Baath Party Headquarters - Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
Posted by: 
Torgut
N 35° 33.727 E 045° 25.511
38S E 538531 N 3935466
The former Baath Party headquarters was the final resistance pocket of Saddam Hussein forces in Sulaimaniyah during the 1991 Kurdish Upraise
Waymark Code: WM1C71E
Location: Iraq
Date Posted: 06/21/2025
Views: 0
The so called Baath Party Headuqarters in Sulaimaniyah was much more than its name reveals. In fact it was a disguised center for the secret police of the regime, a prison and torture center.
In 1991 the Kurds started a revolt against the regime. By March 7th this place was the final pocket held the forces loyal to Saddam Hussein. The battle went on for almost five hours and in the end the Peshmerga, the Kurdish military, controlled the small fortress. Around 900 Mukhabarat were killed, both in the battle and in the chase which took place after. The attackers suffered around 150 casualties.
Liberation was short. By April 3rd the government forces retook the city and the Baath Party Headquarters but the place was left in disuse, buildings riddled with bullet holes.
In 2003 the memorial museum opened to the visitors. A must see place.
From Wikipedia:
(
visit link)
"During the 1991 Battle of Sulaymaniah Iraqi security officials and soldiers retreated to the Amn headquarters which served as the Baathist stronghold in the city and held off rebels for nearly two days until the prison was captured by Peshmerga forces, following a 2 hour long assault. Rebels summarily executed 300 Amn agents, with angry civilians killing many others. One group of mothers whose sons had been killed at the compound stoned and axed to death 21 Iraqis. In total, between 700 and 800 secret policemen and soldiers were killed, although many conscripts were pardoned and allowed to return to their homes in the south by KDP chief Massoud Barzani. The building has many bullet marks from that battle."