Coup Atlas Research Database
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64506301973AttemptedMilitary coup

Iraq, 1973 — military coup attempt

Iraq (IRQ)Western Asia, AsiaJune 30, 1973

Event Summary

On 30 June 1973 Nadhim Kzar, the feared head of Iraq's Directorate of General Security and one of the first Shia to hold a senior post in the Baathist regime, launched a coup attempt against President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. Kzar lured the defense minister, Lieutenant General Hammad Shehab, and the interior minister, Lieutenant General Saadoun Ghaidan, to a meeting and took them hostage, intending to assassinate al-Bakr as the president's plane landed in Baghdad and then seize power. The plan misfired when al-Bakr's flight was delayed, forcing the assassination to be aborted.

As his plot collapsed, Kzar fled toward the Iranian border with his hostages, killing Shehab and wounding Ghaidan, who feigned death to survive. Kzar was captured before reaching Iran and was quickly tried by the Revolutionary Command Council and executed. The failed coup let the Baath, and the rising Saddam Hussein, further consolidate the security state, tightening the party's grip on the intelligence apparatus.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr survived the Kzar coup attempt; Kzar was captured and executed
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (president of Iraq, target)
Nadhim Kzar (security chief, coup leader, executed)
Hammad Shehab (defense minister, killed)

Sources

In July 1973 Nadhim Kzar, the head of the Iraqi Directorate of General Security, led an unsuccessful coup against President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, taking hostage the interior and defense ministers.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Nadhim Kzar open source ↗
Kzar had intended to assassinate Bakr when his plane landed in Baghdad, but the flight was late and the assassination attempt was aborted.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Nadhim Kzar open source ↗
Radio Baghdad announced that the coup attempt by Director of National Security Nazim Kazar on 30 June had failed, and that Kazar and his supporters fled toward the Iranian border taking two ministers with them, killing the defense minister Shehab and wounding Ghaidan before being caught.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, Office of the Historian open source ↗
Kzar shot dead Shehab, while Ghaidan was injured but feigned death and survived, and Kzar was captured as he attempted to flee to Iran and then tried by the Revolutionary Command Council.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Nadhim Kzar open source ↗

Editorial Note

Dataset date 30 June 1973 matches the Kzar coup attempt (announced failed on 1 July). Dataset codes it a military coup with leader unharmed, accurate for al-Bakr. Well documented via State Department cables and biography. The most recent of the many Iraq records in the dataset run, following the January 1970 al-Rawi attempt in batch 67.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
64506301973
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-645-1973-07-01

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr survived the Kzar coup attempt; Kzar was captured and executed.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Luttwak

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

New York Times

“IRAQ DEFENSE AIDE SLAIN BY PLOTTERS: Government Says Chief Of Security Seized Generals and Fled Toward Iran,” July 2, 1973

Boston Globe

“Iraqi regime stops coup; scores held,” July 2, 1973

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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Related Records

Iraq — Military coup, 19701970-01-20AttemptedWestern AsiaIraq — Military coup, 19681968-10-06AttemptedWestern AsiaIraq — Military coup, 19791979-07-28AttemptedWestern Asia