People
Aqakhani, Gholam-Reza
Masoumeh Abedini
35 بازدید
During the Iran-Iraq war, Gholam-Reza Aqakhani (1958–1984) served as the commander of the Musa ibn Jafar (as) Battalion of the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division.
He was born on October 3, 1958, in Shahreza, Isfahan. After finishing primary school in his hometown, Aqakhani moved to Isfahan for middle school. He attended Sepehr and Adab High School, where he earned a diploma in mathematics.
In 1977, he was conscripted into the army thereby going to the village of Cham Kaka in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province to serve as part of the "Literacy Corps". During this time, he sought to make the villagers aware of the revolutionary and cultural issues giving them lifestyle lessons and well as teaching them agricultural methods. He also took part in anti-Pahlavi protests and demonstrations.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Aqakhani was employed by the Ministry of Education and worked as a primary school teacher for a year and a half in the town of Kamo and Joshaqan (120 km from Kashan). In October of 1980, he transferred to Rudaki Veldan Elementary School in Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan. While teaching, he took the National University Entrance Exam and was accepted into the master’s program for architecture in the University of Tehran.
In February of 1981, after military training, he went to the Dar Khuin, and later to the Muhammadiyah and Sulaymaniyah, frontlines as a volunteer. Due to the need for deploying reinforcements to the western frontlines, he was deployed to Sanandaj.
After three and a half months of stationing in Sanandaj, Aqakhani who was eagerly participating in operations, went to Marivan and served as the radio operator for Haj Ahmad Motevaselyan during the Mohammad Rasulullah (pbuh)operation. After the operation, he wanted to return to Sanandaj, but Haj Ahmad Motevaselyan persuaded him to stay and take on the responsibility of the communication facilities in Dezli for four months.
In mid-1981, Aqakhani went to the southern fronts and served in the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division as an RPG operator during operation Fath al-Mobin. Due to the injury of the radio operator of the Imam Javad (as) Battalion of the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division, he took over this role until the end of the operation.
Despite being on leave, when operation Beit al-Moqaddas began, he joined the frontline as an infantry soldier. In the first stage of the operation, he was part of the battalions that passed the 25 km distance between the Karun River and Khorramshahr route overnight to be positioned behind the Khorramshahr-Ahvaz Road in the morning, striking a significant blow against the enemy.
Throughout the Khorramshahr Liberation Operation, he served as a courier for the Amir al-Muminin (as) Battalion. When Operation Ramadan began, he returned to the frontline and became the radio operator for the commander of the Imam Mohammad Baqir (as) Battalion of the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division. After the martyrdom of several commanders, he organized the remaining forces to retreat. After Operation Ramadan, Aqakhani returned to Isfahan but soon after he rejoined the frontline to participate in Operation Muharram, taking command of the helicopter-borne forces of the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division. In the preliminary Valfajr Operation, he was the commander of the Ya Zahra Battalion and a role he also held during Valfajr 1 in the operational areas of Sharhani and Zubeidat. After this operation, he moved with his forces to Piranshahr, serving alongside the commander of the 14th Imam Hossein (as) Division, Haj Hossein Kharrazi.
As Operation Valfajr 4 began in Marivan, his bravery and leadership led to his appointment as Commander of the Musa ibn Jafar (as) Breakthrough Battalion. In the second stage of the operation, Aqakhani and his forces successfully captured several hills in the Hasanabad area.
In Operation Kheibar, under Aqakhani's command, the Musa ibn Jafar (as) Battalion broke through the enemy's defensive lines and achieved the operation’s objectives. Later, this battalion was tasked with supporting the 44th Qamar Bani Hashim (as) Brigade on Majnoon Island. Inspired by Imam Khomeini's command to "save the islands", Aqakhani managed to do so despite heavy enemy fire and the possibility of the fall of the island.
During Operation Badr, the Musa ibn Jafar (as) Battalion moved to Hoveyzeh . Despite his hand being severely injured by the enemy fire, Aqakhani remained on the battlefield due to the strategic importance of the operation.
On March 13, 1985, when performing ablution for the fajr Prayer, Gholam-Reza Aqakhani was hit by a bullet and martyred. His body was laid to rest in the Badr section of the Golzar Shohada cemetery in Isfahan.
"He was my right hand", said Haj Hossein Kharrazi, the then-commander of the 14th Imam Hossein (AS) Division. In a part of his will, we read: "My dear parents, may God's blessings be upon you, thank God and be happy that one of your children sacrificed his life for the sake of God. Be as steadfast as a mountain. Remember the martyrs who have been killed since the early days of Islam until now; envision the heartbreaking scenes of Karbala; think about the noble personalities who have sacrificed their lives so far".[1]
[1] Reference: A Summary of an article published in the Sacred Defense Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, Tehran, The Center of Encyclopedia of the Sacred Defense Research Institute, 2011, Pp. 184-186.
