We present optical and near-IR identification and spectroscopy of the host galaxy of GRB 980613 .
The burst was apparently associated with the optically ( restframe UV ) brightest component of a system of at least five galaxies or galaxy fragments at a redshift of z = 1.0969 .
The component we identify as the host galaxy shows a moderately high unobscured star formation rate , SFR \sim 5 ~ { } M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } , but a high SFR per unit mass , indicative of a starburst .
The image components show a broad range of ( R - K ) colors , with two of them being very red , possibly due to dust .
Overall morphology of the system can be naturally interpreted as a strong tidal interaction of two or more galaxies , at a redshift where such events were much more common than now .
Given the well established causal link between galaxy mergers and starbursts , we propose that this is a strong case for a GRB originating from a merger-induced starburst system .
This supports the proposed link between GRBs and massive star formation .