The 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq, also known as the First Sadr Uprising, took place as a followup to the Iranian Revolution (1978–1979) in neighbouring Iran, as the Shia Iraqi clerics vowed to overthrow Ba'athist Iraq, dominated by (secular) Sunni Muslims - specifically the Saddam Hussein family. Saddam and his deputies believed that the riots had been inspired by the Iranian Revolution and instigated by Iran's government.[1] The riots erupted in May 1979 and escalated in June - leading to thousands tortured and killed in Najaf. The uprising subsided with the April 1980 arrest of the leader of Shia Iraqis Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his subsequent execution.