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K1 Air Base

K1 Air Base is an Iraqi air force base located 15 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk. Kirkuk is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Iraq, and is located approximately 290 kilometers north of Baghdad. Since 2017, K1 Air Base has hosted U.S. and other Coalition forces who train Iraqi Security Forces to fight against ISIS. K1 Air Base is home to Iraqi forces from the 6th Federal Police, 61st Iraqi Army Brigade, and Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) Battalion Kirkuk.

K1 has been used by the Iraqi CTS and the Coalition to launch multiple combined operations in the Hamrin and Mamah-Gorah mountain ranges, which extend across Kirkuk, Diyala and Salah Ad-Din provinces. These mountain ranges have the potential to provide a safe haven for terrorists.

The K1 Air Base was the third site coalition forces left in March 2020 in line with US plans to consolidate its troops in two locations in Iraq. US soldiers stand guard during the hand over ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq early March 27, 2020.

The US-led coalition withdrew on 29 March 2020 from a military base in northern Iraq that nearly launched Washington into an open war with neighbouring Iran. A rocket attack on the base in late December killed one American contractor and lead to a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups. The attacks culminated in the US-directed killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al Muhandis.

"Today in another proud day for our Iraqi Security Force partners and the anti-ISIS international military Coalition," said Brig. Gen. Vincent Barker, CJTF-OIR director of sustainment. “K1 has served as a critical location for the Coalition, the ISF and Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service in the fight to find and destroy ISIS safe havens in the rugged Hamrin Mountains. It will continue to be a key location in our partnered efforts to eliminate the evils of Daesh. Today’s transfer was coordinated with the Government of Iraq and is possible thanks to the efforts and successes of our ISF partners."

CJTF-OIR will relocate and consolidate personnel and equipment from several Iraqi bases throughout 2020. The ISF increasingly conducts independent operations in the fight against Daesh and the defense of their homeland including the 2020 “Heroes of Iraq” and 2019’s “Will of Victory” campaigns. CJTF-OIR remains in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq and continues anti-ISIS advising. Currently, training operations are temporarily paused due to COVID-19 precautions. The Coalition will operate from fewer locations, but remains committed to supporting our partners in their fight against Daesh.

Coalition forces handed over the K1 air base in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk to Iraq's military, according to a coalition statement. At least $1.1 million of equipment was transferred to the Iraqis as 300 coalition personnel departed. K1 has hosted coalition forces since 2017 to launch operations against Daesh in the nearby mountainous areas. Areas south of Kirkuk, and north of neighbouring provinces of Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh remain hot beds of Daesh activity.

The stretch of territory is also disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, which has created security gaps benefiting Daesh militants. The coalition's presence had at times been a mediating presence between the two competing authorities. A senior coalition official earlier this month claimed Daesh was not as able to exploit the "security gap" between Iraqi and Kurdish forces as the militants did in the past.