Camp Bucca   | |
|---|---|
| Umm Qasr, Basra Governorate in Iraq | |
 A soldier patrols along a catwalk at Camp Bucca (2009) | |
  Camp Bucca Camp Bucca in Iraq | |
| Coordinates | 30°04′01″N 47°52′29″E / 30.06694°N 47.87472°E |
| Type | Internment Facility |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | United States Air Force United States Army United States Navy |
| Site history | |
| Built | 2003 Expansions 2004, 2005, 2007, 2007–2008 |
| Built by | U.S. Army Engineers, U.S. Air Force Prime BEEF teams Kellogg Brown and Root United States Army Corps of Engineers United States Navy Seabees |
| In use | 2003–2009 |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Camp Bucca (Arabic: سجن بوكا, romanized: Sijn Būkā) was a forward operating base that housed a theater internment facility[1] maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th Military Police Brigade) in April 2003, it was renamed after Ronald Bucca, the only New York City fire marshal in history to be killed in the line of duty, during the 11 September 2001 attacks.[2][3] The site where Camp Bucca was built had earlier housed the tallest structure in Iraq, a 492-meter-high TV mast.[4][5][6]
After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, many detainees from Abu Ghraib were transferred to Bucca, where U.S. authorities hoped to showcase a model detention facility.[7] Nevertheless, Camp Bucca was the scene of prisoner abuse documented over many years by the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and U.S. Army investigators. It housed numerous prominent Islamic extremists, including a significant portion of the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, future leader of the Islamic State (IS), who enjoyed good relations with camp authorities while there. Bucca has been described as a breeding ground for Islamic extremism, and has been cited as contributing to the emergence of IS.[8]
On 17 September 2009, the U.S. military announced that the base would be closed.[9] In December 2010, the U.S. military handed the base to the government of Iraq, who, on the same day, gave Kufan Group of Iraq a license to invest in the new Basra Gateway, to provide a hub for Iraq's port.[citation needed]
- ^ "US jail guards in Iraq abuse case". BBC. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
- ^ Clinton, Sgt. Randall A. (16 September 2010). "Camp Bucca, Iraq flag presented to namesake's family". Communication Directorate. Marines.mil. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
Bucca, a New York City fire marshal, was killed in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001. In 2003, the detention facility was renamed in his honor as a tribute to the only fire marshal killed in the line of duty.
- ^ "Camp Bucca Joint Operations Base in Umm Qasr, Iraq". Military Bases. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".
- ^ "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".
- ^ GmbH, Emporis. "Umm Qasr TV Mast, Az Zubayr - 1249233 - EMPORIS". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Khalil, Ashraf (10 January 2005). "Camp Bucca Turns 180 Degrees From Abu Ghraib". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ Chulov, Martin (11 December 2014). "Isis: the inside story". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ John Pike (17 September 2009). "Camp Bucca detention center closes in Iraq". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 19 July 2014.