Abuzar Garrison is the headquarters of the 3rd Brigade of the 81st Armored Division of Kermanshah. Known as the Dokooheh-ye Gharb, this garrison played a key role during the Iran-Iraq War in the country’ s western regions.

Abuzar Garrison is located 20 kilometers southeast of Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah Province. It sits along the northern slopes of the Daneh-Khosh Heights and the southern slopes of Mount Baraz (Navakuh), near the Sarab Qaleh-Shahin village, situated between Sarpol-e Zahab and the Pataq Pass.⁠[1]

In 1963 and 1964, a series of local clashes and disturbances near the Khosravi border led to the deployment of military units from Tehran and Dezful to the Sarpol-e Zahab and Qasr-e Shirin to stabilize the situation. Having a 45-day mission, these units were initially stationed in tents in the “ Rikhak” area near Sarpol-e Zahab. As the mission extended, the need for a permanent military presence became clear. Because of the area’ s challenging geography and the security situation along the Iran– Iraq border, Iranian officials decided to build a garrison that would serve as both a training and logistics hub and a permanent base in the west. After extensive reviews and several meetings, it was decided that the garrison would be built 20 kilometers southeast of Sarpol‑e Zahab. Work on the site was started in 1965 by an Army Ground Forces engineering unit, supervised by Major General Nasrollahi, who commanded the Iranian Army in the western region. In 1970, it was handed over to the 3rd Shahin Brigade of the 81st Armored Division of Kermanshah,⁠[2] making it the closest military base to the border. Before the war, it was commonly known as “ Shahin”, “ Qaleh-Shahin”, and “ Sarpol-e Zahab” garrison.

The base included organizational housing, dormitories for non‑commissioned officers and senior officers, and five‑story concrete buildings.⁠[3] These buildings were constructed in twin pairs, each featuring a summer staircase at the front and a balcony at the back. The inclusion of a mosque, a hospital, and a telephone exchange significantly enhanced the quality of the facilities.

On September 23, 1980, after encircling Qasr-e Shirin, Iraqi troops moved toward Abuzar Garrison. The base commander ordered an evacuation and requested helicopters from the Army Aviation (Havanirooz) to transport personnel and equipment and to destroy the remaining ammunition.⁠[4] However, Ali Akbar Shiroodi (martyred), the head of Havanirooz team, stayed behind with a group of pilots and only three helicopters, successfully preventing the fall of Sarpol-e Zahab and the garrison.

Throughout the war years, many fighters from Kermanshah, Hamedan, and Tehran were deployed to the frontlines from this garrison under the command of martyred leaders such as Ali-Reza Movahed-Danesh, Saeed Golab-Bakhsh (known as Mohsen-e Cherik), Ali-Asghar Vesali, Gholamali Pichak, and Mohsen Haji-Baba.⁠[5]

A total of 104 significant offensive and defensive operations took place in the west of the country, most of which were carried out by forces stationed at Abuzar Garrison.⁠[6]

In the spring of 1982,⁠[7] the garrison’ s buildings were divided: the northern section was given to the Army and the southern section to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The morning parade ground and the Imam Hussain (as) Mosque were located in the Army sector, while the Quds Hosseiniyah was in the IRGC sector for religious ceremonies and gatherings. The base was a constant target for enemy bombings and missile strikes, with one of the most significant occurring on March 7, 1985, against the Army and IRGC personnel.⁠[8] On that day, the garrison was hit by three waves of heavy aerial attacks, resulting in the martyrdom of many fighters alongside residents of nearby villages.⁠[9]

Following the Operation Kohlineh and Seyyed Sadeq in early 1981, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (ra) — who was then Imam Khomeini’ s representative on the Supreme Defense Council— visited the western fronts and stayed at Abuzar Garrison.⁠[10] In addition, prominent martyrs such as Muhammad Boroojerdi, Ebrahim Hemmat, Hussain Kharrazi, Yadollah Kalhor, Mahdi Sharpasand, Mahmoud Shahbazi, Shiroodi, Keshvari, and Haj Mahmoud Ghaffari were active at the garrison at different times during the war.

Today, Abuzar Garrison remains under the control of the 3rd Brigade of the 81st Armored Division of the Army. The southern part, which was held by the IRGC during the war, has become a memorial site in honor of the garrison’ s martyrs.⁠[11]

In May 2011, two unidentified martyrs were buried at the garrison’ s parade ground. Abuzar Garrison— which the Supreme Leader described as the “ Dokooheh-ye Gharb” — continues its mission long after the war by hosting “ Rahiyan-e Noor” caravans from across the country.⁠[12]

Several books have been published about the site, including Padegan-e Abuzar- Hamase-ye hozoor-e Nirooha-ye Mosallah dar Aghaz-e Tajavuz (Abuzar Garrison: The Epic Presence of the Armed Forces at the Start of the Aggression) by Ali-Reza Poorbozorg Vafi (the 20th volume of the “ Hadith-e Mandegari” (Narrative of Eternity) series published by Soureh Sabz in 2011), and Padegan-e Abuzar (Abuzar Garrison) by Meysam Rashidi.