Iraqi missiles strike city in Iran, killing civilians

Iraqi troops fired Soviet-made Frog 7 missiles at residential areas of the city of Dezful. More than 100 people were reported killed and 174 wounded. Seyyed Ahmad Zarhani, a parliamentary deputy, said five of the surface-to-surface missiles hit civilian targets. he said the Iraqis were apparently trying to make the local population leave their houses so the Iraqis could seize the air base on the Tehran-Khuzestan highway to cut the connection of the oil-producing province to the rest of the country.

Hand-to-hand fighting was also reported in Khorramshahr, and defenders were said to be preventing Iraqi troops from gaining full control of the city. Baghdad said earlier its forces beat back an Iranian counterattack aimied at regaining control of the city after killing 100 Iranian troops.