117-677: Start of war: 110,000–215,000 soldiers KDP: 45,000 Peshmerga (1986–88) PUK: 12,000 Peshmerga (1986–88) Start of war: 200,000–210,000 soldiers KDPI: 30,000 Peshmerga (1980–83) MEK: 15,000 fighters (1981–83, 87–88) Military dead: 200,000–600,000 Military dead: 105,000–500,000 Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980) Stalemate (1981) Iranian offensives to free Iranian territory (1981–82) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1982–84) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1985–87) Final stages (1988) Tanker War International incidents The Iran–Iraq War , also known as
234-737: A Pan-Islamic force, in contrast to Iraq's Arab nationalism . Despite Iraq's goal of regaining the Shatt al-Arab , the Iraqi government initially seemed to welcome the Iranian Revolution , which overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , who was seen as a common enemy. There were frequent clashes along the Iran–Iraq border throughout 1980, with Iraq publicly complaining of at least 544 incidents and Iran citing at least 797 violations of its border and airspace. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to overthrow
351-466: A KDP-governed "yellow" zone covering Dohuk Governorate and Erbil Governorate and a PUK-governed "green" zone covering Sulaymaniyah Governorate and Halabja Governorate . Each zone has its own branch of Peshmerga with their own governing institutions that do not coordinate with the other branch. As a result of the split nature of the Peshmerga forces, there is no central command center in charge of
468-573: A ceasefire brokered by the United Nations Security Council . In total, around 500,000 people were killed during the Iran–Iraq War, with Iran bearing the larger share of the casualties, excluding the tens of thousands of civilians killed in the concurrent Anfal campaign that targeted Iraqi Kurdistan . The end of the conflict resulted in neither reparations nor border changes, and the combined financial losses suffered by both combatants
585-438: A deep ground invasion almost impossible, and air strikes were used instead. The invasion's first waves were a series of air strikes targeted at Iranian airfields. Iraq also attempted to bomb Tehran, Iran's capital and command centre, into submission. Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( Kurdish : پێشمەرگه Pêşmerge , transl. 'Those Who Face Death' ) comprise the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region ,
702-552: A dozen of Iraq's Soviet-built fighters in the first two days of battle. The Iranian regular military, police forces, volunteer Basij, and Revolutionary Guards all conducted their operations separately; thus, the Iraqi invading forces did not face coordinated resistance. However, on 24 September, the Iranian Navy attacked Basra , Iraq, destroying two oil terminals near the Iraqi port of Al-Faw , which reduced Iraq's ability to export oil. The Iranian ground forces, primarily consisting of
819-586: A huge blow to Islamic terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan and uncovered a chemical weapons facility. The PUK later confirmed that female Kurdish fighters had participated in the operation. The modern Peshmerga is almost entirely made up of men, while having at least 600 women in their ranks . In the KDP, these Peshmerga women have been refused access to the frontline and are mostly used in logistics and management positions, but PUK Peshmerga women are deployed in
936-517: A lack of communication tools, as Peshmerga commanders are forced to use civilian cellphones to communicate with each other. Under the guidance of the US-led coalition the Peshmerga started to standardize its weapons systems, replacing Soviet-era weapons with NATO firearms . Peshmerga has been accused of corruption, partisanship, nepotism and fraud. Peshmerga is accused of listing "ghost employees" who do not exist or do not show up for work but receive
1053-599: A large-scale attack against Iraqi air bases and infrastructure in Operation Kaman 99 . Groups of F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighter jets attacked targets throughout Iraq, such as oil facilities, dams, petrochemical plants, and oil refineries, and included Mosul Airbase , Baghdad, and the Kirkuk oil refinery. Iraq was taken by surprise at the strength of the retaliation, which caused the Iraqis heavy losses and economic disruption, but
1170-481: A lasting impact on the dynamics of the conflict. In April 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 treaty over the Shatt al-Arab and Iranian ships stopped paying tolls to Iraq when they used the Shatt al-Arab. The Shah argued that the 1937 treaty was unfair to Iran because almost all river borders around the world ran along the thalweg , and because most of the ships that used the Shatt al-Arab were Iranian. Iraq threatened war over
1287-551: A more defensive mode". Some scholars writing prior to the opening of formerly classified Iraqi archives, such as Alistair Finlan, argued that Saddam was drawn into a conflict with Iran due to the border clashes and Iranian meddling in Iraqi domestic affairs. Finlan stated in 2003 that the Iraqi invasion was meant to be a limited operation in order to send a political message to the Iranians to keep out of Iraqi domestic affairs, whereas Kevin M. Woods and Williamson Murray stated in 2014 that
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#17330856904621404-541: A pretext. Iraqi military intelligence reported in July 1980 that despite Iran's bellicose rhetoric, "it is clear that, at present, Iran has no power to launch wide offensive operations against Iraq, or to defend on a large scale." Days before the Iraqi invasion and in the midst of rapidly escalating cross-border skirmishes, Iraqi military intelligence again reiterated on 14 September that "the enemy deployment organization does not indicate hostile intentions and appears to be taking on
1521-503: A salary. Those setting up such a scam split the salary of these employees. In addition the KDP and PUK have used the Peshmerga to exert a monopoly on the use of force within their zones. In 2011 KDP Peshmerga fired on anti-government protesters in Sulaymaniyah, and the PUK later used its own security forces to break up these protests, leading to criticism from all of the opposition parties in
1638-589: A semi-autonomous federal region in the Republic of Iraq . According to the Constitution of Iraq , regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as police, security forces, and guards of the region". Other agencies include Asayish (intelligence agency/security forces), Parastin û Zanyarî (assisting intelligence agency), and Zêrevanî (the gendarmerie). The Peshmerga's history dates back to
