Route Irish
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Route Irish is the nickname of the 5 mile (8 km) stretch of highway in Baghdad, Iraq linking the the Green Zone to Baghdad International Airport. At the beginning of 2005, the Irish Brigade was given the job of safeguarding the route, frequently called the most dangerous road in Iraq. The Irish Brigade, known as the "Fighting 69th," is the modern United States National Guard unit descended from the 69th New York State Volunteers, formed at the beginning of the American Civil War.
Route Irish is an East-West road along south Baghdad. It is approximately 12 kilometers long and runs from the International Zone in downtown Baghdad to BIAP. The highway is a four-lane road with a 50 meter wide median. Route Irish has six major intersections. Each of these has been assigned a corresponding checkpoint number by Coalition Forces to facilitate command and control. Entry Control Point 1 (ECP 1) is located at one end of the highway near Baghdad International Airport. Checkpoints 539-543 follow the road east going into downtown.
Between 1 November 2004 and 12 March 2005, there were 135 attacks or hostile incidents that occurred along Route Irish. These included 9 complex attacks (i.e., a combination of more than one type of attack, e.g., an IED followed by small arms fire or mortars), 19 explosive devices found, 3 hand grenades, 7 indirect fire attacks, 19 roadside explosions, 14 rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), 15 vehicle borne explosive devices, and 4 other types of attacks. The attack density for the period 1 November 2004 to 12 March 2005 is 11.25 attacks per mile, or a minimum of one attack per day along Route Irish since November. The highest concentration of IED attacks occurs at 1000 hours, with the second highest concentration of attacks occurring at 1600 hours. These times correspond to convoys departing from or arriving at the Victory Base complex, the largest Coalition military facility in Baghdad. Approximately 66 percent of all night time attacks along Route Irish occur between the hours of 1900 and 2100. The incident at BP 541 occurred between 2030 and 2100 hours on 4 March 2005.
