Iskandariyah
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Iskandariya الإسكندرية Alexandria of Iraq |
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Iskandariyah thermal power plant, 2008
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 Iskandariya
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| Coordinates: 32°54′N 44°21′E / 32.900°N 44.350°E | |
| Country | Iraq |
| Governorate | Babil |
| Population | |
| • Total | 200 000 |
Al-Iskandariya or Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية, also given as Iskandariyah, Iskanderiyah, Iskanderiya, Iskanderiyeh or Sikandariyeh or Al Askandariyah) is an ancient city in central Iraq, one of a number of towns in the Near East named after Alexander the Great (Al-Iskandar in Arabic). It is a majority Shia Arab district including Musayyib and Jurf Al Sakhr. The district capital is located about 45 miles (70 km) south of Baghdad, near the Euphrates River.[ Source: Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar ]
In ancient times Alexandria stood half way between Babylon (the place of Alexander's death) and Seleucia on the Tigris (the capital of the Seleucid Empire, very near to modern Baghdad).
As of now, most of the town is made up of slums. Buildings are built from brick, mud, and sheet metal. The nearby city of Musayyib houses the largest power plant in Iraq, made by Russian engineers. The Hateen Munitions Complex located in and around Alexandria housed the majority of the munitions for the former regime. There are also apartments in Iskandariya, called the Hateen Apartments, which received their name from all the workers at the munitions plant living there.
During the late 1980s, Alexandria was the site of a major element of Saddam Hussein's programme to acquire nuclear weapons. The Al Qaqaa State Establishment, located in the town, is believed to have been put in charge of developing the non-nuclear components for a nuclear weapon. It was subsequently inspected by United Nations weapons inspectors and officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 1989, the British journalist Farzad Bazoft was arrested there after visiting Alexandria to check reports that an explosion at the Al Qaqaa plant had killed 7000 people. He was subsequently executed by the Iraqi authorities.
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