1755-455: A significant role in the Peshmerga since its foundation. The Kurdish Zand tribe was known for allowing women in military roles. During the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict the majority of women served within the Peshmerga in supporting roles such as building camps, taking care of the wounded, and carrying munitions and messages. Several women brigades served on the front lines. Margaret George Malik
1872-626: A smaller but much more effective and well-trained force. Consequently, in 2009, the KRG and Baghdad engaged in discussions about incorporating parts of the Peshmerga forces into the Iraqi Army in what would be the 15th and 16th Iraqi Army divisions. However, after increasing tension between Erbil and Baghdad regarding the disputed areas, the transfer was largely put on hold. Some Peshmerga were already transferred but reportedly deserted again, and there are allegations that former Peshmerga forces remained loyal to
1989-563: A stretch of the Shatt al-Arab river spanning several miles. Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on 22 September 1980. The Iraqi Air Force launched surprise air strikes on ten Iranian airfields with the objective of destroying the Iranian Air Force . The attack failed to cripple the Iranian Air Force: while it damaged some of Iran's airbase infrastructure, it did not destroy a significant number of aircraft. The Iraqi Air Force
2106-569: A surprise airstrike against the Iranian air force's infrastructure prior to the main invasion. It is widely accepted among scholars that Iraq was seeking to annex, or at least to establish suzerainty over, Iran's Khuzestan province , but Saddam Hussein publicly denied this in November 1980. On 10 September 1980, Iraq forcibly reclaimed territories in Zain al-Qaws and Saif Saad that it had been promised under
2223-700: Is believed to have exceeded US$ 1 trillion. There were a number of proxy forces operating for both countries: Iraq and the pro-Iraqi Arab separatist militias in Iran were most notably supported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran ; whereas Iran re-established an alliance with the Iraqi Kurds , being primarily supported by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . During
2340-536: Is largely divided and controlled separately by the two Iraqi Kurdish political parties: the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . Though unifying and integrating the Peshmerga has been on the Kurdistan Region's public agenda since 1992, the individual forces remain divided due to factionalism, which has proved to be a major stumbling block. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq ,
2457-466: Is that which was published by HRW. Human Rights Watch's 1993 report on Anfal was based on Iraqi documents, examination of grave sites, and interviews with Kurdish survivors. In 1993, the United States government collected 18 tons of Iraqi government documents which were captured by the Peshmerga during the 1991 uprising and airlifted them to the United States. In those files, HRW conducted research on
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#17330856904622574-519: The 1991 Iraqi uprisings . Several stockpiles of weapons were captured from the old Iraqi Army during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq , in which Peshmerga forces were active. Following the retreat of the new Iraqi Army during the June 2014 Islamic State offensive, Peshmerga forces reportedly again managed to get hold of weapons left behind by the Army. Since August 2014, Peshmerga forces have also captured weapons from
2691-538: The Anfal campaign. To many Iraqis, Anfal was presented as an extension of the ongoing Iran–Iraq War , although its victims were overwhelmingly Kurdish civilians. In March 1987, Ali Hassan al-Majid was appointed secretary-general of the Ba'ath Party's Northern Bureau, which included Iraqi Kurdistan . Anfal, officially conducted in 1988, had eight phases (Anfal 1–Anfal 8) altogether, seven of which targeted areas controlled by
2808-683: The Directorate of General Security . Many Iraqi Arabs reject that any mass killings of Kurds occurred during the Anfal campaign. On 28 February 2013, the British House of Commons formally recognized the Anfal as genocide following a campaign which was led by Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi , who is of Kurdish descent . Monuments and Statues In 2014, a German organization in Sulaimani agreed with Kurdish artist and sculptor Shwan Kamal to build
2925-521: The First Gulf War , was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 by both sides. Iraq's primary rationale for the attack against Iran cited the need to prevent Ruhollah Khomeini —who had spearheaded
3042-650: The Human Rights Watch produced its reports, were not enough to establish "a sufficient degree of certainty for a finding of fact in respect of genocide can be derived". In an interview broadcast on Iraqi television on 6 September 2005, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , a Kurdish politician of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan , said that judges had directly extracted confessions from Saddam Hussein that he had ordered mass killings and other crimes during his regime and that he deserves to die. Two days later, Saddam's lawyer denied that he had confessed. In June 2006,
3159-604: The International Court of Justice . It convinced the United States Department of State 's legal bureau that Anfal met the legal criteria for genocide. In December 2005, a court in The Hague convicted Frans van Anraat of complicity in war crimes for his role in selling chemical weapons to the Iraqi government. He was given a 15-year sentence. The court also ruled that the killing of thousands of Kurds in Iraq in
3276-523: The Iranian and Iraqi governments for the remainder of the century. In Iraq, most of these Peshmerga were led by Mustafa Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party . In 1975 the Peshmerga were defeated in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War . Jalal Talabani , a leading member of the KDP, left the same year to revitalize the resistance and founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . This event created
3393-504: The Iranian Revolution in 1979—from exporting the new Iranian ideology to Iraq. There were also fears among the Iraqi leadership of Saddam Hussein that Iran, a theocratic state with a population predominantly composed of Shia Muslims , would exploit sectarian tensions in Iraq by rallying Iraq's Shia majority against the Baʽathist government , which was officially secular and dominated by Sunni Muslims . Iraq also wished to replace Iran as
