The World - News from Feb. 28, 1988

Iraq reported that waves of its warplanes attacked Iran’s key oil refineries in strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s economy. The official Iraqi News Agency said the Iranian refineries were “destroyed and shattered” and left shrouded in flames and smoke. It did not identify them, but Iran’s main refineries are located near Tehran, the northwestern city of Tabriz, the central city of Esfahan and the southern city of Shiraz. Iran quickly responded by shelling the Iraqi port city of Basra and the border town of Qurnah in the north. The Iraqi News Agency said that 17 civilians were killed and 16 were wounded in the shellings. The attacks rekindled fears of a flare-up in the “war of the cities,” which has left thousands dead since 1984.