The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-51

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

2026-10-11

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-51

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

6- Punishment for the Defeated:
On December 5, 1981, Captain Ebrahim, the officer in charge of the headquarters, came to visit us with some first-class local fish. He was known among the military for his flattery, and this time, in order to gain personal benefits and privileges, he had bribed the commander. He ordered the soldiers to gather some firewood. Then he fried the fish in the local Iraqi style (masquf). Then he invited the commander and officers of the brigade headquarters and spread a colorful table in our regiment. We ate that delicious fish. As if no incident had occurred at the front two days before!
At 9 a.m. on December 6, I was standing next to the regiment commander and his deputy. He was busy reading a mail from the regiment. Suddenly, he thought about one of the administrative letters and smiled. Then he said: "Our regiment has been honored and encouraged by the army commanders."

They had given us two medals of bravery; two non-commissioned officers had been promoted to officer rank, and two officers had been granted a one-year exemption from service. Two more medals were left over, which went to two other officers. In short, the entire regiment was promoted. Two medals were also awarded to those who had crossed the Sableh River during the attack. We did not know whether to laugh or cry at this situation. Our regiment, like the others of Abdullah's forces, suffered heavy losses and preferred to flee during the night of the attack. So why was it so favored? The fact is that if the medal for fear and flight existed, all the men of our regiment would have deserved it. The commanders and heads of government are aware of this fact, but they have no choice but to adopt a policy of appeasement. With these methods, they breathed life into the moving bodies of our defeated forces. Even the regiment commander and his deputies were astonished by the distribution of gifts.

The gifts were divided according to personal relationships and connections. The regiment commander, as his friend, suggested that I choose one of the gifts. He said to me: “Doctor! Choose. Do you want a medal of bravery, an additional rank, or a one-year exemption from service?”
I replied: “I am a duty doctor and I do not need these things. Give them to the soldiers who are staying in the army.”
In order to take advantage of the leave and go home, I left the regiment’s location, which was located on the banks of the Hur. After returning, I found that the regiment had been reorganized again under the command of Lieutenant Colonel of the Staff “Abdul Karim”. The order was issued for the regiment to move to the front line, in front of the Sableh Stone Bridge, and the regiment commander asked me to remain in that area with some support units. The distance between the front line and our location was about three kilometers. Our location, which was located west of the embankment overlooking the Hur, was a very safe place. Neither the Iranians knew about it, nor did their artillery reach it.

The mobile medical unit, ammunition vehicles, and officers' kitchen were all located in vehicles stationed on the banks of the Hur. The regiment's personnel would set out at night to take up defensive positions and try to build an embankment as a defensive line, but the heavy and incessant shelling prevented the construction of this embankment, so much so that once two bulldozer drivers were injured while building the defensive line.
On one of the front lines of this front, the distance between our forces and the Iranian forces was about 300 meters. Therefore, our forces could easily hear the noise of the Iranians. Furthermore, any movement or movement was difficult during the day. Interestingly, some of the prayer leaders of our regiment prayed to the voice of the Iranian muezzin who was clearly calling the adhan in front of our regiment without a loudspeaker.
The field situation of our forces was very dangerous and sensitive. So that the forces of the 5^th Division were located in a deadly triangle. The two sides of it were the Iranian forces and the Hur, and the base of the triangle was the "Neysan" River. Therefore, with any simple action by the Iranian forces, they would be completely surrounded. Besides, the proximity of the front lines and the high number of casualties of our forces had placed them in a very vulnerable position.

Due to our proximity to the front, we had to live in the dark. We would eat dinner in the early evening and sleep in the ambulances. I remember that every night, hungry foxes would surround us from all sides looking for food. That's why we usually hugged our rifles while eating. Ten days passed like this until the medics suggested that we build a bunker, because they were tired of sleeping in the ambulances. I agreed to their suggestion. The work of building the bunker started in the early hours of the morning and ended around noon. I was happy and put my belongings inside the bunker, hoping to get some rest. That afternoon, one of the soldiers arrived and gave us the order to move and leave the place. We demolished the bunker again and took out the wood and metal cans. We packed up for the trip. An hour later, the same soldier came back in and told us that the order to leave and stay there had been canceled. We were exhausted. We spent the night in the ambulance until morning. The next day, the paramedics built a large trench for themselves. They started working in the morning and finished their work at 1:00 PM. I think that day was December 21, 1981.

In the afternoon, some soldiers shot at a large flock of flying ducks for fun and entertainment. This seemed simple and fleeting. But half an hour later, the brigade commander came to us in an angry and heated manner. I put on my shoes and hat and went to greet him as a senior. He said to me: “Doctor! You are in charge here. Your men fired at us (the brigade headquarters) and one soldier was wounded. I want you to identify the people who fired!”
 I told him: “We absolutely did not shoot.”
He said: “It is impossible. I am going to the headquarters of the 5th Division. I hope to see the guilty people sent to the brigade headquarters with their hands tied when I return.”

Of course, some of our soldiers had fired, but the distance to the brigade headquarters was too much. I realized that the soldiers of the communications unit had been gossiping behind our backs. I decided not to identify those innocent soldiers. Half an hour later, I rode an army jeep to the brigade headquarters to inform the regimental commander of the reality of the matter. When I got there, I saw that all the regimental commanders had gathered at the headquarters. I explained the situation to him. The commander said, “Don’t worry! I will solve this problem with the brigade commander.”
Ten minutes later, the brigade commander came with a smiling face and said, “Did you bring the rogue soldiers?”
I said, “No?”
He laughed and said, “I have forgiven them.” Then he announced the order to retreat tonight to everyone present. Our regiment commander, Staff Colonel Abdul Karim, turned to me and said: “Doctor! Take the support team and retreat behind the Neysan River near the village next to the bridge!”
I apologized and said: “I am a doctor, not the head of the support unit.”
He replied: “You are an officer first and a doctor second. We are facing a severe shortage of officers and you must help us with this. This is a military order!”

To be continued…

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