Muhandis Airbase
Muhandis Airbase, officially named The Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Airbase (Arabic: قاعدة الشهيد أبو مهدي المهندس الجوية qā‘idat ash-shahīd abū mahdī l-muhandis al-jawīyah), is a major military airbase of the Arab Air Force, the third-largest airbase in the Arab Union and largest in Iraq by operational scope and volume as well as number of aircraft and personnel therein stationed. It is located in the Baghdad suburb of Zaafraniya, located just southeast of Baghdad's municipal boundaries approximately 11 kilometres from Downtown Baghdad. Muhandis Airbase functions as the command headquarters and primary base of operations and maintenance of the Arab Air Force's 20th Tactical Wing.
Formerly known as Rasheed Airbase, it was renamed in honour of the late Commander of the Iraqi National Guard Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis following his assassination via drone strike by the United States alongside Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani on 3 January 2020. The airbase's adoption of its new name coincided with the simultaneous renaming of Baghdad's newly completed international airport in honour of Soleimani, who commanded the allied Iranian forces operating in the Arab Union which, in support of the Union Defence Forces (UDF) and National Guard, played a major role in the decisive defeat of ISIS/Daesh in 2019.