Our Crimes in Khorramshahr

The Confesses of Iraqi Headquarters Lieutenant- Colonel

We Passed a Blood Sea to Occupy Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr is a symbol of resistance, whom all Iranians are proud of. This symbol is first registered and recorded in hearts and minds informally and then in books and documents formally. You can consider Khorramshahr as the central point and main base for registration of memories of the beginning of 8 years of war and also for promotion and publicity of its memories in whole. It is not so obscure to claim that the first step in this regard was taken in Khorramshahr and initial days of the war.
Conquest and recapture of Khorramshahr by Iranian militants is one of the greatest events and a golden page in the epic book of Iranian nation during the 8 years of Holly Defense. There have been many memories and books told and written about this great and epic event. Many of which are told and written by the militants who were present in the war. But it would be completely different if defeated Baath commanders and soldiers paraphrase this historical event and explore some other aspects of this great epic.
"Our Crimes in Khorramshahr" is the 57th book of The Bureau for the Literature and Art of Resistance at Hozeye Honari, which contains 15 memories of Iraqi officers. It is translated by Mohammad Nabi Ebrahimi and is published by Sooreh Mehr publications in 2500 copies in pocket size. The book has 187 pages.
The first memory "Why Khorramshahr?” is related by Iraqi Headquarters Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmad Al-Faluji. In this memory, he refers to Iraqi government's fear of the influence of the Islamic Revolution on its Shiite people. Al- Faluji talks about the decision of the military forces of Baath Party's army for occupying Khorramshahr and a meeting convened in Ministry of Defense to plan the operation.
In page 14 it reads: "…we had the favorable view of the west, especially America, about the necessity of overthrowing the new (Imam) Khomeini regime. Procrastination would always keep our regime in the state of anticipation and moribund. Perhaps this would lead to a new Khomeini revolution in Iraq which would consider Khomeini as its leader. In my point of view irritating tribal and ethnic differences was the best approach for this end which in its shadow we could act. It was a weapon to fight Iranians and dismember them…"
“Khorramshahr, a Blood Sea” is another memory from Samer Ahmad Al- Faluji. He was the commander of the tank 3rd company in the 3rd division- one of the golden divisions in Iraqi army. He describes the first day of attack as follow: “… our tanks passed through the international borders. Defenseless villages had turned into the strategic targets of our tanks and artilleries. The frightened and horror-struck people fled, shouting, ‘The Iraqis…The Iraqis…’. The division commander ordered the tanks to target the civilians…” (p. 20). Al-Faluji also relates in p. 22 “…I remember Second Lieutenant Torki Ahmad who was standing against a house door with five other soldiers, kicking the door. They entered the house forcefully and shouted: ’Hands Up!’ A young woman asked why, what do you want? The Second Lieutenant answered: we want gold. The woman abstained from giving them any gold. One of the soldiers hit her in the head by his gun’s stock and she fell down on the ground. Then the whole family members were arrested with the pretext that they have fought Iraqi army.
After a while, finally we started fortifying our positions in Khorramshahr. We encountered many cases of rebellions and resistances while entering the city, in as much as we passed through a blood sea to enter Khorramshahr. The city clearly mourned from the intensity of the wounds it had endured.
The 3rd memory is one of Captain Saadi Farhan Al-Karakhi. It is named “Our Crimes in Khorramshahr”. He starts with how they entered Khorramshahr and tells about the crimes of Saddam’s army. Al-Karakhi relates in p. 31: “…Colonel Khalil Shoghi asked me, Aba- Sarmad have you taken any booties for your home?
 "I have got nothing in reality," I answered," but I like to".
 "Don't fool me", he told.
"I'm not joking”, I replied "I'm telling the truth".
 He said: " but I've just sent back home a truck full of TVs, refrigerators and air conditioners…"
Farhan Al-Karakhi continues: "… it was just three months after I've owned a house from selling the stolen properties from Khorramshahr, that a dreadful accident awakened me. My house fell into fire. My wife my children were burnt to death. When I returned home, there was left just a handful of ashes of all my possessions. All my life was burnt and gone with the wind. "Oh my son may it be your good health", a woman told me "Your wife and children died just after they were sent to hospital. We did our best but no one can flee the destiny…"(p.35).
The two memories of "Khorramshahr and That Dark Era" and "Why and How Khorramshahr was occupied" is of Iraqi Headquarters Lieutenant- Colonel Salam Dori Al- Deilami. He, as one of the members of the 10th armored wing, explains the first hours of attacking to Iran: "…I remember when two sentry posts of Hilieh and Mi Khazar were occupied, Maher Abd- Arashid, then a Lieutenant- Colonel and the commander of an armored column, from the top of a tank shouted, Invade them! Rush them! This is the day of great victories. Don't worry about the gossips. Kill them! Remove their heads! ..." (p.45).
