Jurf al-Nasr, formerly known as Jurf al-Sakhar until late 2014 and its reconquest by the Iraqi Government forces from ISIS forces, is a small town in Iraq, located about 60 kilometers southwest of Baghdad. It is near Musayyib and approximately 80 kilometers east of Fallujah. At the start of 2014, it had about 89,000 people, mostly Sunni Muslims from the al-Janabi tribe. Ever since the Sunni Arab population of the town and surrounding countryside have been made to leave after the retaking of the town from ISIS. The former residents are now largely refugees in Fallujah, Yusofiyya, Al Musayyib. Jurf al-Sakhar housed a large military complex including the Al Hakum facility, at one time Iraq's most sophisticated and largest biological weapons production factory. During the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, Jurf al-Sakhar was one of the first towns under the "concerned citizens" program, in which the local populace was paid to secure the town via checkpoints along its roads, funded by money supplied by the U.S. military. The influx of money led to an almost instantaneous decrease in violence in the area. It is also the location of some of the most bitter fighting during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nine medals for valor were awarded to the paratroopers of Apache Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, for their actions in and around the town. The unit was also awarded the Valorous Unit Award, the second highest unit award in the US Army.
ISIS control
In 2014 Jurf al-Nasr was captured by the ISIS terrorist organization. On 24 October 2014Operation Ashura was launched in the area by the Iraqi government forces and additional forces from the Popular Mobilization Forces and volunteers aided by coalition airstrikes caused the liberation of much of the city, the operation is led by the Iraqi Minister of Interior. Hadi Al-Amiri and Qasem Soleimani were main commanders of Iraqi forces in recapturing operation. On October 29, Babil Government decided to lock the whole of Jurf al-Sakhar down to the area's displaced people for 8 months, so as to remove the numerous improvised explosive devices and clear the houses of bombs that had been placed by ISIS. A member of Babil Government Council declared that the old project for building a refinery in the area — been abandoned after 2003 war — to be reactivated, along with other projects aiming to renovate several building and streets. Babylon Provincial Council announced that the name of Jurf al-Sakhar, meaning "rocky bank", was changed into Jurf al-Nasr, meaning "victory bank", after the triumph over ISIS in the area.