3510-543: The Iraqi Special Tribunal announced that Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants would face trial on 21 August 2006 in relation to the Anfal campaign. In December 2006, Saddam was put on trial for the genocide during Operation Anfal. The trial for the Anfal campaign was still underway on 30 December 2006, when Saddam Hussein was executed for his role in the unrelated Dujail massacre . The Anfal trial recessed on 21 December 2006, and when it resumed on 8 January 2007,
3627-645: The Jafali Valley headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan near the Iranian border, and the command centers in Sargallu and Bargallu. There was heavy resistance by the Peshmerga . The battles were conducted in a theater around 1,154 square kilometres (445 sq. mi.). The villages of Gwezeela, Chalawi, Haladin and Yakhsamar were attacked with poison gas. During mid March, the PUK, in an alliance with Iranian troops and other Kurdish factions, captured Halabja. This led to
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3744-673: The Kurdish Civil War between the two major parties, the KDP and the PUK, and Peshmerga forces were used to fight each other. The civil war officially ended in September 1998 when Barzani and Talabani signed the Washington Agreement establishing a formal peace treaty. In the agreement, the parties agreed to share revenue and power, deny the use of northern Iraq to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and not allow Iraqi troops into
3861-512: The Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party also have their own small Peshmerga units. The KDP and PUK do not disclose information about the composition of their forces with government or media. Thus there is no reliable number of how many Peshmerga fighters exist. Media outlets have speculated that there are between 150,000 and 200,000 Peshmerga, but this number is highly disputed. Peshmerga have divided Kurdistan Region into
3978-471: The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . The Kurdish Democratic Party -controlled areas in the northwest Iraqi Kurdistan , were the target of the Final Anfal operation in late August and early September 1988. The first Anfal stage was conducted between 23 February and 18 March 1988. It started with artillery and air strikes in the early hours of 23 February 1988. Then, several hours later, there were attacks at
4095-698: The killing of Osama bin Laden in a covert American military operation in Pakistan in 2011. One year later, in 2012, Ghul was assassinated by an American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan . The word "Peshmerga" can be translated to "to stand in front of death", and Valentine states it was first used by Qazi Muhammad in the short-lived Mahabad Republic (1946–47). The word is understandable to Persian speakers. The Kurdish warrior tradition of rebellion has existed for thousands of years along with aspirations for independence, and early Kurdish warriors fought against
4212-601: The poison gas attack on Halabja on 16 March 1988, during which several thousand Kurdish people were killed, most of them civilians. During the second Anfal from 22 March and 2 April 1988, the Qara Dagh region, including Bazian and Darbandikhan, was targeted in the Suleimanya governorate . Again several villages were attacked with poison gas. Villages attacked with poisonous gas were Safaran, Sewsenan, Belekjar, Serko and Meyoo. The attacks began on 22 March after Newruz , surprising
4329-470: The prosecution ; whose claims couldn't be cross-analyzed by the defendants. Both within and outside Iraq, the trials by the Special Tribunal have been widely dubbed as a "show parade" designed to execute Saddam and deemed as illegitimate by numerous lawyers and human rights organizations. There have been few publications about the Anfal campaign and as of 2008, the only comprehensive account of it
4446-638: The 18th century, when they began as a strictly tribal pseudo-military border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians . By the 19th century, they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force. Formally, the Peshmerga are under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government . In practice, however, the Peshmerga's structure
4563-592: The 1980s was indeed an act of genocide. In the 1948 Genocide Convention , the definition of genocide is "acts committed with the intent to destroy , in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group". The Dutch court said that it was considered "legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets the requirement under the Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group . The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with
4680-679: The Anfal campaign in collaboration with United States federal government agencies such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Defense Intelligence Agency , and the Defense Department . The US government provided Arabic translators and CD ROM scanners. HRW accepted the US government role under the condition that personnel involved worked under its direction. The files include documents which were collected by
4797-404: The Anfal campaign was disputed by a 2007 Hague court ruling, which stated that the evidences from the documents were not sufficient to establish the charge of genocide. Although many Iraqi Arabs reject that there were any mass killings of Kurdish civilians during Anfal, the event is an important element constituting Kurdish national identity . Following the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980,
Iran–Iraq War - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-524: The Ba'ath government, which was received with considerable anger in Baghdad. On 17 July 1979, despite Khomeini's call, Saddam gave a speech praising the Iranian Revolution and called for an Iraqi–Iranian friendship based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs. When Khomeini rejected Saddam's overture by calling for Islamic revolution in Iraq, Saddam was alarmed. Iran's new Islamic administration
5031-520: The Committee for the Defence of Anfal Victims' Rights released a report documenting 63,000 disappeared and stating that the entire death toll was lower than 70,000, with almost all these deaths occurring in the area of Anfal III. According to Hiltermann, the figure of 100,000, although considered too low by many Kurds, is probably higher than the actual number of deaths. In September 1988, the Iraqi government
