Operation Zafar 1
Zainab Ahmadi
70 بازدید
In cooperation with the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, the ground forces of the IRGC carried out operation Zafar, with the aim of destroying the military facilities of Saddam in the city of Kani Masi.
The first stage of this operation was carried out on 13 September 1987 in the northeast of Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah provinces, a province in Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the Iraq-Turkey border, which was two hundred kilometers into Iraqi territory. This operation was orchestrated under the guidance and command of the Ramadan Regiment.[1]
It was carried out within an area of 30 square kilometers around the city of Kani Masi in the governorate of Omadiya, Iraq. The Iraqi Peshmerga were led by Masoud Barzani.
During the first hours of the operation, Iranian forces, along with Kurdish Peshmerga, were able to capture the protective bases around Kani Masi, as well as the battalion center of this area from the Begawah Brigade (subordinate to Lashkar 38) and three other local battalion centers.[2]
After capturing the important centers of the city, the operational forces cleared about thirty square kilometers of the area. In this operation, the commander of the battalion of Kani Masi, named Major Sabieh Abush, and two commanders of the light battalion, named Sadegh Omar and Mohammad Nazif, were captured.[3]
In the continuation of the operation, the operating forces took control of six kilometers of road leading to Kani Masi and set fire to 60 bases of the Iraqi army. In addition to killing and injuring five hundred Baathist forces, they also captured a number of them. In another attack in the heights of Gileh Zardeh, located in Sulaymaniyah province, they liberated the bases in the area and destroyed the headquarters of the 19th Light Battalion of Iraq. In this attack, some Iraqi army forces were killed and wounded, and a large number of weapons and armored equipment were set on fire.
On the second night of the operation, the operating forces attacked Iraqi camps, bridges, and settlements and were able to take about 35 kilometers from the Kani Masi road to Batufeh out of the hands of the Iraqi army and forced them to settle in a part of the Batufeh-Zakho road. On 14 September, the Iraqi forces retaliated with the support of a large number of tanks, airplanes, helicopters, and Special Forces to recapture the lost areas, but they failed to achieve their goal due to the strong opposition of the Iranian forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga.[4]
In this operation, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga ambushed Iraqi forces in different areas and roads and managed to destroy several vehicles. Also, six members of the Iraqi forces surrendered themselves, along with their equipment, to the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga. To destroy the indigenous peshmerga of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Iraqi government repeatedly bombed and destroyed many villages in northern Iraq.[5]
The second stage of this operation began on 17 September 1987 with the participation of forces under the command of the Ramadan Regiment in Kani Masi. At this stage, the operating forces advanced on the Batufeh road to Zakho and, using the weapons captured from the enemy, attacked the headquarters of the Begawah Brigade of the 38th Division of the Iraqi army and destroyed it with heavy fire. The Iraqi army also launched a retaliatory attack, but it was met with resistance from the Kurdish Peshmerga.
At this stage of the operation, the operating forces managed to kill Major Pilot Jamal Masoud Salman, who was responsible for the chemical bombing of Sardasht.
In an analytical report on the performance of the Iraqi Kurdish forces in this operation, the Independent newspaper wrote: ‘The position of the Kurds in occupying the city of Kani Masi will allow them to endanger the international road between Turkey and Iraq and the Iraqi oil export pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea and to be in a better position to attack Kirkuk's oil fields.’ [6]
In this operation, about 1,000 people from the Iraqi army were killed and wounded, and about 500 people were captured.
[1] Habibi, A., The Operations Record of Islamic Guards in Eight Years of Holy Defense, Tehran: Public Relations and Publications Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Chapter 5, 2004, p. 185; Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50: Escort of Oil Tankers, Tehran: Center for War Studies and Research, 1999, pp. 646 and 688.
[2] Newspaper of the Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 2409, 18 September 1987, p. 2.
[3] Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50, p. 646.
[4] Samii, A., Descriptive record of the operations of Islamic warriors during the eight years of holy defense, Tehran: Wali Faqih representation in the ground forces, 2016, pp. 355 and 356.
