Iraq was created at the close of World War I from the former Ottoman Empire as part of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.

The H-1, H-2 and H-3 airfields in Western Iraq were used as operating hubs for Iraqi mobile Scud units deployed to bombard Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.

Securing the area was seen to be vital to deny Iraq the opportunity to launch WMD-loaded Scuds into Israel once the invasion began, while also permitting coalition control of road traffic to and from Syria and Jordan.

This and other similar reports suggest that one of the key targets of the special forces were suspected Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) production and storage sites.

Those plans never materialised and today current aerial imagery shows that the operational structures around the airfield appear to have been demolished and removed.

Today the concrete runway and series of taxiways remain exposed and deteriorating to the elements, being reclaimed by the Iraqi desert.