Operation Karbala-2
Masuma Sajjadian
101 بازدید
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, carried out Operation Karbala-2 in the Haj Imran region in 1986. This operation intended to liberate the important heights of that region.
Iraq occupied the heights of 2519 and the height of Shahid Sadr on May 14, 1986. Iranian forces formed a defensive line on the ridges of this height, but due to Iraq's domination of the region, they broke the defensive line of the Iranian forces, martyring and injuring many of them. What made this region even more perilous was the difficulty with getting supplies to it.[1]
This operation was carried out to destroy the enemy forces located in the region and gain control of the important heights present in the Haj Imran region. It was also aimed at continuing the assistance to the struggle of Muslims in northern Iraq.[2] For this operation, 21 regular battalions and seven battalions from the 10th Sayyid al-Shuhadah Division, together with the 155th Shahadah, 105th Quds, 21st Imam Reza, 9th Badr, and 11th Qaim Brigades were organized.[3] The Hamza Battalion of the 9th Badr Brigade was composed of Iraqi volunteer captives, including soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers. This was the first time during the war that Iraqi volunteer prisoners were present in an operation.[4] On the Iraqi side, the defense of the Haj Imran area was the responsibility of the 23rd Infantry Division of the 5th Iraqi Corps.[5]
The operation in the Haj Imran area was designed in two axes. The right axis included the height of Gardekouh, known as Shahid Sadr, the Height of Slategi, Shahada Hill, and Red Hill, and the left axis included the height of 2519 and its ridges, the Egmarghi Hill, the Aine Groove, and the two ridges of Sekran Heights.[6]
The Iraqi army bombarded the opposite area on the morning of August 25, and the Iranian positions two days later. As the start of the operation approached, Iraqi activity increased. From noon of August 30 to the noon of August 31, with 78 sorties, it identified and bombed the areas of Piranshahr and Haj Imran. In the documents obtained from the headquarters of the Iraqi army and from statements of the Iraqi prisoners, it was found that Iraq was aware of the operational area and the time of the operation. According to the information obtained from the listening center, at 22:30 on August 31, the Iraqi army announced a nationwide alert. From 22:55, which coincided with the time that the Iranian forces climbed the heights, the area came under heavy surveillance and artillery fire.[7]
The codename of the operation - Ya Hussein - was announced at 01:00. on September 1. However, at 04:00 in the morning, the Iraqi forces saw a battalion of the 105th Quds Brigade in the gap between Varas Height and Height 2519, and they started the conflict earlier than Iran expected.[8]
On the right axis, the 9th Badr Brigade, with three operational battalions (Shaheed Sadr, Shaheed Dastghaib and Shaheed Beheshti) and the Hamzah Battalion, which was a precautionary battalion, was able to capture the height of Shahid Sadr. The forces of the 11th Qaim Brigade could not capture the Height of Slategi according to its maneuver plan, but the 9th Badr Brigade, in the continuation of its advance, captured this hill as well.[9]
The 155th Shahadah Brigade initially captured the height of 2519, but when the enemy's retaliation started, it was forced to retreat and returned only by taking a detour on the lower ridge of the height of 2519.[10]
The 105th Quds Brigade reached the enemy's line, with the Maitham Battalion reaching near the Varas Height, achieving part of its objectives. But due to not clearing the lower ridges of the 2519 Heights and the Egmarghi Hill, as well as the vigilance of the enemy, this battalion was surrounded. The rest of the brigade returned by morning.[11]
The 10th Division of Sayyid al-Shuhadah was able to capture Egmarghi hill; but due to the intense fire of the enemy, which was executed from the heights of 2519 and Yal Sekran, it was forced to retreat.[12]
