It is bordered by the districts of Lashkar Gah, Nad Ali, Garmsir, and Rig, as well as the provinces of Nimruz and Kandahar.

[3] Nawa-I-Barakzayi is located on a flood plain that had been farmed for centuries, with farmers taking water from the river via locally built canals.

In Helmand Province groups of local warlords and armed resistance fighters quickly rose in opposition to the government and filled the power vacuum left by the khans.

[11] In 2008 the Taliban launched their spring offensive, Operation Ebrat, aimed at isolating Lashkar Gah, using Nawa-i-Barakzayi as a staging area for men and equipment coming north from Garmsir.

[16][17] In the late summer and early fall the Marines detained Haji Adam, one of Nawa's main drug lords, and turned his house into Combat Outpost (COP) Sullivan.

[19] On December 17, 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Patrol Base Jaker and touted the security gains by touring the Nawa district center without wearing body armor.

[20] Several weeks later Afghan President Hamid Karzai and ISAF commander General Stanley McChrystal also visited Nawa on January 2, 2010.

[2] On January 9, 2010, British journalist Rupert Hamer and Lance Corporal Mark D Juarez of 1st Battalion 3rd Marines were killed by an IED in the district.

[21] On January 10, 2010, Lance Corporal Jacob A. Meinert with 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, Bravo Company was killed in action in Nawa, Afghanistan.

[1] On January 24, 2010, Lance Corporal Timothy J. Poole Jr. with 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, Bravo Company was killed in action during a patrol in Nawa, Afghanistan.

[22] By early June 2009 over 10,000 Marines had poured into southern Afghanistan, the first wave of what President Obama promised would be a 21,000 strong surge.

[23] The Marines planned a series of operations to assault Taliban strongholds and then consolidate the Afghan government's position in the region.

According to Marine Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, the operation was aimed to improve security ahead of presidential elections, allowing voter registration where before there was none.

The conflict began around 1:00 am local time when Marines were dropped by CH-47s and UH-60s helicopters of the 82nd Airborne Division, into dirt fields around the district capital of Nawa-I-Barakzayi.

The Marines refrained from calling in a fixed-wing airstrike and instead used the 20mm guns from their AH-1W SuperCobra helicopter gunships to avoid the risk of civilian casualties.

[29] Partnering with Afghan National Army soldiers from the 215th Corps, the battalion found itself in an area awash with money as the U.S. Agency for International Development was in the process of spending $30 million in an attempt to increase agricultural production (and create jobs for thousands of otherwise-potential Taliban recruits), but was also resulting in tensions between the local community council and tribal elders.

[30][31] In-mid June, Lima Company took part in Operation New Dawn, establishing observation posts in southern Shorshork, an area in between Nawa and Marjeh.

[32] In late July, the battalion suffered the loss of Corporal Joe Wrighstman, who drowned in the Helmand River while attempting to save the life of an Afghan National policeman.

[31][36] In September, while providing pre-election security for the Afghan parliamentary elections the battalion suffered another loss when 1st Lieutenant Scott Fleming was shot and killed.

Residents claimed that the Marines from 3rd Battalion had implemented good security measures and encouraged the people to cooperate with the government, preventing the Taliban from firing a single shot.

[38] By the end of 3rd Battalion's deployment in the fall of 2010, Nawa was regarded by many as "a model of counterinsurgency operations and the most stable district" in southern Afghanistan.

Mujahideen commander Mullah Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada, based in Musa Qala in the north, first issued a fatwa legalizing poppy cultivation in Helmand Province in 1981.

[41] Under Taliban rule, Nawa-I-Barakzayi's opium production plummeted to as low as 505 hectares in 1996, although it would steadily increase throughout the late Nineties.

The International Security Assistance Force main representative is Lieutenant Colonel Matt Baker of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines.

After the Taliban fled in 2009 the district marketplace reopened, irrigation canal clearing projects started, and a local community council was established.

There are currently plans to build a road linking Nawa and nearby Garmsir District with the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.