Bamarni Air Base
Bamarni Air Base is a military airport in Dohuk Governorate in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located near Bamarni in Amadiya District. The base is garrisoned with around 60 Iraq tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and one commando battalion. History. The airport was partially constructed near Bamarni for use by Saddam Hussein to visit his residence in the vicinity, and was then known as Sarsing airport. It was bombed in 1991 during the Gulf War, and was rebuilt soon after by the US 133rd Naval Mobile Construction Battalion as part of Operation Provide Comfort. The Turkish Armed  Forces began to operate from the airfield in 1996, and established two bases at Bamarni as part of an agreement with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, during the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War. The Iraqi base's facilities were upgraded in 2006, and was the scene of a 90-minute standoff on 21 February 2008 after peshmerga forces, consisting of approximately 350 soldiers in armoured vehicles and around 12 tanks, attempted to leave the base on deployment without prior notification to the Kurdistan Regional Government, and thus were blocked by the Peshmerga, causing the peshmerga forces to return to base. Bamarni Air