5148-460: The Defence of Anfal Victims' Rights. According to HRW, Kurdish leaders met with Iraqi government official Ali Hassan al-Majid in 1991 and mentioned a figure of 182,000 deaths; the latter reportedly replied that "it couldn't have been more than 100,000". The 182,000 figure provided by the PUK was based on extrapolation and "has no empirical relation to actual disappearances or killings", though it "has assumed mythical status among Kurds". In 1995,
5265-565: The Garmia region. In the next Anfal campaign from 7 to 20 April 1988, the Garmian region east of Suleimanya was targeted. In this campaign, many women and children disappeared. The only village attacked with chemical weapons was Tazashar. Many were lured to come towards the Iraqi forces due to an amnesty announced through a loudspeaker of a mosque in Qader Karam from 10 to 12 April. The announced amnesty
5382-486: The Iranian move, but on 24 April 1969, an Iranian tanker escorted by Iranian warships ( Joint Operation Arvand ) sailed down the Shatt al-Arab, and Iraq—being the militarily weaker state—did nothing. The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi–Iranian tension that would see significant bloodshed and was to last until the Algiers Agreement of 1975 . The relationship between
5499-526: The Iranians took heavy losses as well as losing many aircraft and aircrews to Iraqi air defenses. Iranian Army Aviation 's AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships began attacks on the advancing Iraqi divisions, along with F-4 Phantoms armed with AGM-65 Maverick missiles; they destroyed numerous armoured vehicles and impeded the Iraqi advance, though not completely halting it. Meanwhile, Iraqi air attacks on Iran were repelled by Iran's F-14A Tomcat interceptor fighter jets, using AIM-54A Phoenix missiles, which downed
5616-490: The Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who opposed capital punishment. The Anfal trial was widely criticized for its methodical defects marked by various acts of political meddling from the Iraqi government . These involved the sacking of its presiding judge in September 2006 by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ; who perceived the judge as biased towards defendants. Human Rights Watch stated that many of
5733-565: The Iraqis had were over the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (formerly the Imperial Iranian Air Force ). Despite the purge of several key pilots and commanders, as well as the lack of spare parts, the air force showed its power during local uprisings and rebellions. They were also active after the failed U.S. attempt to rescue its hostages , Operation Eagle Claw . Based on these observations, Iraq's leaders decided to carry out
5850-589: The Iraqis. They were subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards, and they made up most of the manpower that was used in the Revolutionary Guard's attacks. Stephen Pelletiere wrote in his 1992 book The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum : The human wave has been largely misconstrued both by the popular media in the West and by many scholars. The Iranians did not merely assemble masses of individuals, point them at
5967-464: The Islamic State offensive of August 2014, multiple governments armed the Peshmerga with light arms, night goggles, and ammunition. However, Kurdish officials and Peshmerga stressed that they were not receiving enough and Baghdad was blocking arms from reaching the KRG, emphasizing the need for weapons to be sent directly and not through Baghdad. Despite this, the United States has maintained that
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#17330856904626084-673: The Islamic State. In 2015, for the first time, Peshmerga soldiers received urban warfare and military intelligence training from foreign trainers, the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve . The Peshmerga arsenal is limited and confined by restrictions because the Kurdish Region has to purchase arms through the Iraqi government. Due to disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi government, arms flows from Baghdad to Kurdistan Region have been almost nonexistent, as Baghdad fears Kurdish aspirations for independence. After
6201-433: The KRG rather than their Iraqi chain of command; regardless, thousands of members of the 80 Unit of KDP and the 70 Unit of PUK are based in Baghdad, and they have good cooperation with other Iraqi forces in Baghdad. The Peshmerga forces are secular with a Muslim majority and Assyrian and Yazidi units. Peshmerga forces largely rely on old arms captured from battles. The Peshmerga captured stockpiles of weapons during
6318-598: The Kurdish Kurdistani Alliance . Saddam's Ba'athist regime built several public housing facilities in Kirkuk as part of his "Arabisation", shifting poor Arabs from Iraq's southern regions to Kirkuk with the lure of inexpensive housing. Another part of the Arabisation campaign was the census of October 1987. Citizens who failed to turn up for the October 1987 census were no longer recognized as Iraqi citizens. Most of
6435-415: The Kurdish collaborators of the Iraqi Army so that the civilians could flee. Hiran, Balisan, Smaquli, Malakan, Shek Wasan, Ware, Seran and Kaniba were attacked with poisonous gas. After the Anfal 7 attack, the valleys were under the control of the Iraqi government. The last Anfal was aimed at the region controlled by the KDP named Badinan and took place from 25 August to 6 September 1988. In this campaign,
6552-506: The Kurdish parties PUK and KDP, both parties hold the ultimate ownership of the documents that were airlifted to the US. In exchange for access to the National Archives documents, HRW agreed to help the United States government find information about Iraqi atrocities. Joost Hiltermann, HRW's lead researcher on Anfal, referred to these files as "the good stuff…material to smear the enemy with". Kanan Makiya , an Iraqi–American academic and pro-Iraq War advocate, criticized HRW for promising that
6669-427: The Kurdish population who learned that a census was taking place did not take part in the census. Precise figures of Anfal victims do not exist due to lack of records. In its 1993 report, Human Rights Watch wrote that the death toll "cannot conceivably be less than 50,000, and it may well be twice that number". This figure was based on an earlier survey by the Sulaymaniyah –based Kurdish organization Committee for
6786-416: The Kurdish regions. By then, around 5,000 had been killed on both sides, and many more had been evicted for being on the wrong side. In the years after, tension remained high, but both parties moved towards each other, and in 2003 they both took part in the overthrowing of the Baathist regime as part of the Iraq War . Unlike other militia forces, the Peshmerga were never prohibited by Iraqi law. In 2014,
