Operation Nasr-10
Zainab Ahmadi
67 بازدید
The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out Operation Nasr-10 in 1987 in Zubaydat, Iraq.
Operation Nasr-10 started at 23:00 on November 18, with the cooperation of the 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 21st Hamza Division, and the support of the armored forces of the 16th Qazvin Division.[1]
This operation aimed to destroy the Iraqi units stationed in Zubaydat. In it, the forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran attacked the Iraqi fortifications at heights 127, 133, and 151 that were located in that area.[2]
The 3rd Brigade of the Hamza Division succeeded in liberating heights 151 and 133 in the axis of Nahr Anbar. But the 1st Brigade failed to capture height 127, being prevented from doing so by obstacles and minefields. Following this attack, the Iraqi forces counter-attacked by focusing on heights 133 and 151, and attacked the units of the Iranian army using an armored battalion along with infantry forces.[3]
During the operation and counter-attack of the enemy, many from the 703rd Brigade, 60 from the mixed forces, and 90 from the 29th Infantry Division of the Iraqi army were killed or wounded, while nine were captured.[4]
On December 19, 1987, the ground forces of the Iranian army once again attacked the positions of the Iraqi army in the Zubaydat axis. In this attack, 19 of the Iraqi forces were captured, whereas 15 Iranian soldiers were captured by the Iraqis. To ensure the success of this operation, Colonel Hossein Hosni Saadi, the commander of the army's ground forces, and Colonel Asghar Jamali, his deputy, were present in the operational area. Despite the attacks of the Iraqi army, some of the captured positions remained in the hands of the Iranian army.
On November 20, 1987, following operation Nasr-10 in Zubaydat, Iranian forces captured a part of this region by attacking the enemy positions to the west of the Dourij River. In this attack, some Iraqi forces were captured. This attack was carried out by the 77th Division of Khorasan with a ranger battalion and with the support of the units stationed at the frontline. In addition, by deploying a brigade behind the Dourij River, the desired targets were achieved. However, the Iraqis gathered forces and supporting artillery fire and surrounded the Iranian forces from two axes at 23:00 and intensely attacked the Iranian military positions. This forced the Iranian forces to retreat to their previous positions. This was also partly due to the failure of a brigade from the 77th Division.
On the final days of December, fighters from the Iranian Air Force heavily bombarded the Iraqi army's Aqaba Base in Zubaydat, which was in the operational axes of al-Amara.[5]
Approximately 500 soldiers from the 86th Brigade of the 32nd Iraqi Division were killed and wounded in Operation Nasr-10.
This operation was reported by the Iraqi delegation to the United Nations. They claimed that Iran launched a new attack on Iraqi territory i.e., Zubaydat, and considered it necessary for the Security Council to quickly impose sanctions against Iran.[6]
Referring to this operation, BBC Radio said on December 30: "The southern part of the front, where the war is currently on-going, is the most sensitive part of the frontline, and whatever happens in this part will deeply affect the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. It is worrying... It is said that Iran is preparing for a winter attack and that the target of this attack will once again be the second largest city of Iraq, namely Basra.[7]
[1]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. 376.
[2] Newspaper of the Islamic Republic, No. 2485, 1987, p. 2.
[3] Ardestani, H., Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, book fifty-two, p. 376.
[4] Ibid
[5] Nazari, Q., Moradi Moghadam, M., Dehlran in the mirror of eight years of holy defense, Ilam: Bargh Azin, 2011, pp. 239-241.
[6] Ardestani, H., Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, book fifty-two, pp. 389 and 390.
[7] Ibid., p. 394.
