The facility was part of a large military complex at Jurf Al Sakhar (Jur al-Sahkar), about 60-70 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, near al-Musayyib.
Detailed confirmation of these programs only surfaced in the wake of the Gulf War (1990–91), following investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in charge of the disarmament of Saddam's Iraq.
The Al Hakum facility began mass production of weapons-grade anthrax in 1989 and ultimately produced 8,000 liters or more.
In the aftermath of the Gulf War, Iraq officially acknowledged that it had worked with several species of bacterial pathogen, including Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium perfringens (which causes gas gangrene) and several viruses (including enterovirus 17 [i.e., human conjunctivitis], rotavirus and camel pox).
In total, a half million liters of biological agents were grown.