Operation Zafar-6

Samane Tajik
73 بازدید

Operation Zafar-6 was one of the unconventional operations during the Iraq-imposed war against Iran. It was carried out in 1987 in the east of Kirkuk, Iraq, in three axes by the Ramadan Regiment. Its goal was to liberate the highlands of this region.

During the final days of 1987, an operation called Dawn-10 was planned with the intention to capture parts of the Sulaymaniyah province of Iraq. However, logistics, such as the size of the operational area, the separation and distance of the targets from each other and the impossibility of directing the forces in all directions by means of one camp were just some of the reasons that required several regiments to be determined for the implementation of the Dawn­-10 operation. Subsequently, it was the unconventional operations of these regiments that helped achieve the objectives of the Dawn-10 Operation. The Ramadan Regiment, which was the brain of unconventional operations of the IRGC, had the mission of carrying out actions such as attacking targets in Iraqi cities, conducting ambush operations, and making the movement of Iraqi units within the region unsafe during the Dawn-10 operation. So, in cooperation with Iraqi opposition Kurdish groups. Operation Zafar-6 was one of these unconventional operations.[1] From the series of  Zafar Operations, operation Zafar-5 was carried out on 12 January 1987 by the forces of the Ramadan Regiment in cooperation with the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq. It was undertaken in the Dohuk province of Iraq. It resulted in the complete capture of Deir Luk City and the cutting off of the road to Amadiyeh[2].

The operating forces, under the command of the Ramadan Regiment, attacked the Iraqi forces on February 25, 1988, and, after a heavy battle, captured the heights of Garde Nasser, Garde Maqbareh, Garde Qali, Garde Su, and Height 606. After taking control of an important bridge in Basrah, the Iranian forces captured the barracks of the Independent Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 1st Corps, the barracks where the 135th Battalion and the 25th Khafifeh Battalion were stationed[3]. In this battle, 100 of the enemy forces, including the commander of the 25th Khafifeh Battalion were killed, while 20 were captured. One of the prisoners was Sarvan Zarehi, Khars Abdul Karim, deputy commander of the 25th Khafifeh Battalion[4].

Meanwhile, Iranian forces in the eastern axis of Sangao also captured Iraqi bases and positions, killing 100 enemy soldiers and taking fifteen captive. When the weather cleared up, Iraq attacked Patek, but their attack encountered a crushing and heavy ambush by Iranian forces on the Sangao-Chamchal road, and after enduring 150 deaths and some POWs, they retreated.

On the second day of the operation, the Iraqi army, using six battalions of infantry and mechanical forces, local mercenaries, dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers, and the support of artillery fire and air force,  strongly attacked the border between Chamchal and Jibafra and started to advance. This Iraqi plot was countered by the timely reaction of Iranian forces, but Iraq announced that Iran's Zafar-6 Operation had failed.[5]

Among the other results of the Zafar-6 Operation, mention can be made of events such as the liberating of an important bridge in Basrah and several villages in the region. Also, among other results of this operation was the gaining control of the main roads of Sengao-Chamchal, Kirkuk-Sengao, Qadir Karam-Kirkuk, Sengao-Qara Dagh-Sulaymaniyah, as well as the secondary roads of Sengao-Darbandikhan[6].

Major Jafar Abd Hossein, the commander of the independent mechanized infantry battalion of the 1st Iraqi Army, was also killed in this operation.

In the Zafar-6 Operation, the barracks of the Independent Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 1st Corps, which housed the 135th Battalion, the 25th Khafifeh Battalion and fourteen other Iraqi squads in the region, was destroyed along with six tanks and personnel carriers, two anti-aircraft guns, eight 82 mm mortars and several ammunition warehouses. Also, Iran was able to capture two armored personnel carriers, sixty wireless devices, several mortars and weapons in this operation[7].

The Financial Times of London confirmed the advance of Kurdish Muslim forces in northern Iraq based on intelligence satellite images, and referring to the Zafar-6 Operation, wrote: “The forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq suffered a heavy defeat against the forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party in their advance last month in the Mawat area, close to the border with Iran[8]”.

After the start of the Dawn-10 Operation on March 13, 1988, to prevent the enemy from increasing their sensitivities to the movements of the Quds Regiment and not discovering the main target of this camp, the name of the operation in the axis of the Quds Regiment in the eastern region of Sulaymaniyah province of Iraq was titled as Zafar-7. This operation was carried out by the Ramadan Regiment and the Iraqi Kurdish forces.[9]

 

 

 

 

[1] Samii, A., Descriptive record of the operations of Islamic warriors during the eight years of holy defense, representation of the Supreme Leader in the Ground Forces - Deputy of Propaganda and Publications, 1997, p. 374; Habibi, A., The Record of Operations of the Islamic Guards in the Eight Years of Holy Defense, Tehran: Department of Public Relations and Publications of the Guards, 2004, p. 198.

[2] Ardestani, H., Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 52: The Global Effort to Stop the War, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps War Studies and Research Center, 2003, p.599.

[3] Habibi, A., Descriptive record of operations of Islamic armies in eight years of holy defense, pp. 198 and 199.

[4] Samii, A., Descriptive record of operations of eight years of holy defense, Tehran: Representation of Wali Faqih in the Ground Forces, Deputy of Publicity and Publications, 1997, pp. 374 and 375; Journal of the Islamic Republic, No. 2542, March 8, 1987, p. 2.

[5] Samii, A., Descriptive report of the operations of Islamic warriors, pp. 374 and 375.

[6] Islamic Republic newspaper, ibid.

[7] Habibi, A., the record of operations of the Islamic armies in the eight years of holy defense, pp. 198 and 199; Samii, Ali, Descriptive report of the operations of the warriors of Islam, p. 375.

[8] Ibid, pp. 374 and 375.

[9]Habibi, A., Journal of the Iran-Iraq war, book fifty-four, p. 65; the record of the operations of the Islamic armies in the eight years of holy defense, p. 200.