6903-426: The Peshmerga played a key role in helping the United States on the mission to capture deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein . In 2004, they captured Saudi-born Pakistani terrorist Hassan Ghul , who was operating for al-Qaeda in Iraq . Ghul was turned over to American intelligence officers shortly afterwards, and revealed the identity of several key al-Qaeda figures during his interrogation, which eventually led to
7020-435: The Peshmerga withdrew from the Nineveh Plains which was said by the locals as being a contributing factor of the quick Islamic State victory in the invasion, and the widespread massacre of Yazidis , who were rendered defenseless. The Peshmerga are mostly divided among forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and those loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), while other, minor Kurdish parties such as
7137-447: The Peshmerga. Although of shorter duration, Peshmerga suffered more severe casualties in this attack than the first Anfal. As a result of the attack, the majority of the population in the Qara Dagh region fled in the direction of Suleimanya. Many fugitives were detained by the Iraqi forces, and the men were separated from the women. The men were not seen again. The women were transported to camps. The population that managed to flee, fled to
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#17330856904627254-438: The Revolutionary Guard, retreated to the cities, where they set up defences against the invaders. On 30 September, Iran's air force launched Operation Scorch Sword , striking and badly damaging the nearly-complete Osirak Nuclear Reactor near Baghdad. By 1 October, Baghdad had been subjected to eight air attacks. In response, Iraq launched aerial strikes against Iranian targets. The mountainous border between Iran and Iraq made
7371-432: The Soviet Union and France. Between 1973 and 1980 alone, Iraq purchased an estimated 1,600 tanks and APCs and over 200 Soviet-made aircraft. By 1980, Iraq possessed 242,000 soldiers, second only to Egypt in the Arab world, 2,350 tanks and 340 combat aircraft. Watching the disintegration of the powerful Iranian army that frustrated him in 1974–1975, he saw an opportunity to attack, using the threat of Islamic Revolution as
7488-411: The United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, mass graves were discovered in parts of western Iraq that had been under Ba'athist control. The event has become an important element in the constitution of Kurdish national identity . The Kurdistan Regional Government has set aside 14 April as a day of remembrance for the Al-Anfal campaign. In Sulaymanya a museum was established in the former prison of
7605-439: The army being more integrated as a part of the regime by the war's end. Meanwhile, a new paramilitary organisation gained prominence in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps . Created to protect the new regime and serve as a counterbalance to the army, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had been trained to act only as a militia and struggled to adapt as needed following the Iraqi invasion, initially refusing to fight alongside
7722-492: The army. These purges resulted in a drastic decline in the Iranian military's operational capacities. On the eve of the revolution in 1978, international experts in military science had assessed that Iran's armed forces were the fifth most powerful in the world. However, by the eve of war with Iraq, the recently formidable Iranian army was in many crucial ways a shell of its former self, having been badly weakened by losses in experienced personnel. The desertion rate had reached 60%,
7839-488: The balance of evidence suggests Saddam was seeking "a convenient excuse for war" in 1980. On 8 March 1980, Iran announced it was withdrawing its ambassador from Iraq, downgraded its diplomatic ties to the charge d'affaires level, and demanded that Iraq do the same. The following day, Iraq declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata , and demanded his withdrawal from Iraq by 15 March. In Iran, severe officer purges, including numerous executions ordered by Sadegh Khalkhali ,
7956-446: The baseline for the political discontent between the KDP and PUK that divides Peshmerga forces and much of Kurdish society in Kurdistan. After Mustafa Barzani's death in 1979, his son Masoud Barzani took his position. As tension increased between KDP and PUK, most Peshmerga fought to keep a region under their own party's control while also fighting off Iraqi Army incursions. Following the First Persian Gulf War , Iraqi Kurdistan saw
8073-462: The charges were "vague" and concluded that the defendants were unable to bring their witnesses due to safety issues within Iraq . Video interactions from witnesses of the defendants were also denied by the court; thus hampering the defendants' ability to challenge the claims of the prosecutors. The trial was marked by absence of fundamental judicial proceedings , such as the murder of three defense lawyers and ample utilization of anonymous witnesses by
8190-484: The conflict, Iraq received an abundance of financial, political, and logistical aid from the United States , the United Kingdom , the Soviet Union , France , Italy , Yugoslavia , and the overwhelming majority of Arab countries . While Iran was comparatively isolated to a large degree, it received a significant amount of aid from Syria , Libya , China , North Korea , Israel , Pakistan , and South Yemen . The conflict has been compared to World War I in terms of
8307-427: The crossing points around the Karkheh and Karoun Rivers were undermanned and that the rivers could be easily crossed. Iraqi intelligence was also informed that the Iranian forces in Khuzestan Province , which consisted of two divisions prior to the revolution, now only consisted of several ill-equipped and under-strength battalions . Only a handful of company -sized tank units remained operational. The only qualms
8424-473: The deployment of forces loyal to them and appoint front-line and sector commanders. Both the KDP and the PUK rely heavily on irregulars in times of conflict to increase their ranks. However, both maintain several professional military brigades. The following units have been identified within the Peshmerga force: Due to limited funding and the vast size of the Peshmerga forces, the KRG planned to downsize its forces from large numbers of low-quality forces to
8541-409: The eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab that it had ceded to Iran in the 1975 Algiers Agreement . Iraqi support for Arab separatists in Iran increased following the outbreak of hostilities; Saddam disputedly may have wished to annex Iran's Arab-majority Khuzestan province . While the Iraqi leadership had hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and expected a decisive victory in
