Iran says it defeated Iraqi counterattack

Iran said its forces repulsed an Iraqi counterattack in the Kurdish mountains of north Iraq where it launched a big offensive Saturday. But in Baghdad a military spokesman said fierce fighting was still raging in the area Sunday and that Iraqi troops had killed more that 1,400 Iranians since Saturday morning.

Before news of the Iraqi counterattack reached Tehran, official Iranian communiques said Iran had achieved the main objectives of the offensive, the first major action in the Gulf war since battles further south in April. The communiques said Iranian forces had captured a military base which supplied Kurdish rebels in Iran.