The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War - 52

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini
Translated From Arabic by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba
Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-10-18

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War - 52

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini

Translated From Arabic by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba

Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

***

I returned and informed the others of the new orders. Before sunset, our convoy set off. I was the last one to move with an ambulance. Darkness was everywhere. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I started the engine, the ambulance did not light up. It was a sensitive and difficult situation. Where could we go that night? The army was gradually retreating and the Iranians were chasing them. In that critical situation, a vehicle carrying a wireless device suddenly came out of its shelter. When they saw me, they asked in surprise: “Why didn’t you give us the order to retreat?” Apparently, I had not delayed them due to forgetfulness. I asked them for help; and they helped me repair the ambulance. We set off together at night. At 8 pm, I reached the village behind the Maysan River and met my friends. I did not see several vehicles. I realized that they had gone to the regimental support area located behind the Karkheh River. I got into the regimental commander’s car and drove there and found them there. Then I picked them up and left at 10 am and after driving along the road parallel to the Hur, I reached the Karkheh River. There was a small bridge over this river and a large village next to it. An armed man stopped us. I learned that he was a local resident and that the Baathists had appointed him as a local guard. When he learned that we were soldiers, he led us to the road leading to the Maysan River.

At 12 pm, I joined my friends. We spent the night there with difficulty. In the morning, a major came from the division headquarters and asked us to leave the area immediately. All members of the group immediately retreated behind the dirt road parallel to the river. After the Iraqi forces failed to retake the city of Bostan and its surroundings - due to the resistance of the Iranian forces and the unfavorable geography of the region - the Iraqi forces were forced to retreat from the occupied lands. After this retreat, the forces of the Fifth Division established a series of initial defensive positions behind the Maysan River. The Third Corps' engineering forces were also trying to build a strong defensive line behind the Karkheh River. This line extended from the city of Huwayzeh to the point opposite Hur al-Huwayzeh.

Our regiment was established in late December 1981 in a defensive position near the village of Sheikh Khazal, located on the banks of the Maysan River. That afternoon, Major Fazel, the commander of the brigade's commando company, arrived as the deputy commander of the Third Regiment. I welcomed him warmly. After drinking tea, he told me that he had come to us as the regiment's commander. He went and inspected the front lines of the regiment. Then he came back to us and asked me to move the combat support vehicles and the mobile medical unit to three kilometers behind the Maysan River.

The mobile medical unit and the regiment's support vehicles were stationed near the road connecting the Karkheh River and the Maysan River. There was an abandoned agricultural area full of small trees and desert plants, which was located 800 meters from the Karkheh River and the village located in it. We lived among small dry grasses and stems during the day and inside the ambulance at night. Despite the fact that there was no shelling and we were a long way from the front lines, we were in a very difficult situation. From time to time, simple incidents would break the monotony of this life.

One day, I decided to go to see Major "Fazel". After a nap, I set off in the vehicle carrying the officers' rations. After some time, we reached a sandy road, which ran parallel to the Maysan River and behind the front line. Unfortunately, there was a clash between our forces and Iranian forces. We abandoned the vehicle and hid in one of the nearby trenches. Half an hour later, the shooting stopped. We quickly returned to the vehicle. When I sat in the front seat, I felt something strange under my seat. When I picked it up, I saw that it was a bullet from a medium-range machine gun. I turned on the flashlight I had with me. I saw a hole in the door of the vehicle. I extended my hands of gratitude to God for the grace and care that had been bestowed upon me. I would certainly have been killed if I had been sitting there.

We moved quickly and reached the regimental headquarters at 9 pm. After inquiring about the headquarters of the regimental commander, I saw that an "IFA" truck, which was housed inside a large trench, had been transformed into a command office. I had dinner in the presence of his deputy and assistant. Then I explained the shooting to them. Major Fazel criticized me for coming. I said to him: “How long will you remain a reserve officer of the 20th Brigade?”

