To understand the unfolding struggle for Baghdad, informed observers need the latest and most complete information about the bridges that bind together the strategic transportation infrastructure in the Iraqi capital.

Drawing on its unique network of local sources, IraqSlogger has produced an exclusive 95-page report that details the conditions and strategic importance of the city’s major spans.

Iraq’s sprawling capital is bisected by two waterways, the mighty Tigris River and the man-made Army Canal. To the southeast, the Diyala River separates the city from Iraq’s southern provinces. It is nearly impossible to maneuver in the city, or to enter the capital from the northern or southern approach without crossing strategic bridges.

Baghdad’s residents know which bridges are controlled by extremist Sunni militants, and which are controlled by Shi'a militias, or by the security forces. These factors combine to make some spans into extremely crowded parts of Baghdad’s transportation network, and others into virtual no-man’s lands. Baghdad’s residents follow these changing patterns each day. Informed Iraq observers need the same information.

Bridges in Baghdad also form strategic choke points, exploited by security forces and militants alike. The destruction and closure of several bridges due to extremist attacks and security operations has re-routed traffic in areas all around the city, leaving some districts isolated from the rest of the city, and others heavily congested.

As Tuesday’s deadly attack on the Thiraa Dijla bridge in Taji illustrates, militants target strategic structures around Iraq with increasing lethal effectiveness. Attacks on Iraqi bridges lead not only to immediate casualties, but also affect the strategic environment with repercussions felt even hundreds of miles away from the targeted structure.

Militant control of approaches to different bridges also informs the strategic layout of the city. Members of different Iraqi groups constantly readjust their travel patterns in order to avoid the strongholds of militants of the “other” sect, increasing the dependence of different sects on different bridges. The April 2007 destruction of the al-Sarafiya Bridge over the Tigris in central Baghdad is a dramatic example. The loss of this major route between Baghdad’s eastern and western halves drove Shi'a residents to reconfigure their travel patterns in complex ways due to the combination of militant control over nearby bridge approaches.

In addition to militant activity, Iraqi and Coalition forces have also shaped strategic conditions on Baghdad’s bridges. Some spans are closed to civilian traffic. Other bridges are open only in certain directions or during certain hours. Still others are open only to passenger vehicles, forcing heavy trucks, capable of carrying commercial freight -- or explosive payloads -- to reroute to other crossings. These security interventions, part of the ongoing struggle for control of the capital, create their own strategic realities for Baghdad’s civilians and combatants alike.

IraqSlogger’s exclusive report The Bridges of Baghdad covers 43 structures, including 14 bridges over the Tigris, 5 spanning the Diyala River, 16 over the Army Canal, as well as an appendix detailing 7 bridges and an excavated roadway crossing the strategic Muhammad al-Qasim Highway.

For each bridge, the report includes information about construction materials, lanes open, opening hours, passability, checkpoints, cargo capacity restrictions, prohibitions on types of vehicles or direction of travel, as well as an explanation of the logistical and strategic relevance of each structure.

Each entry brings together descriptive, historical, and geographic data gathered by our network of well-informed Iraqi sources. Precise coordinates and satellite image illustrations are also provided for each bridge.

Price for the heavily illustrated and comprehensive 95-page PDF report: $495.

Buy it here.