Green Zone The Green Zone ( Arabic : , " al - munṭaqah al - ḫaḍrā ’ " ) is the most common name for the " International Zone of Baghdad " . It is a area of central Baghdad , Iraq , that was the governmental center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city . Its official name beginning under the Iraqi Interim Government is the International Zone , though " Green Zone " remains the most commonly used term . The contrasting " Red Zone " refers to parts of Baghdad immediately outside the perimeter , but was also loosely applied to all unsecured areas outside the " off - site " military posts . Both terms originated as military designations . Pre - invasion . The Green Zone was a heavily fortified zone in the center of the Iraqi capital that served as the headquarters of successive Iraqi regimes . It was the administrative center for the Ba ' ath Party . The area was not originally home to the villas of government officials though it was the location of a number of military bases , government ministries , and presidential palaces inhabited by Saddam Hussein and his family . The largest of these was the Republican Palace that was President Saddam Hussein ' s primary seat of power . The area is also known as " Karradat Mariam " so named for a locally famous woman who helped the poor people of Baghdad . Post - invasion . The area was taken by American military forces in April 2003 in some of the heaviest fighting during the capture of Baghdad . In the lead - up to the US invasion of Iraq , Saddam and many high status residents of the area were evacuated because of the much anticipated heavy aerial bombardment of the area by US forces . Most of the remaining residents fled as US ground forces closed in on the Iraqi capital out of a fear of arrest by Coalition forces or possible reprisals by disgruntled Iraqis . Some of the original inhabitants who did not flee continued to live in the area but many are also undocumented squatters referred to as the " 215 Apartments " . Coalition airstrikes at the outset of the fighting left a sizable number of buildings in central Baghdad abandoned . The Coalition Provisional Authority administrators who arrived on the heels of the forward invading forces decided they were ideal for use by Coalition administrators . Jay Garner , head of the reconstruction team , set up his headquarters in the former Republican Palace ; other villas were taken by groups of government officials and private contractors . Eventually some five thousand officials and civil contractors settled in the area . The abandoned buildings were not only attractive to Coalition forces , but also to homeless Iraqis . Among these were individuals who had lost their homes in the conflict , but most were urban poor who had been homeless or lived in slum s before the war and saw moving into the abandoned houses as a sizable increase in their standard of living . They felt that since they were not Ba ' athist , they had as much right to the vacated houses as the Coalition authorities . There continue to be some five thousand of these Iraqis living in the Green Zone . Entry to the Green Zone was under the control of a small garrison of American troops who manned the various checkpoints . They were typically a battalion of soldiers at FOB Prosperity , under the command of the Multi - National Division - Baghdad . Additionally , a battalion of coalition soldiers from the Republic of Georgia also manned the entry checkpoints . The Green Zone was completely surrounded by high concrete blast wall s , T - Wall s and barbed wire fences with access only available through a handful of entry control points , all of which controlled by Coalition troops . It is this security that made the Green Zone the safest area of Baghdad , and gave its name colloquially as " the bubble " . The southern and eastern side of the zone is protected by the Tigris River – the only entrance to the zone from this side is the Arbataash Tamuz ( July 14 ) Bridge ( named for the date that the former regime came to power . ) The Green Zone was frequently shelled by insurgents with mortar s and rocket s , though these attacks caused few casualties . In October 2004 it was hit by two suicide bombing s , which destroyed the bazaar and the Green Zone Cafe . On April 12 , 2007 , a bomb went off in the Iraqi Parliament cafeteria , killing Mohammed Awad ( a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front ) and injuring 22 , including one of the vice presidents . The Green Zone was shelled with rocket and mortar fire almost daily from Easter 2008 until May 5 , 2008 , causing numerous civilian and military casualties ; As stated in a USA Today Article " A high percentage of the rocket and mortar fire originated in Sadr City . On April 6 , 2008 , two U . S . soldiers were killed and 17 more wounded when a rocket or mortar attack struck inside the Green Zone . On July 22 , 2010 , three Triple Canopy security guard contractors ( two Ugandans and one Peruvian ) were killed and 15 more wounded ( including two U . S . nationals ) when a rocket attack struck inside the Green Zone . Since the handover of sovereignty to Iraqis , many of the facilities in the Green Zone have been turned over to the new Iraqi government . It is still a base for western private military contractors , and home to the U . S . , British , Australian , and Egypt ian embassies . The permanent U . S . embassy is located in the southern part of the International or " Green " Zone overlooking the Tigris River . On 1 January 2009 , full control of the International ( formerly " Green " ) Zone was handed over to Iraqi security forces .