The World - News from April 16, 1987
Iran said its forces and Kurdish guerrillas launched surprise attacks on Iraqi positions east of the Kirkuk oil fields, killing or wounding more than 600 Iraqi troops. The Iranian news agency IRNA said that 98 Iraqis were captured in the attacks, 175 northeast of Baghdad. In Baghdad, officials dismissed the attack as “trivial actions” by Iranian-backed saboteurs. The official Iraqi news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying that Iraqi troops had inflicted heavy losses. Meanwhile, Iranian gunboats attacked a Philippine-flag vessel in the Persian Gulf, shipping sources said. No casualties were reported.
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