Education
He was educated at the Baghdad Military College and the Staff College.
He was educated at the Baghdad Military College and the Staff College.
Born in Tikrit 1916. He was the 4th child to Mulla Yahya el-ogaily, a prominent tobacco merchant between North and Central Iraq. He then pursued further education in military sciences. He was a cavalry officer and played polo for the Iraqi army.
He led the Iraqi armored company in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, where he was wounded in the battle at the kibbutz of Gesher, earning two medals bestowed by Crown Prince Abd al-Ilāh.
At the end of his term, Yahya warned president Arif of the upcoming Ba"ath coup d"état and their plans to overthrow his government, but Arif did not take any action. This led to Yahya submitting his resignation on 8 July 1968, one week before the coup d"état took place.
That same morning Yahya was arrested and Arif was deported to London. Yahya spent three years in prison, torture, and health neglect.
In 1971 he was released, only to be put under house arrest until dying in his house in Mansur, Baghdad, in 1986.
Head officer Khalid Battalion 1952
Commander of 20th Brigade 1955
General Director of Police and security Directorate July 14, 1958
Chief of staff February 8, 1963
Minister of Defense, Interim 1964.