8658-421: The enemy, and order a charge. The waves were made up of the 22-man squads mentioned above [in response to Khomeini's call for the people to come to Iran's defense, each mosque organized 22 volunteers into a squad]. Each squad was assigned a specific objective. In battle, they would surge forward to accomplish their missions, and thus gave the impression of a human wave pouring against enemy lines. Despite neglect by
8775-428: The entire force, and Peshmerga units instead follow separate military hierarchies depending on political allegiance. Multiple unification and depoliticizing efforts of the Peshmerga have been made since 1992. But so far all deadlines have been missed, reforms have been watered down, and most of the Peshmerga are still under the influence of the KDP and the PUK, who also maintain their separate Peshmerga forces. Following
8892-676: The events of the Iraqi Civil War in 2014, the United States and several Europe nations pressured the PUK and KDP to set up mixed brigades of Peshmerga as a condition for aid and funding. The PUK and KDP united 12 to 14 brigades under the Regional Guard Brigades, which were then placed under the command of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. However, officers continue to report to and take orders from their party leaders who also control
9009-515: The face of a severely weakened Iran, the Iraqi military only made progress for three months, and by December 1980, the Iraqi invasion had stalled. The Iranian military began to gain momentum against the Iraqis and regained all lost territory by June 1982. After pushing Iraqi forces back to the pre-war border lines, Iran rejected United Nations Security Council Resolution 514 and launched an invasion of Iraq. The subsequent Iranian offensive within Iraqi territory lasted for five years, with Iraq taking back
9126-467: The fighting around Susangerd. Adnan Khayr Allah served as Iraqi Minister of Defence throughout the Iran–Iraq War, and was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, second only to Saddam Hussein. In this position, he played a crucial role in rebuilding and modernizing the Iraqi military. Though the Iraqi air invasion surprised the Iranians, the Iranian air force retaliated the day after with
9243-503: The four Iraqi divisions, one mechanised and one armoured, operated near the southern end and began a siege of the strategically important port cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr . The two armoured divisions secured the territory bounded by the cities of Khorramshahr , Ahvaz , Susangerd , and Musian . On the central front, the Iraqis occupied Mehran , advanced towards the foothills of the Zagros Mountains , and were able to block
9360-502: The front lines and are actively engaged in combat. [REDACTED] Media related to Kurdish Peshmerga at Wikimedia Commons Anfal campaign Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980) Stalemate (1981) Iranian offensives to free Iranian territory (1981–82) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1982–84) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1985–87) Final stages (1988) Tanker War International incidents Main phase Later phase The Anfal campaign
9477-460: The government of Iraq is responsible for the security of Iraqi Kurdistan and that Baghdad must approve all military aid. The Peshmerga lack a proper medical corps and communication units. This became apparent during the Islamic State offensive in 2014 where the Peshmerga found itself lacking ambulances and frontline field hospitals, forcing wounded fighters to walk back to safety. There is also
9594-528: The governments of Iran and Iraq briefly improved in 1978, when Iranian agents in Iraq discovered plans for a pro-Soviet coup d'état against Iraq's government. When informed of this plot, Saddam ordered the execution of dozens of his army's officers, and in a sign of reconciliation, expelled from Iraq Ruhollah Khomeini , an exiled leader of clerical opposition to the Shah. Tensions between Iraq and Iran were fuelled by Iran's Islamic revolution and its appearance of being
9711-492: The highway leading out of Kirkuk. Arabization , another major element of al-Anfal, was a tactic used by Saddam Hussein's regime to drive pro-insurgent populations out of their homes in villages and cities like Kirkuk , which are in the valuable oil field areas, and relocate them in the southern parts of Iraq. The campaign used heavy population redistribution , most notably in Kirkuk, the results of which now plague negotiations between Iraq's Shi'a United Iraqi Alliance and
9828-492: The initiative in mid-1988 and subsequently launching a series of major counter-offensives that ultimately led to the conclusion of the war in a stalemate. The eight years of war-exhaustion, economic devastation, decreased morale, military stalemate, inaction by the international community towards the use of weapons of mass destruction by Iraqi forces on Iranian soldiers and civilians , as well as increasing Iran–United States military tensions all culminated in Iran's acceptance of
9945-521: The intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq". During another trial involving the legal appeal of Van Anraat, The Hague appellate court upheld the previous conviction of his complicity in war crimes; but ruled that actions of Iraqi military during Anfal operations cannot be regarded as constituting a " genocide ". The verdict of the Hague Court of Appeal stated in 9 May 2007 that tons of Iraqi documents collected by US government, based on which
10062-425: The new Revolutionary Court judge, and shortages of spare parts for Iran's American and British-made equipment had crippled Iran's once-mighty military . Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all major-generals and most brigadier-generals into early retirement. By September 1980, the revolutionary government had purged some 12,000 officers of all levels from
10179-432: The new government's downfall, or at least end Iran's calls for his overthrow. Of Iraq's six divisions that invaded by ground, four were sent to Khuzestan, which was located near the border's southern end, to cut off the Shatt al-Arab from the rest of Iran and to establish a territorial security zone. The other two divisions invaded across the northern and central part of the border to prevent an Iranian counter-attack. Two of
