National Defense Battalions (Iraq)

National Defense Battalions كتائب الدفاع الوطني
Active	1961–2003
Country	Ba'athist Iraq
Allegiance	Iraqi Government
Branch	Ba'ath Party
Type	Paramilitary Gendarmerie
Role	Reserve army Counter-insurgency Infantry scouts Light infantry Internal security
Size	250,000 (1987) 412,636 (1989) 100,000 (1991) 1,000 (2002)
Part of	Northern Bureau
Garrison/HQ	Erbil
Engagements	Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Iran–Iraq War 1991 uprisings in Iraq Kurdish Civil War
Commanders
Northern Bureau Commander	Ali Hassan al-Majid

The National Defense Battalions (Arabic: كتائب الدفاع الوطني "Jahafel al-Difa' al-Watani") were Iraqi Kurdish paramilitary and gendarmerie units that initially emerged from a pro-government Kurdish militia raised by the regime of Abdul-Karim Qasim used against Kurdish insurgents during the First Iraqi–Kurdish War. The Battalions were used quite prominently during the Iran-Iraq War, particularly during the Anfal Campaign. Many of the Battalions' units rebelled in the 1991 uprising and joined the Peshmerga, although the Battalions survived, albeit in a reduced capacity, until the Ba'athist government was toppled in 2003.