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Salman Pak
| |
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city | |
Coordinates: 33°06′N 44°35′E / 33.100°N 44.583°E | |
Country | Iraq |
Governorate | Baghdad |
District | Al-Mada'in |
Elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 117,500 |
Salman Pak (Arabic: سَلْمَان بَاك, Persian: سلمان پاک, romanized: Salman the Pure) is a city located approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Baghdad near a peninsula formed by a broad eastward bend of the Tigris. It is named after Salman the Persian, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who is believed to be buried in Salman Al-Farsi Mosque in the city.[1][2]
The city overlaps with the ancient metropolis of al-Mada'in, which includes the ruins of ancient Ctesiphon and ancient Seleucia. It is also quite close to the Salman Pak facility, an Iraqi military installation which was a key center of Saddam Hussein's biological and chemical weapons programs, though none of these were found.[3] The site included training grounds used by Iraqi intelligence to direct Special Operations Forces.