Balad
بلد | |
|---|---|
City | |
 | |
  Balad | |
| Coordinates: 34°0′59″N 44°08′43″E / 34.01639°N 44.14528°E | |
| Country | Iraq |
| Governorate | Saladin |
| District | Balad |
| Elevation | 52 m (171 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 80,000[1] |
Balad[2] (Arabic: بلد), also transliterated Beled or Belad, is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District. Located in Iraq's volatile Sunni Triangle, between the towns of Al Dhuluiya, Yathrib and Ishaqi, Balad's inhabitants are primarily farmers who work mainly on grape and date farms and as citrus growers.
In the later months of 2014 the city was besieged by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces, which were repelled by the Shia citizens of the city and the Iraqi Army.[3]
- ^ التعداد السكاني لقضاء بلد بحسب أحصاء عام 2015
- ^ Gazetteer of Iraq (Defense Mapping Agency, 1990), p. 86.
- ^ Iraq's Balad braced for battle with ISIL: Residents told to stock up on food and fuel as government forces confront group over control of strategic areas, Al Jazeera, Dec. 10, 2014.