7th Division (Iraq)

The 7th Division is a division of the Iraqi Army. First formed in the 1960s or 1970s, in was reported in 1977–78 to have its headquarters at Sulaimaniyah with five brigades (all active).[1] It was disbanded in 2003. It was reformed after 2004. It served in the 1991 Gulf War at the Battle of Kuwait International Airport. It is now headquartered at Al Asad Airbase. This division was trained by the United States Marine Corps. It played a part in the defeat of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Al Anbar Governorate in 2007. It was transferred to the Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC) on November 1, 2007.[2]

7th Iraqi Army Division
An Iraqi soldier fires the RPK light machine gun. The Iraqi soldiers, including those of the 7th Division are trained in infantry school of Al Asad.
Activec.1960s–2003
2004–present
Country Iraq
BranchArmy
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Size9,000+
Part ofIraqi Ground Forces Command
Garrison/HQRamadi (pre 2014)
Al Asad Airbase (c.2015)
EngagementsIran–Iraq War

Gulf War

Iraq War

Iraqi insurgency
Commanders
Current
commander		Maj. Gen. Murthi Mishin Rafa Farahan
Insignia
Division Flag

Division Units:

  • 26th Motorized (AAslt) Brigade
  • 27th Motorized (AAslt) Brigade
  • 28th Motorized Brigade
  • 29th Mechanized Brigade (operational since April 3, 2008)

In accordance with the standards of training Iraqi forces the division's brigades or battalions will be committed at all times in other units. This was tested by detaching units of the 7th Division south of Baghdad in early of 2008. The 29th is the last brigade formed in the desert of western Iraq, is based in Rutbah, it may be in line to be equipped with wheeled armour like the 37th or 17th Brigades.

In May 2008, the 26th Brigade participated in operations in Basra.

On 21 December 2013, Maj Gen Mohammed al-Karawi, the Commander of the division, was killed during a security operation in Rutbah against al-Qaeda training camps. In the incident, several suicide bombs had gone off as Karawi was entering a deserted building, killing Karawi alongside several officers, and wounding up to 32 soldiers. More than 60 militants had been in the area at the time.[3]

Throughout late 2014 and early 2015, some 320 US advisers trained the troops of the 7th Division, which occasionally engaged in skirmishes with militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[4]

References
  1. Annual Report on the Iraqi Armed Forces, FCO 8/3108, The National Archives.
  2. "7th Iraqi Army Division now Controlled by Iraqi Government" (Press release). MNF-I. November 3, 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. "Bomb attack kills officers in Iraq's Anbar province". BBC News. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. 7th Division, Iraqi Army. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
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