Country Iraq District Ar-Rutba District Postal code 31016 | Governorate Anbar Governorate Time zone GMT+3 (UTC+3) Local time Tuesday 4:50 AM | |
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Weather 12°C, Wind NW at 13 km/h, 69% Humidity | ||
An Nukhayb (Arabic: النخيب, alt. Nukhaib, Nkheeb) is a town in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Prior to the 1940s and during a short period in the 1970s, the town was administered by the Karbala Governorate. There has been conflict regarding to which governorate the town should belong.
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Map of Al-Nukhib, Iraq
Nukhayb is located on the Al-Abyad Wadi at the largest road junction in the region, with roads going south to the Saudi Arabian border, north to the Ramadi–Jordan highway, and northeast to Karbala. Nukhayb is the last Iraqi town before pilgrims cross into Saudi Arabia on their pilgrimage to Mecca. It has two satellite villages to the north, Habbariya (28 km) and Kesrah (51 km).
History
During the British Mandate, John Bagot Glubb established a post at the well of Nukhayb to allow the Iraqi government to control its western deserts. Throughout 1929, sections of the Royal Air Force Armoured Cars served outpost duty in Nukhayb.
In 1960, Nukhayb was upgraded from village to subdistrict.
In 2010, Qatari royal Khalifa bin Abdulla bin Hassan bin Ali al-Thani was killed in Nukhayb when his GMC hit a bump and rolled during a hunting trip.
In September 2011, 22 Shia pilgrims en route from Damascus to Karbala were stopped at a fake checkpoint near Nukhayb, and then killed by gunmen. In another false checkpoint attack, 14 Iraqi border guards were killed by militants in June 2013.
Reports in summer of 2014 indicated that the Iraqi Army and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) clashed in the town, with government troops "fleeing" towards Karbala. ISIS was reported as having taken control of the town in late June of that year; the Iraqi government forces stated that they regained control of the town in late August of that year.
Climate
A 2013 study of 22 Iraqi meteorological stations from 1980-2010 showed that Nukhayb had the lowest mean annual rainfall value at 87mm, in contrast with Sulaimaniya which registered 717mm.