[5] Ibid, Islamic Republic newspaper,
[6] Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50, pp. 688 and 689.
n cooperation with the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, the ground forces of the IRGC carried out operation Zafar, with the aim of destroying the military facilities of Saddam in the city of Kani Masi.
The first stage of this operation was carried out on 13 September 1987 in the northeast of Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah provinces, a province in Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the Iraq-Turkey border, which was two hundred kilometers into Iraqi territory. This operation was orchestrated under the guidance and command of the Ramadan Regiment.[1]
It was carried out within an area of 30 square kilometers around the city of Kani Masi in the governorate of Omadiya, Iraq. The Iraqi Peshmerga were led by Masoud Barzani.
During the first hours of the operation, Iranian forces, along with Kurdish Peshmerga, were able to capture the protective bases around Kani Masi, as well as the battalion center of this area from the Begawah Brigade (subordinate to Lashkar 38) and three other local battalion centers.[2]
After capturing the important centers of the city, the operational forces cleared about thirty square kilometers of the area. In this operation, the commander of the battalion of Kani Masi, named Major Sabieh Abush, and two commanders of the light battalion, named Sadegh Omar and Mohammad Nazif, were captured.[3]
In the continuation of the operation, the operating forces took control of six kilometers of road leading to Kani Masi and set fire to 60 bases of the Iraqi army. In addition to killing and injuring five hundred Baathist forces, they also captured a number of them. In another attack in the heights of Gileh Zardeh, located in Sulaymaniyah province, they liberated the bases in the area and destroyed the headquarters of the 19th Light Battalion of Iraq. In this attack, some Iraqi army forces were killed and wounded, and a large number of weapons and armored equipment were set on fire.
On the second night of the operation, the operating forces attacked Iraqi camps, bridges, and settlements and were able to take about 35 kilometers from the Kani Masi road to Batufeh out of the hands of the Iraqi army and forced them to settle in a part of the Batufeh-Zakho road. On 14 September, the Iraqi forces retaliated with the support of a large number of tanks, airplanes, helicopters, and Special Forces to recapture the lost areas, but they failed to achieve their goal due to the strong opposition of the Iranian forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga.[4]
In this operation, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga ambushed Iraqi forces in different areas and roads and managed to destroy several vehicles. Also, six members of the Iraqi forces surrendered themselves, along with their equipment, to the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga. To destroy the indigenous peshmerga of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Iraqi government repeatedly bombed and destroyed many villages in northern Iraq.[5]
The second stage of this operation began on 17 September 1987 with the participation of forces under the command of the Ramadan Regiment in Kani Masi. At this stage, the operating forces advanced on the Batufeh road to Zakho and, using the weapons captured from the enemy, attacked the headquarters of the Begawah Brigade of the 38th Division of the Iraqi army and destroyed it with heavy fire. The Iraqi army also launched a retaliatory attack, but it was met with resistance from the Kurdish Peshmerga.
At this stage of the operation, the operating forces managed to kill Major Pilot Jamal Masoud Salman, who was responsible for the chemical bombing of Sardasht.
In an analytical report on the performance of the Iraqi Kurdish forces in this operation, the Independent newspaper wrote: ‘The position of the Kurds in occupying the city of Kani Masi will allow them to endanger the international road between Turkey and Iraq and the Iraqi oil export pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea and to be in a better position to attack Kirkuk's oil fields.’ [6]
In this operation, about 1,000 people from the Iraqi army were killed and wounded, and about 500 people were captured.
[1] Habibi, A., The Operations Record of Islamic Guards in Eight Years of Holy Defense, Tehran: Public Relations and Publications Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Chapter 5, 2004, p. 185; Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50: Escort of Oil Tankers, Tehran: Center for War Studies and Research, 1999, pp. 646 and 688.
[2] Newspaper of the Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 2409, 18 September 1987, p. 2.
[3] Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50, p. 646.
[4] Samii, A., Descriptive record of the operations of Islamic warriors during the eight years of holy defense, Tehran: Wali Faqih representation in the ground forces, 2016, pp. 355 and 356.
[5] Ibid, Islamic Republic newspaper,
[6] Yazdanfam, M., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 50, pp. 688 and 689.
