Halabja chemical attack

Culture of origin: Kurdish · Historical

Holiday sources: Iran · Kurdish

On 16 March 1988, during the Anfal campaign led by Ali Hassan al-Majid, Iraqi aircraft dropped chemical bombs on the homes of Halabja for five hours, killing between 3,200 and 5,000 people and injuring 7,000 to 10,000. UN investigators found that mustard gas and nerve agents had been used on Kurdish civilians. It remains the largest chemical attack on a civilian area in history; in 2010 an Iraqi tribunal ruled it genocide, and al-Majid, found guilty of ordering it, was hanged that year.