The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor - 36

By Mojtaba Al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-6-28

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor - 36

By Mojtaba Al-Hosseini

Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh

Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

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Of course. Here is the translation from Persian to American English, rendered in a formal, analytical tone suitable for a historical or political context.

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4- Regimental Patrols:

Our regiment was deployed in a defensive position. For this reason, our forces mainly participated in combat patrol operations - reconnaissance and creating night ambushes in the forbidden area. Although the regiment's officers and non-commissioned officers were reluctant to carry out these dangerous and tiring missions, they were forced to participate in them anyway. Orders for carrying out patrol operations were issued by the brigade commander, and based on these orders, our own forces were required to attack the positions of the Iranian forces and capture some of them.

In the area opposite our positions, there was a large village called "Kouheh" village, which was surrounded by a dense forest. The regiment was sent on numerous patrol-combat operations, but none of them reached the village of Kouheh, and they could not even bring a single shoelace from an Iranian soldier from their trenches. They could only approach the Iranian positions and, after firing a few aimless shots, quickly return to their positions. Usually, the patrol unit commander had to prepare a report on the patrol operation, accompanied by a military map. On this basis, the reports were often full of lies and exaggerations, and reported the killing and wounding of a number of Iranians and the destruction of several military vehicles. These reports were submitted to the deputy regimental commander, who in turn prepared a scenario to be acceptable to the regimental commander.

I was personally involved in the preparation of these reports. Sometimes, the report was returned by the brigade commander and he wanted to add to the volume of losses suffered by the Iranian forces, so that it could be broadcast as an effective announcement over the radio. The soldiers who were aware of this fact would laugh when they heard the announcements of the armed forces. In order to achieve a relative truth, our soldiers would add zero to the figure of their own losses and remove zero from the figure of losses suffered by the Iranians.

The bodies of the soldiers that I received were different from the number of these deaths in the military announcements. That is, the real figure was not mentioned. We were responsible for supporting a regiment. Imagine what the situation was like on a 1,200-kilometer front?

I have a lot to say about patrol operations, and here are some examples:

A- Lieutenant Jamal's patrol:

A telegram came to us from the brigade commander ordering our regiment to participate in a combat patrol operation to capture an Iranian prisoner. The regimental deputy assigned this mission to the third company, and this company selected Lieutenant Jamal along with twenty non-commissioned officers and soldiers to carry out the mission. I was with the regimental commander and his deputy at the brigade headquarters. The patrol unit moved towards the Iranian positions at 9:00 p.m. The regimental commander was in contact with this unit via a wireless device. After half an hour, an RPG-7 missile was fired in the restricted area in front of the third company, and subsequently, heavy shooting began, which immediately stopped. The regiment commander tried to contact the patrol unit, but this attempt was unsuccessful. Twenty minutes later, the commander of the third company called the regiment commander and informed him that all the patrol unit members had returned from the halfway point and that the wireless device and RPG-7 weapon were missing. The regiment commander, shocked to hear this news, cursed and threatened them. He ordered the third company to send Lieutenant Jamal and his non-commissioned officers to the regiment headquarters in the morning. At 8 am, Lieutenant Jamal entered the regiment headquarters with two non-commissioned officers and the regiment commander greeted them with insults. Lieutenant Jamal confessed during interrogation: “While I was carrying out a mission, a pig appeared in front of me. The person carrying the RPG-7 weapon lost control and started shooting aimlessly. The patrol members followed him in the dark of the night, out of fear. Finally, the radio operator abandoned his radio, and the person carrying the RPG threw his weapon aside, and they all preferred to flee.”

The regimental commander shouted in great frustration and said: “What should I tell the brigade commander? I should tell him that we sent a combat patrol unit to capture an Iranian prisoner, but a pig defeated them and returned with more than its share. This is truly a disgrace.”

The regimental commander reprimanded Lieutenant “Jamal” and his men and ordered them to be punished. The regiment commander, deputy commander, and commander of the third company of intelligence officers held a meeting at the regiment headquarters to find a solution to this issue, and subsequently decided to fabricate a false story based on which there were clashes between our patrol unit and an Iranian patrol unit, during which a number of Iranians were killed and our patrol unit members also abandoned their weapons in that area; thus, a scandal was placed on it.

B- Lieutenant Jubeir's patrol unit:

A patrol-reconnaissance unit under the command of Lieutenant "Jubeir" was supposed to participate in a reconnaissance mission in the village of "Kouheh". This unit was required to pass through certain gaps in the minefields and head towards the forbidden area. There, it was supposed to continue its path with guidance from the engineering unit to go back and forth through one of the gaps so as not to encounter minefields. As darkness fell, Lieutenant Jubeir and his men moved towards the village of Kouheh. After a relatively long march, the group was able to approach the village and obtain information about the situation of the Iranian forces. However, luck turned against them when they returned. The patrol unit approached the regiment's positions, but did not see the guide, who had left the gap due to the patrol unit's prolonged absence. When this group slowly moved in the restricted area, one of the soldiers' legs was hit by a mine and his body was shattered by the explosion. At that moment, Lieutenant Jubeir, regardless of the dangers that might threaten him, reached the soldier and saved him from death. After exhausting efforts, the patrol unit was finally returned to their positions with the wounded and the wounded were brought to me for treatment.

C- Major Fazel's Patrol:

Major "Fazel" was the commander of the brigade's newly formed commando company. This commando company, consisting of 150 people, was considered the strike force and reserve of the 20th Brigade. Based on reports received from army intelligence about the deployment of Iranian forces in front of our positions, the brigade ordered this commando company to participate in a combat patrol-reconnaissance operation in front of the regiment's positions. Major Fazel had just entered the area. At 8 pm, the commando company entered the headquarters and, after receiving information and orders from the regiment commander and setting up communication devices, moved towards the restricted area with the assistance of combat engineering personnel. I was standing next to the regiment commander. He was following the patrol unit's activities moment by moment via a wireless device. The patrol unit returned from its mission at 8 pm. The next morning, while I was having breakfast with Lieutenant Mohammad Javad, the deputy commander of the regiment, Major Fazel entered with a report of the patrol unit’s activities along with a military map. The deputy commander of the regiment burst out laughing upon seeing the report and the map. Major Fazel said to him, “Why are you laughing?”

Lieutenant Mohammad Javad replied, “Sir! The report states that the patrol unit crossed the Karkheh River, while this river is five kilometers behind the Iranian forces. Does that mean you went all the way behind the Iranian positions and returned?”

Major Fazel, who was surprised to hear this, said, “We crossed a dry river. I thought we had crossed the Karkheh River.”

Lieutenant Mohammad told him, “Sir! The river you mean is a stream without water. »

Major Fazel said to him: “What should I do now?”

Lieutenant Muhammad replied: “We will write the report again and draw the map.”

As usual, Major Fazel and Lieutenant Muhammad collaborated on sending the patrol unit report along with a false map to the brigade headquarters. This was one of the characteristics of the Iraqi Baathist army, where the small lied to the big and the big deceived the small; and then each of them would laugh at the other’s beard.

To be continued....