Siege of Basra
| Siege of Basra Operation Karbala-5 |
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| Part of the Iran–Iraq War | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Iraq
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 Iran
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Gen. al-Rashid Lt. Gen. Dhia ul-Din Jamal Maj. Gen. Khalil al-Dhouri Brig. Gen. Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat Brig. Gen. Riyadh Taha Brig. Gen. Hassan Yusuf Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Ismail Brig. Gen. Hamid Salman
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Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Mohsen Rezaee Hossein Kharrazi † Col. Ali Sayyad Shirazi
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| Units involved | |||||||||
| 3rd Corps *8th Infantry Division *11th Border Guards Division *5th Mechanised Infantry Division 6th Corps 7th Corps National Defense Battalions |
Basij and Revolutionary Guards (70%): |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 300,000 (four armies) | 150,000–200,000 (six divisions from army & rest from the Basij militia) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 20,000 casualties 45 aircraft |
65,000 casualties Unknown loss of materiel |
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| ≈2 million civilians displaced | |||||||||
Strategic stalemate
Basij and Revolutionary Guards (70%):
Najaf Corps
Quds Corps
Karbala Corps
Nouh Corps
The Siege of Basra, code-named Operation Karbala-5 (Persian: عملیات کربلای 5), was an offensive operation carried out by Iran in an effort to capture the Iraqi port city of Basra in early 1987. This battle, known for its extensive casualties and ferocious conditions, was the biggest battle of the war and proved to be the beginning of the end of the Iran–Iraq War.
With the Iran–Iraq War in its seventh year, both sides were determined to break the stalemate. Iran's target was the city of Basra, which was both a key port and vital oil hub for Iraq. Iran decided that the city had to fall in order for Saddam Hussein to fall as well. Iran had besieged the city since 1982, yet it remained determined to make this the 'final battle' of the war. The Iranians also wanted to link up with forces in the already captured Fao Peninsula in southern Iraq. The timing of the operation was to coincide with winter, so that the heavy rains would hinder the Iraqi armor and air defenses. The Iraqis, however, intended to break the stalemate by inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Iranian forces, hoping to break the morale of the Iranian people.
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