Habbaniya, Iraq

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Lake Habbaniyah (Arabic: هور الحبانية‎ Hawr al-Habbaniyah) is a shallow natural lake in al-Anbar, Iraq, west of Baghdad. It has a surface area 140km². Traditionally the lake has been used to hold floodwater from the River Euphrates, and in 1956 a barrage was constructed at Ramadi for this purpose. The lake was also used for recreational purposes.

In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used as a refuelling point for seaplanes flying from the United Kingdom to India.Nearby on the banks of the Euphrates had already been established the RAF base of Dhibban, later renamed RAF Habbaniya. It was the scene of action during the Anglo-Iraqi War when the troops there effectively defended themselves against attacks from Iraqi troops.

Habbaniya is now site of a major United States military base known as Al Taqqadum. The military base is across the river from Habbaniyah, and it's responsible for the training of the new Sunni 5000. A drive by the Iraqi MOD to incorporate Sunni Iraqi's into the military to make it more representative, the base having had its first graduation of recruits in May 2006.