The Children’s Graves Under the Rubble of War

In September 1980, war broke out between Iran and Iraq. It was the second longest war of the 20th century after the Vietnam War. Both sides suffered a huge number of casualties, with sources putting the number of deaths at a million for Iran and between 250,000 and 500,00 for Iraq. Thousands of civilians were killed, with some reports placing the number at around 16,000 civilians in Iran, many of whom died from rocket attacks and other bombs hitting residential areas.  

Iraq fired the first missile, aimed at the city of Dezful in Khuzestan in Iran.  During the eight years of the war, Iraqi aircrafts attacked Dezful dozens of times. The Iranian Students' News Agency reports that Dezful was attacked 172 times. These children were just a few of the many who lost their lives during Iraqi attacks against Dezful. 

The Iran-Iraq War ended in August 1988. 

Photos by Shayan Haji Najaf for the Iranian Students' News Agency