Akashat is a small town in the northwest of Al Anbar province of Iraq, with a population of around 5,000. It was built as an industrial village in 1985, attached to the local phosphate quarry and administered by the ministry of industry. The Phosphate Plant in the town employs roughly 50-60 permanent workers. Production there was seriously disrupted by the UN sanctions after 1991 and the 2003 war essentially stopped it from working.