Iraq's Chemical Warfare

Brief History ofIraq's Chemical Warfare against Iran

----On September 22, 1980, Iraq staged an all-out war on Iran from ground, air, and sea and came to occupy a vast part of Iranian territory. But in the following months it was evident that the Iranian nation was determined to reclaim its occupied territories. Contrary to Iraqis conception, the continued occupation of Iran required more effective weapons.

At that time, Iraqis did not have chemical warfare. But in time, they began to develop an intensive research program to produce and store chemical weapons and used the war fields to test and perfect their chemical warfare. Thus, as the war continued, Iraq’s chemical warfare program came to expand rapidly.

Iraq’s biological warfare development pursued a similar course but, when Iraqis were testing biological warheads containing anthrax and botulinal toxin in Iraqi’s deserts the war had come to end. [Foroutan Abbas , Medical experiences of Iraq's Chemical Warfare Baqiyatallah Univ. Med. Sci Tehran 2003]

Iraq’s use of chemical warfare

Iraq’s chemical warfare development and use can be divided into three phases:

Phase 1: January 1981 to June 1983, Iraq started testing chemical weapons.

Phase 2: August 1983 to December 1983, chemical weapons were used to a limited extent.

Phase 3: February 1984 to the end of the war, chemical weapons were used extensively.

Thus, it was during the five years from August 1983 to July 1988, when Iran was under extensive Iraqi chemical attacks.

The increase in chemical attacks

----In 1984, Iraq began to use sulfur mustard and then Tabun gas. At that time, the chemical bombs were not manufactured so efficient thus, chemical attacks were relatively unsuccessful. Therefore, in spite of deployment of large amount of chemical agents, the number of casualties were less than anticipated by Iraqis. During this period, injuries were mild to moderate and only few severely injured.

In 1985 to 1986 Iraq improved the methods of delivery and distribution of chemical gases. Our emergency teams had also been organized more efficiently. Thus, despite of extensive use of nerve gas, in addition to mustard gas, the number of casualties actually decreased.

On April 8,1987, Iraqi’s Sarin gas missiles hit Khoramshahr. Despite extensive attack, our medical staff succeeded in rescuing most of the critically injureds. Coping with this situation, maximum doses of atropine were administered in a relatively short period of time. Treatment of severe cases in the emergency units often required intravenous injection of 100-200 mg atropine in less than 15 minutes.

On June 28, 1987, city of Sardasht was bombarded by mustard gas. This attackintentionally targeted at city center and central market inflicting numerous injuries among civilians.

A year later on March 17, 1988, the Halabja tragedy was created. Iraqis hit the residential areas with Sarin and the roads leading out of the city with mustard gas the day after. Most of the victims died within minutes after bombing and those who survived and tried to leave the city the following day were injured when passed contaminated roads. Civilian in residential areas in western Iran such as Noodsheh, Ghaleji, and Marivan were bombarded with nerve gas as well. The efforts of local health care centers played a significant role in decreasing the number of mortalities.

In April, May, and June 1988, in last stages of the war, Iraq attacked the defensive front lines of Faw, Shalamcheh, and Majnoon Islands with nerve gas artillery shells and the war ended abruptly admits the chemical clouds.

More References to be analyzed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction]