Location:
33.33123306109569N, 44.40220347485344E
33°19'52"N 44°24'7"E
If you know anything about the Gulf War, you have surely heard the following: On the first night, the “AT&T Building” in downtown Baghdad was destroyed by a guided bomb dropped by an F-117A. I was very interested in where the “AT&T Building” was, what it looked like today, and what its history was.
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Through my search on Google, I finally found the approximate location of the "AT&T Building" in a file named ADA514938 - next to the Sinak Bridge, on the east bank of the Tigris River.
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA514938.pdf
In this document, "AT&T Building" is also called "Rasheed Street telephone exchange". But I searched for "Rasheed Street telephone exchange" and found no useful information. So I turned my attention to the satellite map, and on the satellite map, I found a building that looked like a communication center.
https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/بدالة+السنك,+Al-Rashed+St,+Baghdad,+Baghdad+Governorate,+Iraq/@33.3306837,44.4016943,454m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x15578201ce22de49:0x3e3ac3065ca71fcc!2z2KjYr9in2YTYqSDYp9mE2LPZhtmDLCBBbC1SYXNoZWQgU3QsIEJhZ2hkYWQsIEJhZ2hkYWQgR292ZXJub3JhdGUsIElyYXE!3b1!8m2!3d33.3311834!4d44.4020197!16s%2Fg%2F11h0t2n16!3m5!1s0x15578201ce22de49:0x3e3ac3065ca71fcc!8m2!3d33.3311834!4d44.4020197!16s%2Fg%2F11h0t2n16?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
The Arabic name is called(بدالة السنك)
After consulting with professionals fluent in Arabic, they believed that the English name of the building, "Al Sinak Telephone Exchange", was more appropriate in the relevant context and based on the local Iraqi dialect.
Then, I continued to search the Arabic name of the building on Google, and added Arabic keywords such as "Gulf War" and "1991". I was almost 100% sure that this building was the "AT&T Building" destroyed by the F-117A on the first day of the Gulf War.
According to Iraqi locals on Instagram, this building was used for international calls and local telephone exchanges during Saddam's time.
https://www.instagram.com/srt.rq/reel/C9-qMXRIMqy/
https://www.facebook.com/Iraqipalac/posts/خلال-قصف-بدالة-السنك-تركز-القصف-على-الطابق-السادس-اعتقد-البدالة-كانت-به-متانه-بن/1134408944796221/
（I can't send a screenshot, so I'll just show the key information in the post）
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Instagram：
e.eex2:
شنو وظيفتة ؟
_70iq:
@e.eex2 تسجيل جميع المكالمات لضمان جودة الخدمة التحكم والسماح لعدد معين من الموظفين بإجراء مكالمات خارجية أو دولية توفير العديد من التقارير التفصيلية لضمان الجودة تنظيم الاتصالات في ساعات الذروة
Translate：
e.eex2:
What is his job?
_70iq:
@e.eex2 Record all calls to ensure quality of service Control and allow a certain number of employees to make external or international calls Provide many detailed reports to ensure quality Organize communications during peak hours
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Facebook：
Farouk Alnuaimy：
قصف بناية مركز الإتصالات في السنك كان أول ثلاثة أهداف مركزية ليوم العدوان 17 كانون الثاني
1991 ( قيادة ق ج دج - مركز الإتصالات السنك - قاطع دج \1 ) وتم
إصلاحها وأفتتحت عام 1993
Translate：
Farouk Alnuaimy:
The bombing of the communications center building in Al-Sinak was the first of three central targets on the day of the aggression, January 17, 1991 （the leadership of the Iraqi Air Force - the communications center in Al-Sinak - Sector Daj_1） and it was repaired and opened in 1993.
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user "_70iq" said "to make external or international calls"
That’s why, in (https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/gulf-war-the-air-war/),
this building is called "Baghdad International Telephone Exchange".
Not only that, I also found out through various channels that this building is also one of the important buildings in Baghdad. It was designed by designer Rifaat Al-Chadirji and construction began in 1971. It was bombed during the Gulf War and the Iraq War, but the building has been restored. So I think there is no reason not to add it to the DCS:Iraq map.
(https://iraqdirections.com/العراقي-رفعت-الجادرجي-أحدث-ثورة-في-مفه/)
Here are some pictures of this building:
Some design sketches and historical photos.
https://www.instagram.com/archi_sketchs/p/CsB62c1KKUz/?img_index=6
On January 14, 1990, the Anti-Aircraft Directorate moved from its building in the Al-Kasra complex to the Air Force complex. About the Al Karsa Complex: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1538160652998581&set=a.457517394396251 According on the native‘s wording, The Building of Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is used for the Iraqi Air Force HQ Building before 2003. Two of this building is being recover after Iraq War.
