- Operation Zafar 7
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Operation Zafar 7 Part of Iran-Iraq War 
Map of IraqDate Mid-March 1988 Location Southeast of Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan Result Tactical Iranian victory, strategicaly indecisive, Iran only reaches the outskirts of the city; Iraq Genocide on Kurdish civilians in Halabja. Territorial
changesIran reaches outskirts of Sulaymaniyah the Darbandikhan reservoir but fails to capture it. Belligerents 
Iraq
Iran
PeshmergaCommanders and leaders Saddam Hussein
Ali Hasan al-Majid Sayed Shirazi
Nawshirwan MustafaRelated U.S. operations in bold
Kaman 99 – Abadan – 1st Khorramshahr – Morvarid – Dezful – Undeniable Victory – 2nd Khorramshahr – Samen-ol-A'emeh – Jerusalem Way – Jerusalem – Ramadan – Before the Dawn – Dawn 1 – Dawn 2 – Dawn 3 – Dawn 4 – Dawn 5 – Dawn 6 – Marshes – Kheibar – Badr – Al-Anfal Campaign – 1st Al Faw – Dawn 8 – Karbala 4 – Karbala-5 – Karbala-6 – USS Stark Incident – Karbala Ten – Nasr 4 – Earnest Will – Prime Chance – Eager Glacier – Nimble Archer – Halabja – Zafar 7 – 2nd Al Faw – Praying Mantis – Air Flight 655 Incident – Mersad
Operation Zafar 7 was an Iranian offensive during the Iran-Iraq War. Although Iran won the battle and also the following Iraqi counter-attack, Iran was unable to reach their objective of invading and capturing Sulaymaniyah.Contents
Prelude
Nothing was happening any more 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.
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 counter-attack 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.
Halabja
Main article 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 approximately 150 miles northeast of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border, was significantly damaged with casualties estimated to be around 5,000.
Photo taken in the aftermath of the Halabja poison gas attack.References
Categories:- 1988 in Iraq
- Battles involving Iran
- Battles involving Iraq
- Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War
- Iraqi Kurdistan
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