Khanaqin War Cemetery - Location and Dimensions

I recently received permission to include on my website a video taken of a row of graves at the Khanaqin (Polish) War Cemetery as well as several photographs taken of headstone remnants which have been preserved and now reside at the Diyala Museum under the care of the museum's director, Mr Majed. I am currently developing a section on my website under the heading KHANAQIN and will include the video and photographs as well as the history and current status of the abandoned and mostly destroyed cemetery. My understanding is that care and maintenance of the Khanaqin War cemetery is the joint responsibility of the United Kingdom (viz. the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) and Poland, since the majority of graves are for Polish servicemen who were killed in WW2. A request for help in securing and maintenance of the cemetery was made in January 2025 on behalf of the Diyala Museum and I will update my website with news as and when I become aware of any progress.

As an introduction to the subject, I carried out my own research on the location and dimensions of the cemetery, to gauge how it compared with another CWGC maintained military cemetery in Iraq that has "fallen between the cracks" with regards maintenance, viz the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery in Baghdad. Surprisingly, the style, grave density and level of devastation were remarkably similar as can be seen from the attached photo.

In summary (you will have to wait for me to finish the main article for full details), the total burial area at the Khanaqin WAR Cemetery is approximately 5,635 square metres, averaging 10.40 square metres for each of the 542 burials. This compares favourably with an average of 10.66 square metres for each of the 300 graves at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery.

For anyone wanting to find the location of the Khanaqin War Cemetery using Google Maps or Google Earth, the coordinates are: 34.3131708, 45.4206485, in north-east Iraq, close to the border with Iran.

Dimensions of the Khanaqin War Cemetery, marked on a satellite image

Satellite View of the Khanaqin War Cemetery, Diyala, Iraq