Allegiance Iraq Type Motorised Infantry | Branch Iraqi Army Size Division | |
Active c. 1930s–2003;
2004–present Country Kingdom of Iraq (c. 1930s-1958)
Republic of Iraq (1958-1968)
Ba'athist Iraq (1968-2003)
Iraq (2004-present) | ||
The 4th Division is an infantry formation of the Iraqi Army. It was formed before 1941, disbanded in 2003, but reactivated after 2004.
It was one of the four original divisions of the Iraqi Army, being active in 1941. At the beginning of the Anglo-Iraqi War it was in Al Diwaniyah on the main rail line from Baghdad to Basra. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq it was part of the V Corps in northern Iraq, alongside the 1st Mechanised Division. It was disbanded along with the rest of the army by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 in mid-2003.
It was later reformed. The 4th Division’s battalions are former Iraqi National Guard units, recruited locally. The division is ethnically diverse and had operational control of a number of Strategic Infrastructure Battalions protecting oil pipelines. The Strategic Infrastructure units have now been split off to become the 12th Division. The 4th Brigade of the 4th Division was transferred to the 12th Division, and a new 17th Brigade was being trained in July 2008.
Today its base is in the city of Tikrit. It was certified and assumed responsibility for most of Salah ad Din Governorate and At-Ta'mim Governorate provinces, including the major cities Samarra and Tikrit in 2006. However in mid-2010 it relinquished responsibility of the At-Ta'min Governorate and currently remains responsible for the security of the majority of Salah Ad Din.
The 14th Brigade was deployed as part of the force during the Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra since May 2008, but has subsequently moved to assume responsibility for the Sharquat area north of Tikrit.