Lieutenant Saeb Sabry al-Safi al-Arkoub (1936–1959) was one of the Iraqi pilots who participated in the Shawaf coup in 1959 against Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassem.

Early life

Saeb Sabry al-Safi was born in 1936, He was the sixth of eleven children born to Sabri Ahmed Al-Safi (1900 - 1953 ) and his wife Marziya Muhammad Saleh Al-Masry (1904 - 1985 ).

Shawaf coup

after

14 July Revolution The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi military coup, was a ''coup d'état'' that took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, resulting in the toppling of King Faisal II and the overthrow of the Hashemite-led Kingdom of Iraq. The Ira ...

, many parties in

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 ...

fought against each other, and that led to attempt coup d'état in March 1959, known as the

Mosul uprising The 1959 Mosul Uprising was an attempted coup by Arab nationalists in Mosul who wished to depose the then Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim, and install an Arab nationalist government which would then join the Republic of Iraq with the Unit ...

. Al-Safi participated in that coup, his duty was to bomb Radio Baghdad station on March 8. The raid failed , with the planes doing little damage.

Death by committing suicide

On his return to the airbase he realised that the coup had failed, so he attempted to flee to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. His plane however ran out of fuel and upon landing he committed suicide rather than being captured.

References

{{Improve categories, date=November 2023 1936 births 1959 deaths Deaths by firearm in Iraq Iraqi Sunni Muslims People from Mosul Iraqi Arab nationalists Iraqi aviators Date of birth missing Suicides by firearm