town of Lutafiyah. Together, Yusifiyah, Mahmudiyah, and Lutafiyah form an area known as the "Triangle of Death" due to the high numbers of IEDs, sniper, and mortar/rocket attacks. Yusifiyah is similar in name to the area known as Sadr al Yusifiyah, which is a larger, more urban area near a Russian Thermal power plants, approximately 25 kilometers west-northwest of the town of Yusifiyah. A major canal, known as the Yusifiyah canal, runs from Sadr al Yusifiyah in the west, through Yusifiyah, and south to Lutafiyah.
The town of Yusifiyah is around 200 buildings, with less than ten buildings that are over five stories tall. There are at least three mosques within Yusifiyah itself, and at least one in each nearby village. The vast majority of buildings in Yusifiyah are one or two story brick and cement structures with shops on the first floor and apartments on the second or third floors.
The populace within the semi-urban area of Yusifiyah is predominantly Shiite, with a number of Sunni tribes (including the Carghouli tribe, near the JS Bridge) located in the smaller villages to the south and west. The smaller villages nearby include Mulla Fayad (approximately 2km southwest of Yusifiyah) and Rushdi Mullah (approximately 8km west of Yusifiyah). Agriculture is the main form of employment, with some retail and industrial shops within the town itself.
Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Yusifiyah has been continuously occupied by various US forces. Since 2004, these include a US Marine infantry company, a US Army infantry company from the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team, an air assault infantry company (B-1-502 INF) from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and currently a Mountain infantry company from the 10th Infantry Division (Mountain). According to information provided by icasualties.org, Coalition Forces have experienced at least 40 killed and several hundred wounded in operations in the Yusifiyah area since March 2003.
Currently, an Iraqi Army Battalion (4th Battalion of the 4th Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Army Division) occupies an old factory on the edge of the town of Yusifiyah. The US military is gradually ceding control to the Iraqi security forces.