He replied: “This has worried me too. Unfortunately, as the deputy commander of the regiment, we have to constantly move here and there, either be attacked or participate in the attack. In any case, this is a great responsibility.”

I said goodbye to them at 11 pm. When we said goodbye, Major Fazel warned me not to come here again. He asked me to send the deputy doctor to the regimental headquarters in my place.

I returned to the mobile medical unit and the next day I sent Ibrahim Ismail Shazar, the deputy doctor, to the major.

During December, our troops were still busy building a defensive line. In the meantime, the engineering forces razed all the villages on the banks of the Maysan River and beyond, as well as the villages on the banks of the Karkheh River, and deported the remaining Khuzestan families with their livestock to the city of Al-Qarnah by truck at night. As far as I remember, the villages of Sheikh Khazal and Rafi were among the villages that were destroyed. The army did not stop at destroying the houses, but also cut down the trees. Iraq mined an area 800 meters deep in front of the Karkheh River. Bulldozers and other motorized vehicles were busy destroying the village, cutting down trees, and building embankments day and night.

One day, after the paramedics had set fire to the mobile medical unit in order to provoke the officers of the brigade headquarters, I was summoned to the brigade headquarters. I went there. I saw the officers drinking Arabic coffee in the manner of the Bedouin Arabs. After a cup of coffee, I explained to them about the fire and the smoke it produced. The intelligence officer was convinced and advised not to spread smoke in the area so that the Iranians would not be curious. I took advantage of this opportunity to go to the brigade commander’s bunker. After greeting and paying my respects, I asked him: “Why are you destroying the villages?”

He replied: “So that the Iranian army does not have a chance to land forces against us.”

I said: “Very well! What is the fault of the trees?”

He replied: “So that the area is open to our forces.”

I said: “You are committing barbaric acts against the property of the Arab and Muslim people. We have come here to liberate them, as you claim!”

He paused for a moment. Then I added: “Sir, do you agree with these actions?”

He replied: “No. But these orders were issued by the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.”

He paused again. I said: “Does the Supreme Commander take orders from the president himself?”

He said: “Yes.” Then he continued: “Doctor! You should not look at war from the perspective of a doctor, which is a human perspective. War shows no mercy to anyone and is alien to the concept of humanity. War is a means of killing and destroying. This is a reality and you must accept it.”

I said to myself: This order was issued by the hero of Arabism and the standard-bearer of Arab ethnicity, Saddam Hussein. In his dictionary, liberating the Saudi nation (Khuzestan) means eradicating their descendants and displacing this nation to satisfy Saddam’s sick goals and desires.

Before the Iraqi forces retreated from the banks of the Maysan River to the back of the Karkheh Kur River, Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Karim returned to us as the commander of the Third Regiment, and Major Fazel went to the headquarters of the 20th Brigade. Two days later, Colonel Abdul Karim was summoned to the division headquarters and returned with an order from the division command to our regiment to launch a limited attack against the Iranian forces. He called the company commanders and officers to discuss the plan. After an exchange of views, all the officers unanimously opposed the plan. Their excuse was that the regiment was not ready to launch such an attack due to the losses suffered during the battles of Bostan, but Colonel Abdul Karim could not convey this answer to the division commander. The colonel asked me to send him to the hospital to escape this mission. This request was a good request to prevent the shedding of innocent blood. I went with him to the field medical unit and discussed his request with Captain Ihsan Al-Jubouri, the doctor. He was sent to the Basra military hospital and from there he was given sick leave. The brigade commander learned of this and informed the division commander. He also canceled the attack mission. The brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Adnan, summoned me and questioned me about the manner in which he was sent to the hospital. I gave a reasonable excuse and said that I sent him to fulfill my human duty as a regimental doctor. He was suffering from high blood pressure. The truth was that Colonel Abdul Karim had a partial illness, but he used it as an excuse to escape from missions when necessary. Thank God, the attack plan was thwarted and three days later Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Karim returned and the Fifth Division issued an order to withdraw from the Maysan River area.

To be continued …

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