Operation Dawn-10 or Walfajr-10 (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: عملیات والفجر ۱۰) was an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

operation launched by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

on March 15, 1988, near the end of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as 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, unti ...

. Led by the

Pasdaran Pasdaran (, meaning "Guards") can refer to: * Pasdaran (district) in Tehran * Informal name for the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) {{disambig ...

and supported by some regular army forces, the five-phase operation marked a shift in Iranian focus from southern to northern Iraq.

The battle

Launched with the code of "Ya Rasūl Allāh (s)" (Persian: (یا رسول الله (ص) (likewise "Ya

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

"), Operation Dawn-10 was executed on the west heights overlooking Darbandikhan Lake in the

Sulaymaniyah Governorate Sulaymaniyah Governorate (; ; ) or Sulaymaniyah Province is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its largest city is Sulaymaniyah. Halabja Governorate was formerly the Halabja District, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Hal ...

in Iraq with the operational goal of preparing a full-on assault on the Darbandikhan Dam. Iranian forces quickly encircled their main objectives with ease, and the Iraqis did not have the time to reinforce the threatened area. The siege caught them by surprise, as they were expecting an attack from the southern front, from where Iran mainly operated. Roughly 10,000 Iraqi troops were killed or wounded, while some 5,440 more were captured. Iraq also lost hundreds of tanks, armoured vehicles, and equipment whereas Iran sustained many fewer losses.

Aftermath

Overall, the operation led to the capture of three towns and around 100 villages in the 1,200-square-kilometer operational area, including

Halabja Halabja (, ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of Halabja Governorate, located about northeast of Baghdad and from the Iranian border. The city lies at the base of what is often referred to as the greater Hewraman re ...

, Kharmal, Biareh, and Tawileh. Iran also claimed that the town of Nosud was retaken from Iraqi forces. The offensive forced Iraq to divert important divisions from the south to the northern Iraqi mountains, disrupting the overall war effort. To punish Kurds involved in the battle,

Saddam Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until his overthrow in 2003 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He previously served as the vi ...

ordered the

Iraqi military The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Ground forces, the Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Air Defence Command, and the Iraqi Navy. The armed forces are administered by the M ...

to chemically bombard

the next day, killing thousands of civilians and destroying the town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawn 10 Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988 March 1988 in Asia 1988 in Iraqi Kurdistan History of Sulaymaniyah Governorate Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War involving the Peshmerga

The battle

Aftermath

See also

References