Al Hartha is a city located in the north-eastern part of Basrah Governorate on the east bank of the river Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

, bounded on the north to Qurna

Qurna

Qurna may refer to;* Kurna, three village areas near the Theban Hills in Egypt* al-Qurnah, a city in Iraq* Battle of Qurna, fought in, Qurna, Iraq* West Qurna Field, an oil field near Qurna, Iraq...

 and the south province of Basra, linking Hartha, the main road, with Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 and the city center, Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

. Basra International Airport and the University of Basrah

University of Basrah

The University of Basrah is situated in the city of Basra, Iraq. For historic reasons the final -h is retained on Basrah in the name of the university....

 Campus are located in the southern part of Al Hartha.

Al-Hartha Thermal Power Plant

The Al-Hartha Thermal Power Station resides here. It is, in southern Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, the "largest electrical generator". During the first night of the Persian Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, US missiles impacted the station, causing it to shut down. This cut off power to over 1.5 million people. The continued raids on power stations and frequent attacks on the Al-Hartha station would leave much of Iraq without power for a period of months.