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Assassination of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, 1989
· Vienna, Austria
The killing of the KDPI's Secretary-General during talks in Vienna triggered a renewed insurgency that lasted until 1996.
What happened
On 13 July 1989, KDPI Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, along with Abdullah Qaderi-Azar and Fadhil Rasul, was shot dead in Vienna, Austria, during a meeting to explore a political settlement with individuals connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran; the killers were suspected of being Iranian government agents.[1]
Ghassemlou's assassination triggered a renewed KDPI insurgency; his successor, Sadegh Sharafkandi, was himself assassinated along with two colleagues in Bonn, Germany, on 17 September 1992. The conflict, described as having claimed hundreds of lives, ended when KDPI members announced on 4 August 1996 that they would stop cross-border attacks from Iraq into Iran.[2]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: On 13 July 1989, KDPI Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, along with Abdullah Qaderi-Azar and Fadhil Rasul, was shot dead in Vienna, Austria, during a meeting to explore a political settlement with individuals connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran; the killers were suspected of being Iranian government agents.
- Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou (Wikipedia) link, Assassination section. Source record
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2.
Claim: Ghassemlou's assassination triggered a renewed KDPI insurgency against Iranian forces from 13 July 1989; his successor as KDPI Secretary-General, Sadegh Sharafkandi, was himself assassinated along with two colleagues in Bonn, Germany, on 17 September 1992, by gunmen believed to be working for Iran. The conflict, described as having claimed hundreds of lives (with one source cited in the Wikipedia article reporting a range of approximately 172-554 killed), ended when KDPI members announced on 4 August 1996 that they would stop cross-border attacks from Iraq into Iran.
- KDPI insurgency (1989-1996) (Wikipedia) link, Timeline and casualty sections. Source record