1966 Iraqi coup d'état attempt

1966 Iraqi coup d'état attempt
Part of the Arab Cold War
Date June 1966 Location Republic of Iraq Result Coup suppressed
Belligerents
Republic of Iraq	Iraqi Armed Forces rebels Supported by: Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Abdul Rahman Arif Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz	Arif Abd ar-Razzaq Subhi Abdul Hamed
Units involved
Khaleel Jassim
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
83	250

1966 Iraqi coup d'état attempt or Arif Abd ar-Razzaq second coup attempt was a failed attempt to overthrown the Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif and the prime minister of the Iraqi government Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz by the Iraqi previous prime minister Arif Abd ar-Razzaq and other Iraqi air force and army officers. The attempt was supported by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, following his first failed attempt against Abdul Salam Arif in 1965.The coup was foiled in Mosul by Khaleel Jassim and his Iraqi commando unit.^[1]

1966 Iraqi coup d'état attempt[]

Arif Abd ar-Razzaq and a number of his group of Iraqi officers entered Iraq borders through Kuwait with assistant of a Syrian officer `who has links to the Syrian government and he escaped to Syria later after the failed attempt' two weeks after the coup. They contacted Brigadier general who was the commander of the Iraqi fourth division in Mosul to support them in their attempt. He hesitated at the beginning but agreed later to corporate with the conspirators in order to overthrown the government and take control of the fourth division in Mosul and the city Airport. They conspirators received also support from the iraqi embassy in Cairo, Egypt Ali Hussain.^[2] The planes took off from the Mosul airport and bombed Baghdad and the Iraqi republican Palace with three air raids, two airplanes for each raid. While another plane landed in Habbaniyah air base while four other planes landed in AL-Rashed military base near Baghdad, and other planes attacked Al-Washash military base. Another force attacked the iraqi Radio station in Baghdad but they failed to control it for some reason.^[3] 8 people killed and 15 wounded as a result of the bombing. At this time Abdul Rahman Arif the Iraqi president phoned Major General Khaleel Jassim The commander of Mosul district and Iraqi Commandos Units in Mosul headquarter asking for help to stop the air raids and taking control of the iraqi units there, as there were no response from the other senior officers who are in charge of the fourth division. Khaleel Jassim promised to ease the situation, and arrest the conspirators. He attacked with his commando unit named after his name "Khaleel Jassim Unit" the Mosul air base and took control of the and restored the order there. Then captured the conspirators including Arif Abd ar-Razzaq. At the same time the Brigadier a pro Arif officer took control over Baghdad TV station where the conspirators tried to occupy.

Aftermath[]

The coup lead to instability in Iraq on the political level as well as the military level, which lead to the overthrown of president Abdul Rahman Arif few years later in 17 July Revolution or movement. All the conspirators were jailed for a short period of time then released including Arif Abd ar-Razzaq while and some other officers put to retirement and the fourth division commander released from his command and was replace by Khaleel Jassim for a short period of time then by for a short period of time by Khaleel Jassim then by Abdul Jabbar Khalil Shanshal.

The failure of Bedouin-political revenge attempts between 1993–2000[]

Later after many years Khalil Jassim grand son was targeted by some officers and Air Force pilots who were still loyal to Arif Abd ar-Razzaq in a Bedouin-political revenge with multiple assassination attempts which took place in Baghdad, Iraq between 1993–2000, and Sharjah in United Arab Emirates Between 2004-2006 Including colonel pilot Fahad Abdul khaliq and Mumtaz Al-Sadoon who were grandson of former prime minister Abdul-Muhsin Al-Saadoun and Arif Abd ar-Razzaq loyalist, officers and pilots from the Nasiri Arabian political movement who adopted the Arabian nationalist ideology of the Egyptian former president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Again Ghaith Khalil, with help of his grandfather commreds in arm,^[4] was able to foil their assassination attempts despite his young age and arrest one of the pilot officer Major Ahmed Fahad Al-Sadoon, son of Colonel pilot Fahad Al-Sadoon, who were also arrested in 1966 coupe as well as their brothers and cousins such Colonel Mumtaz Al-Sadoon, and their sons, also some relatives to the former Iraqi prime minister Colonel pilot Arif Abd ar-Razzaq. Later during the struggle Colonel Ahmed Fahad Al-Sadoon life was speared, when he Sought protection from Ghaith Khalil. The attempts continue to occur in Dubai -UAE in exile with failure again. The group of Iraqi army officers who came to aid their comrade in arms Khalil Jassim grandson Ghaith Khalil, were General AL-Ansari, the well known senior Iraqi general and their officers sons General Suhil Hammo.^[5]

References[]