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Baquba




The city is located at , some 50 km to the northeast of Baghdad , on the Diyala River , within Iraq's so-called Sunni Triangle . In 2002 it had an estimated population of some 280,000 people.

The site has been inhabited continuously since pre- Islam ic times as a center for agriculture and commerce. The name itself is thought to have come from the Assyrian Language Baya 'quba, meaning “Jacob's house.” It served as a waystation between Baghdad and Khorasan on the medieval Silk Road . It is now known as the center of Iraq's commercial orange groves.

During the course of the U.S-led occupation of Iraq, Baquba emerged as the scene of some of the heaviest guerilla activity, along with the Sunni enclaves of Fallujah , Ramadi , and Samarra . It was the site of the heaviest fighting during the June 24 , 2004 insurgent offensive. Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad , led by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi , took responsibility for the attacks.


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