Siege of Basra
| Siege of Basra Operation Karbala-5 The Great Harvest | |||||||||
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| Part of the Iran–Iraq War | |||||||||
Top-left to bottom-right:
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Iraq | Iran | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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| Units involved | |||||||||
7th Corps National Defense Battalions |
Regular Army (30%) with some artillery and armour | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 300,000 | 150,000–200,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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10,000 killed, 150 tanks and 10 aircraft lost |
40,000 killed 218 armored vehicles 21 boats | ||||||||
| ≈2 million civilians displaced | |||||||||
The siege of Basra, code-named Operation Karbala-5 or The Great Harvest (Arabic: الحصاد الاكبر), 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 last major Iranian offensive. The Iranians failed to reach their objective.