| Operation Dawn 10 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iran–Iraq War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Iraq |
 Iran Supported by:  Peshmerga | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Saddam Hussein Kokeb Mohammad Amin Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat Hisham Fakhri |
Ayatollah Khomeni Mohsen Rezaee Ali Sayad Shirazi Ali Shamkhani Yahya Rahim Safavi Masoud Barzani | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
10,000+ killed or wounded 5,440 captured 270 tanks destroyed [1][2] | 3,000 killed [3] | ||||||||
Operation Dawn-10 or Walfajr-10[4] (Persian: عملیات والفجر ۱۰) was a large scale offensive operation launched during the Iran–Iraq WarbyIran against Iraq on March 15, 1988 near the final stages of the war's conclusion. It was commanded by the Pasdaran along with the participation of some regular army forces as support. During Operation Dawn-10, Iran changed its operational area from southern to northern Iraq. The operation was started with the code of "Ya Rasūl Allāh (s)" (Persian: (یا رسول الله (ص)[5] (likewise "Ya Muhammad ibn Abdullah"),[6][7][1] and performed in 5 phases. [4]
Operation Dawn-10[8][9] was executed on the west heights overlooking Darbandikhan Lake in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraq[5] with the operational goal of preparing a full-on assault on the Darbandikhan Dam.[10] [11] 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 Iraqi forces completely off guard, as they were expecting an attack from the southern front, from where Iran mainly operated. This failure cost Iraq thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks, armoured vehicles, and equipment,[12] whereas Iran sustained much fewer losses itself.[13]
Overall, it led to the capture of 3 towns[5] and around 100 villages[14] in the 1200 square kilometer operational area,[15] including Halabja, Kharmal, Biareh, and Tawileh. It is also claimed that the town of Nosud in Iran was retaken from Iraqi forces. The operation resulted in the death or injury of roughly 10,000 Iraqi forces[1] and the capture of 5440 more.[1][16] The offensive also caused important Iraqi divisions from the south to be diverted to the northern Iraqi mountains, disrupting the overall war effort. As a direct result of the Kurdish involvement in the battle, Saddam ordered the Iraqi military to chemically bombard Halabja, killing thousands of civilians and completely destroying the town.[17]
