Atlas of Battles

battle, major, Cold War

Battle of Khafji

Battle of Khafji was a battle fought on 29 January 1991 at Khafji, in what is now Saudi Arabia; it lasted 3 days. It was part of the Gulf War, which ran from 1990 to 1991. The recorded result: Coalition victory.

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Marines of 3rd Battalion, search for Iraqi stragglers and examine damage following the Battle of Khafji.
Marines of 3rd Battalion, search for Iraqi stragglers and examine damage following the Battle of Khafji.. Captain Charles G. Grow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought29 January 1991lasted 3 days
WhereKhafji, Saudi Arabia28.425N, 48.500E
OutcomeCoalition victory
BelligerentsCoalition; United States; Saudi Arabia; Qatar; KuwaitagainstBa'athist Iraq
Part ofGulf War1990 to 1991

Where it sits in the Gulf War

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 1990Battle of Dasman Palace, 1990Battle of the Bridges, 1990Battle of Failaka, 1990Battle of Qurah and Umm al Maradim, 1991Battle of Khafji, 1991Battle of Bubiyan, 1991Samurra Air Battle, 1991Battle of Wadi Al-Batin, 1991Battle of 73 Easting, 1991Battle of Al Busayyah, 1991Battle of Phase Line Bullet, 1991Battle of Norfolk, 1991Battle of Medina Ridge, 1991Battle of Kuwait International Airport, 1991Battle for Jalibah Airfield, 1991Safwan Airfield Standoff, 1991Battle of Rumaila, 199119901991Battle of Khafji, 1991
18 placed engagements of the Gulf War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date29 January 1991
to 1 February 1991
PlaceKhafji, Saudi Arabia
28.425N, 48.500E
KindBattle, Cold War
Casualties and lossesCoalition estimate: 45 killed (11 from friendly fire); 60 wounded; 2 captured; 9–12 armoured vehicles lost; 1 AC-130 shot downIraqi claims: 71 killed; 148 wounded; 702 missing; 186 armoured vehicles destroyed; Saudi Arabian estimate: 60–300 killed; 400 captured; 90 armoured vehicles destroyed
Commanders
  • Khalid bin Sultan
  • Fahd of Saudi Arabia
  • Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani
  • Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
Battle of KhafjiBattle of KhafjiBattle of Dasman PalaceBattle of FailakaBattle of the BridgesBattle of Dasman PalaceBattle of the BridgesAl Ahmadi100 km28.425N, 48.500E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Locator map of Khafji, Saudi Arabia. Created by NormanEinstein, May 5, 2006.
Locator map of Khafji, Saudi Arabia. Created by NormanEinstein, May 5, 2006.. No machine-readable author provided. NormanEinstein assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Khafji
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Khafji today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-15. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 4 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -3 to 20 m, 23 m of relief, flat country and today it is 43% built-up, 28% bare ground, 28% water.

built-up: 43%bare ground: 28%water: 28%built-up 43%bare ground 28%water 28%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 11 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 13 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1991

Battle of Khafji is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 71 in present-day Saudi Arabia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q718770, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Khafji, revision 1370445110, 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.