Abu Fars, commander of the Hamzah Battalion, after besieging the Iraqi command post in the early hours of the operation, together with a group of troops, captured the post at 08:30. The 9th Badr Brigade repelled three Iraqi patrols at 03:30, 08:00 and 12:00. But the other units returned by morning and settled into the former defensive lines. In addition to the enemy bases, from 07:00 to 13:00, in 165 sorties, all kinds of Iraqi fighter and fighter-bomber planes bombed the positions of Iranian forces.[13]
On Monday, September 1, several planes of the Iranian army bombed Iraq’s Qasr Military Barracks at 09:30, which was their communication hub and center for gathering forces and supplies. As a result, all telecommunications of the Iraqi army were cut.[14]
To review the overall situation of the operation, a meeting was held in the presence of Rahim Safavi (deputy commander of IRGC Ground Forces),the commander of the Hamza Base and the commanders of the operating units. In this meeting they stressed that the preservation and stabilization of the height of Shahid Sadr and the complete capture of the height of 2519 were priorities.[15] The 155th Shuhadah Brigade was tasked with the complete capture of the Height 2519, while the 21st Imam Reza Brigade was to support it. In the early hours of September 1, Iranian forces captured some of the bases that Iraq had established to protect the height, but they were forced to retreat due to the pressure of the Iraqi army.[16]
Pilots, with 16 helicopters and two hundred flight hours, evacuated 164 wounded soldiers. They also transported three hundred fighters and 24 tons of ammunition and supplies.[17]
In this operation, Iranian forces were able to defeat the 807th Infantry Brigade of the Iraqi army, and destroy 60% of the 98th Infantry Brigade, 50% of the 604th Infantry Brigade, 30% of the 438th Infantry Brigade, 30% of the 91st Infantry Brigade, 80% of the Abu Obaidah Commando Battalion and one commando battalion under the order of the 23rd Iraqi army.[18]
From the Iraqi side, three thousand people were killed or wounded, while 277 were captured. Six Iraqi tanks and personnel carriers were seized by Iranian forces. An airplane and helicopter were also destroyed.[19]
In this operation, Mahmoud Kaveh, the commander of the Shuhadah Brigade, and Mahmoud Qalipour, the head of the Quds Brigade, were martyred.[20]
[1] Habibi, A., The Record of Islamic Guards Operations in Eight Years of Holy Defense, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Public Relations and Publications Department, Ch 5, 2013, p. 136.
[2] Samii, A., Descriptive record of the operations of Islamic warriors during the eight years of holy defense, Tehran: Vice-Chancellor and Propaganda and Publications of Vali Faqih Representation in the Ground Force, 1376 p. 254.
[3] The war in 1965, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Holy Defense Documents and Research Center, 1367, pp. 139 and 140.
[4] Fawzi, Y., Lotfollahzadegan, A, Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 42: In preparation for the decisive operation, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Holy Defense Documents and Research Center, pp. 603 and 592.
[5] War in 1965, p. 140.
[6]Habibi, A., the record of operations of the Islamic armies in the eight years of holy defense, p. 136; Fawzi, Y., Lotfollahzadegan, A., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 42, p. 590.
[7] Fawzi, Y., Lotfollahzadegan, A., Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 42, pp. 586 and 587.
[8] Ibid, pp. 590-592; Habibi, A., the record of operations of the Islamic armies in the eight years of holy defense, p. 136.
[9] Fawzi, Y., Lotfollahzadegan, A., History of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 42, p. 592.
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid., pp. 593 and 594.
[14] Islamic Republic newspaper, No. 2105, p. 2.
[15] Fawzi, Y., Lotfollahzadegan, A., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 42, pp. 579, 594, and 717.
[16] Ibid, p. 624.
[17] Jafari, M., Atlas of Endless Battles, Tehran: Sore Sabz, Ch 35, 2013, p. 128.
[18] Newspaper of the Islamic Republic, No. 2105, p. 2.
[19] Jaafari, M., Atlas of Eternal Battles, p. 128.
[20] Habibi, A., the record of operations of the Islamic armies in the eight years of holy defense, p. 137
