Matla al-Fajr

Some time had passed since Bani Sadr was dismissed from being the Commander-in-Chief. A series of operations were designed in the south, west, and north of the battlefields in order to crush the strength of the Iraqi military. On the eighth of Azar, the first big operation which was called Tariq al-Qods (the Liberation of Bostan) was implemented; and, the first heavy defeat was imposed on the Ba’ath forces. In accordance to the agreement of the Commanders, the second operation was carried out from the Gilan Gharb region to Sarpol Dhahab, which was the closest front to the city of Baghdad. Thus, the reconnaissance work and preparation of the forces had started from some time previously. The Army Command of Gilan Gharb was responsible for the operation of this territory. All of the Andarzgu Group members were working hard. Ibrahim was responsible to carry out the reconnaissance of the enemy positions. This work was done completely in a short time. Ibrahim went behind the enemy forces with one of the Kurds to collect information. They travelled till the city of Naft Shahr in one week. Ibrahim prepared good maps for the region of the operation during this time. They came back to Headquarters with four Iraqis whom they had captured! Ibrahim finished four operation maps after interrogating the captives and completing the necessary information. He presented them in a meeting of the Commanders. Colonel Ali Yari and Major Salami from the Zolfaqar Military Brigade coordinated with the Army Forces. Most of the local forces from Sarpol Dhahab to Gilan Gharb were divided into specified battalions. Most of the forces from the Andarzgu Group were chosen to be in charge of these groups. A few battalions from the army and the volunteer forces had the responsibility of starting the operation as line breakers. In the final meeting the Commanders chose Ibrahim to be responsible for the central front, brother Safar Khosh Ravan to be the Commander of the left front, and brother Daryush Rizehvandi to be the Commander of the right front of the operation. The aim of the operation was announced to be to clean the heights which were overlooking the city of Gilan, to capture the heights along the border, the Hajian and Gurak straits, and the border checkpoints. The extent of the area of the operation was about 70 kilometers. News from Headquarters came that immediately after this operation the third attack would be carried out in the Marivan region. Everything was being coordinated. A few days before starting the operation, the army command announced, “Iraq has started a large counter attack to get Bostan back. You have to start the operation very quickly so that Iraq’s attention will be distracted from the Bostan front.” Therefore, the next day, the twentieth of Azar 1360 AHS, was chosen to start the operation. We had a strange excitement and feeling. The first great operations in the west of the country and on the heights would start tomorrow. Nothing was predictable. It was really remarkable to see how the soldiers were saying their last goodbyes that night. Finally the promised day arrived. With the massive attacks of the forces from different axes many important and strategic areas like the Hajian and Gurak straits, the Barr Aftab region, the Sartatan, Charmian, Dizehkush, and Fereydun Hushyar heights, parts of the Shiakuh heights, and all of the villages of Dasht Gilan were freed. In the central front, the forces moved towards the Anar hills by seizing a few hills and rivers. The enemy was firing madly. Some battalions reached the Shiakuh heights by passing through the hills. They even went on the tops of the hills. The enemy knew that loosing Shiakuh meant losing the city of Khaneqin in Iraq. Thus, they brought many forces to these heights and into the area of conflict. In the middle of the night, it was announced over the wireless, “Hasan Balash and Jamal Tajik have reached Shiakuh with their forces from the central front, and they have asked for help.” A few moments later Ibrahim called and said, “All of the Anar heights have been freed. Only one of the hills, which has an important position, is still resisting strongly. We don’t have many forces either.” I told Ibrahim, “Before the Morning Prayer, I will join you with auxiliary forces. Coordinate with the military commanders and free that hill too in any way that you can.” We moved towards the central front with a battalion of auxiliary forces. On the way the army command announced, “The enemy has given up the counter attack in Bostan, but it has sent many of its forces to your front. Resist. If God wills, the Marivan army, under the command of Haj Ahmad Motevasselian, will start the next operation soon.” They also thanked for the good coordination, between the forces of the military and the army, and said, “According to the news that we have received, the Iraqi causalities were very heavy in the area you were operating in. The Military Commander of Iraq has ordered that precautionary forces be sent to this area.” The sun was rising. We prayed the Morning Prayer on the way. We hadn’t yet reached the Anar region when the news of the martyrdom of Gholamali Pichak at the front in Gilan Gharb saddened all of us. As soon as we reached the Anar heights, one of the soldiers who had a Mashhad accent came to me and said, “Haj Husayn, have you heard that Ibrahim has been shot?!” My body suddenly trembled. I swallowed and said, “What happened?!” He answered, “A bullet has hit his neck.” I went pale. My head grew hot. I suddenly ran to the stronghold across from us. As I went, all the memories that I had with Ibrahim were passing through my mind. I entered the medic bunker and went over to him. A bullet had entered his neck muscles. He was bleeding a lot. I found Javad and asked, “What happened to Ibram?!” He said after a pause, “I don’t know what to say.” I asked him, “What does that mean?!” He responded, “We talked with the Military Commander about how to attack the hill. The Iraqis were resisting strongly. They had many forces on the hill and around it. None of our plans worked. It was close to the time for the Morning Prayer, and we had to do something. But we didn’t know what to do. Suddenly Ibrahim came out of the trench! He moved towards the hills of the Iraqis. He stood on a rock facing the Qiblah! He started reciting the morning Call to Prayer in a loud voice! No matter how much we shouted, ‘Ibrahim come back, the Iraqis will shoot you;’ it was useless. He had finished most of all of the Call to Prayer. We saw in surprise that the Iraqis shooting had stopped! But at the same time, a bullet was shot and struck Ibrahim. We brought him back.”