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siege, notable, Cold War

Siege of Basra

Siege of Basra was a siege conducted on 26 February 1987 at Basra Governorate, in what is now Iraq. It was part of the Iran–Iraq War, which ran from 1980 to 1988. The recorded result: Iraqi victory. Recorded strength: 300,000 against 150,000–200,000.

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Operation Karbala-5 was a successful invasion for Iran and Iranian forces seized some embankments in east of Basrah.
Operation Karbala-5 was a successful invasion for Iran and Iranian forces seized some embankments in east of Basrah.. User:AnonMoosUser:Gire_3pich2005, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Record

Date26 February 1987
PlaceBasra Governorate, Iraq
30.500N, 47.800E
Part ofIran–Iraq War (1980 to 1988)
KindSiege, Cold War
ResultIraqi victory
Territorial changeIran crossed the border and captured a tiny sliver of Basra Governorate according to Iranian Colonel Mojtaba Jafari
BelligerentsIraqIran
CommandersSaddam Hussein; al-Rashid; Dhia ul-Din Jamal; Khalil al-Dhouri; Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat; Riyadh Taha; Hassan Yusuf; Ibrahim Ismail; Hamid Salman; Bariq Hajj Hunta al-ZubaidiAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani; Mohsen Rezaee; Hossein Kharrazi; Ali Sayyad Shirazi; Esmail Daghayeghi; Saeed Jalili
Strength300,000150,000–200,000
Casualties and losses10,000 killed,; 1,750 captured; Other estimates: 20,000 casualties; 150 tanks and 10 aircraft lost40,000 killed; 80,000 wounded; Other estimates: 65,000 casualties; 218 armored vehicles; 21 boats; ≈2 million civilians displaced
Siege of BasraSiege of BasraBattle of the CamelBattle of ShaibaBattle of BasraBattle of KhorramshahrLiberation of KhorramshahrBattle of ShaibaKuwait CityAhvazAbadanAn NasiriyahAl JahraAsh Shatrah100 km30.500N, 47.800E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1987

Siege of Basra is one of 1,912 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 88 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q19996727, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Basra, revision 1370739316, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.