He tells us about the Iraqi Army's crimes in Khorramshahr in p. 53: "… a kid was looking for his family. Captain Abd-Albaghi Al-Sadoon shot him with a bullet. His commander Colonel Ahmad Rabiee had told him, ' it will be a dark world for him after his family. Shoot him and let him get rid of it'.
In another place a more pathetic scene happened: "I saw a little kid who was agonizing from ach, he was kicked so hard that went breathless. Then a loader covered his holy body with some soil…"
The 6th memory is called "I Was Threatened to Death, Before the Storm Starts", from Major Hani Al-Samerie.
The following memories, "How Khorramshahr Was Liberated?", "A Especial Chapter about Colonel Ahmad Zeidan", and "The Reasons Why Islamic Forces Succeeded in Liberating Khorramshahr and How?" are narrated by Iraqi Headquarters Colonel Fekri Hossein. He tells us about the quality of recapturing Khorramshahr by Iranian forces, group surrender of Iraqi commanders, achievement of Iranian militants to abundant booties including armored cars, kinds of artilleries, mortar-shells, wirelesses and ammunitions", he also refers to Colonel Ahmad Zeidan, the commander of 113th wing and his flee from Khorramshahr. Zeidan explains the aftermaths of the liberating Khorramshahr and list the high ranking commanders captured by Iranian forces during the operation for liberating the city.
The next memories, "Massacre of a Believer Family", and "Changing the Identity and Pillars of Values", is narrated by Lieutenant- Colonel Salman Safar Darvish. He explained Iraqi army's crimes in p. 116: "…one of the most reported subjects to the commandership was assaulting to women and girls. One of the cases reported was about Captain Vazah Ahmad Al-Askari, the commander of first company of 33rd wing of Special Forces. He was malignant about a woman called Sayadeh Al- Zobaidi. She was a school teacher. The eyewitnesses told he had followed her to her home. That woman was married but her husband had fled and helped the revolutionaries. The Colonel using the darkness of a night went to her home; he took three soldiers with himself too. They surrounded the home. The colonel got down and went to the door. Sayadeh told him: “you are a stranger and I'm alone, who has allowed you this?" The colonel replied: "Your eyes my dear!" She was beautiful woman with blue eyes. She severely hit the Colonel in the head with an iron bar in self-defense. The Colonel shouted: "She wants to kill me! She wants to assassinate me!" He took his handgun and shot the woman in the head three times. The poor lady fell dead…"
Colonel Saad Masavel Al-Karim has named his memories "Demolition of a Big Factory" and "Explosion of a High Voltage Power Station". He refers to the demolition of bridges and state-owned buildings, explosion of high voltage power station of Khorramshahr, cutting off the telephone and electricity links of Mohammareh (as Iraqis called Khorramshahr) to other cities of Iran in his memories. "This was done to establish a defense wall within the city", he added.
The 14th memory of “Our Crimes in Khorramshahr" is written by Lieutenant- Colonel Monir Marvan Al-Abidi under the title of, "Stealing cars from Khorramshahr". He tells us: "…we saw some presidential cars in the city after we entered. I told my friend Lieutenant- Colonel Rafat Al-Khazarji, it's so strange, why are these cars here? He replied these have been dispatched to list the civilian cars in Khorramshahr and then? I asked. “this is done under the supervision of Hussein of Kamel (Saddam's son-in-law) and Udai his son", he replied. "How strange and then?" I told. Colonel Rafat who was in command of Estekhbarat 8th division, continued: after they acquire all the cars in Khorramshahr the cars will be sent to Baghdad. A special group has been sent here for this reason…" (p. 143). He refers to betrayal of Iraqi officers to themselves for the sake of spoils and also to the execution of officers.
The last memory is called, "Assaulting Women in Khorramshahr" and is narrated by Major Kamal Taha Al-Amiri. He talks about his crimes and his assaults to women and girls in this city, and the permission of his commander and Saddam Hussein himself to do any crimes in Khorramshahr, even assaulting women and civilians.
Some documents and photos of crimes Saddam's army committed during the occupation of Khorramshahr can be found in the last part of the book.
The memories of these officers are explicit clues for the defenselessness of this city. Many crimes happened in the first night and during the occupation. Military orders encouraged doing these crimes. Even the commander in chief ignored these crimes and this emboldened the officers for committing actions against social ethics and conventions. The published memories are incontrovertible documents against Baath regime of Iraq, which intended to destroy the city and confiscate its rights. They also intended to deny the historical and geographical realities and to establish new concepts and history.

Asgar abbasnejad
Translated by: Asghar Abootorabi