Operation Zafar 7

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Operation Zafar 7
Part of Iran-Iraq War
Map of Iraq
Date mid-March 1988 Location Southeast of Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan Result Tactical Iranian victory, Strategicaly indecisive, Iran only reaches the outskirts of the city; Genocide on Kurdish civilians in Halabja. Territorial changes Iran reaches outskirts of Sulaymaniyah the Darbandikhan reservoir but fails to capture it.
Belligerents
Iraq	Iran Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Commanders
Saddam Hussein Ali Hasan al-Majid	Sayed Shirazi Nawshirwan Mustafa Jalal Talabani

Operation Zafar 7 was an Iranian offensive in the northern front, although Iran won and crushed the Iraqi counterattack, they were not able to reach their objective in invading and capturing Sulaymaniyah.

[edit] Prelude

Nothing was happening anymore in the south, while in the center and in the Persian Gulf it was disastrous for Iran, Iraqi planes attacked Iranian ships but Iranian ships had no Iraqi ships to attack, so instead they attacked Kuwaiti tankers and got the US involved. This ended in Operation Praying Mantis where Iran lost the IRIS Sahand and the Joshan, but this happened after Operation Zafar 7. Iran did not capture much territory in the central front but whatever territory they had, they were losing at a significant rate. The only place Iran was doing well was in the north. Aided by the Kurds, Iran began to beat Iraq in almost every battle.

[edit] The Battle

Iran struck south-east of Sulaymaniyah, Iran easily defeated most of the Iraqi defenders because Saddam Hussein stubbornly left them to defend even the most exposed positions. After Iran had defeated the Iraqi forces at the front lines, they advanced quickly. However, Iraq launched a counter attack during the Iranian advance. The Iraqi soldiers involved in the counterattack were ambushed by the Iranians and most Iraqi troops were slaughtered. Victory seemed to be in the hands of Iran as they reached Sulaymaniyah but they failed to capture it. Iran also came dangerously close to Iraq's Darbandikhan reservoir.

[edit] Halabja

Main artickle is: Halabja poison gas attack

The Iraqi counter attack was a disaster for Iraq. Saddam responded with a chemical gas attack on Halabja. The Halabja poison gas attack occurred in the period 15 March–19 March 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War when chemical weapons were used by the Iraqi government forces and a number of civilians in the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja (population 80,000). This was separate from the al-Anfal Campaign but both were considered acts of genocide. Halabja which is located about 150 miles northeast of Baghdad and 8-10 miles from the Iranian border got completely destroyed and the casualties are estimated to be around 5,000.

Photo taken in the aftermath of the Halabja poison gas attack.

[edit] References

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