Shaykh Mazhar Air Base Shaykh Mazhar Air Base is a former Iraqi Air Force base in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq . It was captured by Coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 . Overview . Shaykh Mazhar Air Base was one of several Iraqi Air Force airfields in the mid - 1970s which were re - built under project " Super - Base " in response to the experiences from Arab - Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973 . Originally , 13 airfields were re - built by British contractors , and on all of them also a number of hardened aircraft shelters was built . Subsequently companies from Yugoslavia - previously engaged in building bridges in Iraq - became involved . Due to their specific construction of these airfields - which included taxi - ways leading right out of Hardened Aircraft Shelters ( HAS ) and laid diagonally to the runways - they became known as " Trapezoids " or " Yugos " . The facilities were divided into two categories : " surface " and " underground " . The " surface " facilities were actually the " softest " , and included maintenance hangars of metal construction , and HAS of concrete construction . In total , the Yugoslavs have built no less but 200 HAS on different airfields in Iraq during the 1980s . The protection of each HAS consisted of one meter thick concrete shells , reinforced by 30 cm thick steel plates . There was only one entrance and this was covered by sliding doors , made of 50 cm thick steel armoured plate and concrete . The HAS ' were usually built in small groups - seldom more than five , with each group sharing the same water and power supply , besides having own backup gasoline - powered electrical generator , and each HAS being equipped with a semi - automatic aircraft - refuelling system . In addition , underground facilities that could shelter between four and ten aircraft on average were constructed . In order to build these the Yugoslavs used equipment and construction techniques identical to that use in underground oil - storage depots , additionally concealing the extension and the true purpose of the whole project . The underground facilities were all hardened to withstand a direct hit by a tactical nuclear bomb , buried up to 50 meters below the ground and consisted of the main aircraft " hangar " ( consisting of two floors in several cases , connected by 40ts hydraulic lifts ) , connected with operations , maintenance , and logistical facilities via a net of underground corridors . Very little is known about this facility , except that it was operational already in the early 1980s , and usually had at least a squadron of MiG - 21s or MiG - 23s , which were instrumental in the defence of Baghdad against Iranian air raids . Nevertheless , together with Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base , Salman Pak was in the middle of an area full of military installations - including several ammunition depots ( also two used for storage of chemical weapons at earlier times ) - and during the 1990s it had a squadron of Shenyang F - 7 and MiG - 23 fighters . The base was heavily attacked by Coalition airpower during Operation Desert Storm in January 1991 , and seized by Coalition ground forces in February 1991 . It was abandoned by the Iraqi Air Force after the cease fire in late February . Current aerial imagery shows that the operational structures around the airfield appear to have been demolished and removed . Today the concrete runway and series of taxiways remain exposed and deteriorating to the elements , being reclaimed by the desert .