10296-484: The new regime, at the outset of the conflict, Iran still had at least 1,000 operational tanks and several hundred functional aircraft and could cannibalize equipment to procure spare parts. Continuous sanctions greatly limited Iran from acquiring many additional heavy weapons, including tanks and aircraft. In addition, the area around the Shatt al-Arab posed no obstacle for the Iraqis, as they possessed river crossing equipment. Iraq correctly deduced that Iran's defences at
10413-415: The officer corps was devastated and its most highly skilled soldiers and aviators had been exiled, imprisoned, or executed. When the invasion occurred, many pilots and officers were released from prison, or had their executions commuted to combat the Iraqis. Throughout the war, Iran never managed to fully recover from this flight of human capital . Many junior officers were promoted to generals, resulting in
10530-445: The orders of President Saddam Hussein . The campaign's name was taken from the title of the eighth chapter of the Qur'an ( al-ʾanfāl ). In 1993, Human Rights Watch released a report on the Anfal campaign based on documents captured by Kurdish rebels during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq ; HRW described it as a genocide and estimated between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths. This characterization of
10647-477: The parliament. In 2014 the KDP used its Peshmerga to stop ministers from the Gorran Movement to enter Erbil and attend parliament. Outside of Kurdistan Region the Peshmerga has been criticized for using force to exert control of local Arab , Yazidi and Assyrian communities, particularly after taking control of areas officially outside of Kurdistan Region during the Iraqi Civil War . Women have played
10764-408: The peshmerga gained ground in most Kurdish-inhabited rural areas while also infiltrating towns and cities. In 1983, after the joint KDP-Iranian capture of Haj Omran , the Iraqi government arrested 8,000 Barzani men and executed them. During the battle for Haj Omran, the Iraqi government also used gas weapons for the first time against both Kurdish and Iranian forces. "Al Anfal", literally meaning
10881-521: The power player in the Persian Gulf , which was not seen as an achievable objective prior to the Islamic Revolution because of Pahlavi Iran 's economic and military superiority as well as its close relationships with the United States and Israel . The Iran–Iraq War followed a long-running history of territorial border disputes between the two states , as a result of which Iraq planned to retake
10998-558: The provinces of Erbil and Kirkuk . The morale of the Iraqi army was on the rise due to the capture of the Faw Peninsula on the 17–18 April 1988 from Iran in the Iran–Iraq War . Major poisonous gas attacks were perpetrated in Askar and Goptapa. Again it was announced an amnesty was issued, which turned out to be false. Many of the ones who surrendered were arrested. Men were separated from
11115-490: The records proved genocide. He warned that the records contained neither "smoking guns" nor do they contain records of the "explosive nature" as HRW claimed. Furthermore, he said that certain documents that seemed incriminating could have been planted by Kurdish rebels. After the invasion of Iraq, Makiya said in December 2003 that the Iraqi document archives contained no "smoking gun" to convict Saddam Hussein of war crimes. After
11232-516: The regular army, resulting in many defeats. It was not until 1982 that the two groups began carrying out combined operations. An additional paramilitary militia was founded in response to the invasion, the "Army of 20 Million", commonly known as the Basij . The Basij were poorly armed and had members as young as 12 and as old as 70. They often acted in conjunction with the Revolutionary Guard, launching so-called human wave attacks and other campaigns against
11349-547: The remaining charges against Saddam Hussein were dropped. Six co-defendants continued to stand trial for their roles in the Anfal campaign. On 23 June 2007, Ali Hassan al-Majid , and two co-defendants, Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein Rashid Mohammed , were convicted of genocide and related charges and sentenced to death by hanging . Another two co-defendants ( Farhan Jubouri and Saber Abdel Aziz al-Douri ) were sentenced to life imprisonment , and one ( Taher Tawfiq al-Ani )
11466-568: The rival Kurdish opposition parties in Iraq—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) as well as other smaller Kurdish parties—experienced a revival in their fortunes. Kurdish fighters ( peshmerga ) fought a guerrilla war against the Iraqi government and established effective control over the Kurdish-inhabited mountainous areas of northern Iraq. As the war went on and Iran counterattacked into Iraq,
11583-613: The spoils (of war) , was used to describe the military campaign of extermination and looting against the Kurds. It is also the title of the eighth sura , or chapter, of the Qur'an which describes the victory of 313 followers of the new Muslim faith over almost 900 non-Muslims at the Battle of Badr in 624 AD. According to Randal, Jash (Kurdish collaborators with the Baathists) were told that taking cattle, sheep, goats, money, weapons and even women
11700-568: The supposed "wrong" of the Algiers Agreement , in addition to finally achieving his desire of becoming the regional superpower. Saddam's goal was to supplant Egypt as the "leader of the Arab world" and to achieve hegemony over the Persian Gulf. He saw Iran's increased weakness due to revolution, sanctions, and international isolation. Saddam had invested heavily in Iraq's military since his defeat against Iran in 1975, buying large amounts of weaponry from
11817-495: The tactics used by both sides, including large-scale trench warfare with barbed wire stretched across fortified defensive lines, manned machine-gun posts, bayonet charges , Iranian human wave attacks , Iraq's extensive use of chemical weapons , and deliberate attacks on civilian targets. The discourses on martyrdom formulated in the Iranian Shia Islamic context led to the widespread usage of human wave attacks and thus had
11934-410: The terms of the 1975 Algiers Agreement but that Iran had never handed over, leading to both Iran and Iraq declaring the treaty null and void, on 14 September and 17 September, respectively. As a result, the only outstanding border dispute between Iran and Iraq at the time of the Iraqi invasion of 22 September was the question of whether Iranian ships would fly Iraqi flags and pay Iraq navigation fees for
