Iraq’s people will never forget the humanitarian aids sent by the Iranian nation to the chemically wounded residents of the Kurdish village of Halabjah in March 1988, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in a message read out at a conference on economic cooperation between Iran and the Iraqi Kurdistan region on Tuesday.
The Iraqi president lauded Iran’s assistance in the past to the Kurdish people residing in Iraq, and said people in Kurdistan would never forget the humanitarian relief aid sent by the Iranian people for the victims of horrific chemical attacks on the Kurdish village of Halabjah during war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988).
Halabjah is a Kurdish village in Northern Iraq, located about 150 miles (240 km) north-east of Baghdad and 8-10 miles from the Iranian border. On March 16, 1988, after two days of conventional artillery attacks, Iraqi planes dropped gas canisters on the village. The village and surrounding district were attacked with bombs, artillery fire, and chemical weapons, the latter of which proved most devastating. At least 5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 7,000 people were injured or suffered long term illness. Most of the victims of the attack on the village of Halabja were Kurdish civilians.
Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003.
Both sides are working on a series of plans to take wide strides in expanding their ties.