12051-657: The traditional Tehran–Baghdad invasion route by securing territory forward of Qasr-e Shirin , Iran. On the northern front, the Iraqis attempted to establish a strong defensive position opposite Suleimaniya to protect the Iraqi Kirkuk oil complex . Iraqi hopes of an uprising by the ethnic Arabs of Khuzestan failed to materialise, as most of the ethnic Arabs remained loyal to Iran. The Iraqi troops advancing into Iran in 1980 were described by Patrick Brogan as "badly led and lacking in offensive spirit". The first known chemical weapons attack by Iraq on Iran probably took place during
12168-568: The various Persian empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire . Historically the Peshmerga existed only as guerrilla organizations, but under the self-declared Republic of Mahabad (1946–1947), the Peshmerga led by Mustafa Barzani became the official army of the republic. After the fall of the republic and the execution of head of state Qazi Muhammad , Peshmerga forces reemerged as guerrilla organizations that would go on to fight
12285-496: The villages of Wirmeli, Barkavreh, Bilejane, Glenaska, Zewa Shkan, Tuka and Ikmala were targeted with chemical attacks. After tens of thousands of Kurds fled to Turkey, the Iraqi Army blocked the route to Turkey on 26 August 1988. The population who did not manage to flee was arrested, and the men were separated from the women and children. The men were executed, and the women and children were brought to camps. Detention camps were established to accommodate thousands of prisoners. Dibs
12402-466: The women. In these three consecutive attacks between 15 May and 16 August 1988, the valleys of Rawandiz and Shaqlawa were targeted, and the attacks had different successes. The Anfal 5 failed completely; therefore, two more attacks were necessary to gain Iraqi government control over the valleys. The Peshmerga commander of the region, Kosrat Abdullah , was well prepared for a long siege with stores of ammunition and food. He also reached an agreement with
12519-502: Was halal (religiously permitted or legal). The Anfal campaign began in February 1988 and continued until August or September and included the use of ground offensives , aerial bombing , chemical warfare , systematic destruction of settlements , mass deportation and firing squads. The campaign was headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid who was a cousin of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from Saddam's hometown of Tikrit . The Iraqi Army
12636-548: Was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988 during the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict at the end of the Iran–Iraq War . The campaign targeted rural Kurds because its purpose was to eliminate Kurdish rebel groups and Arabize strategic parts of the Kirkuk Governorate . The Ba’athist regime committed atrocities on the local Kurdish population, mostly civilians. The Iraqi forces were led by Ali Hassan al-Majid , on
12753-495: Was a detention camp for women and children and located near an army training facility for the Iraqi commando forces. From Dibs, groups of detainees were transferred to Nugra Salman in a depression in the desert about 120 km southwest of Samawah , in the Muthanna Governorate . Nugra Salman held an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 prisoners during the Anfal campaign. Another detention camp was Topzawa near an army base near
12870-454: Was a trap, and many who surrendered were detained. Some civilians were able to bribe Kurdish collaborators of the Iraqi Army and fled to Laylan or Shorsh. Before the Anfal campaign, the mainly rural Garmian region counted over 600 villages around the towns of Kifri , Kalar and Darbandikhan . Anfal 4 took place between 3–8 May 1988 in the valley of the Little Zab , which forms the border of
12987-482: Was achieved in 1991. Following, most survivors returned, and began to reconstruct the villages. In Kurdish society, the Anfal survivors are known as Anfal mothers ( Kurdish : Daykan-î Enfal) , Anfal relatives ( Kurdish : Kes-u-kar-î Enfal) or Anfal widows ( Kurdish : Bewajin-î Enfal) . Human Rights Watch unsuccessfully attempted to attract support for a lawsuit under the Genocide Convention against Iraq at
13104-432: Was acquitted on the prosecution's demand. Al-Majid was charged with war crimes , crimes against humanity and genocide . He was convicted in June 2007 and was sentenced to death . His appeal for the death sentence was rejected on 4 September 2007. He was sentenced to death for the fourth time on 17 January 2010 and was hanged eight days later, on 25 January 2010. Sultan Hashem Ahmed was not hanged due to opposition of
13221-463: Was an iconic Assyrian guerilla fighter who was given a leading position in important battles such as the battle of Zawita Valley . The PUK started recruiting women during the Kurdish Civil War . Women were given a 45-day basic training that included parade drills and basic marksmanship with various rifles, mortars, and RPGs. In the months leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq , the United States launched Operation Viking Hammer which dealt
13338-403: Was only able to strike in depth with a few MiG-23BN , Tu-22 , and Su-20 aircraft, and Iran had built hardened aircraft shelters where most of its combat aircraft were stored. The next day, Iraq launched a ground invasion, mounting three simultaneous attacks along a 644 km (400 mi) front. Saddam hoped an attack on Iran would cause such a blow to Iran's prestige that it would lead to
13455-450: Was regarded in Baghdad as an irrational, existential threat to the Ba'ath government, especially because the Ba'ath party, having a secular nature, discriminated against and posed a threat to the fundamentalist Shia movement in Iraq, whose clerics were Iran's allies within Iraq and whom Khomeini saw as oppressed. Saddam's primary interest in war may have also stemmed from his desire to right
13572-424: Was satisfied with its achievements. The male population between 15 and 50 had either been killed or fled. The Kurdish resistance fled to Iran and was no longer a threat to Iraq. An amnesty was issued, and the detained women, children and elderly were released but not permitted to return. They were sent into camps known as mujamm'at where they lived under military rule until a regional autonomy for Iraqi Kurdistan
13689-447: Was supported by Kurdish collaborators whom the Iraqi government armed, the so-called Jash forces, who led Iraqi troops to Kurdish villages that often did not figure on maps as well as to their hideouts in the mountains. The Jash forces frequently made false promises of amnesty and safe passage. Iraqi state media extensively covered the Anfal campaign using its official name. Approximately 1,200 Kurdish villages were destroyed during
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