Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 8

By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

2025-12-7

Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 8

By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

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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.

***

Although these incidents occurred one after another, the Islamic Republic sought not to respond militarily to these provocations and acts of aggression by the Baghdad regime. The credulous public also believed that the issue would not go beyond this point and that the Iraqi government did not intend to do anything more than reclaim the occupied territories. Even Saddam Hussein himself emphasized this point in the military communiqué broadcast after the attack on September 4, 1980. It never crossed anyone's mind that Saddam would one day launch a full-scale invasion of Iran.

With a heavy heart and a troubled spirit, I followed these events, constantly recalling the news my friend had given me months earlier at Bahman Hospital. Two weeks later, we gathered in the garrison yard, and the officer in charge of the training course ordered us to be quickly dispersed among Iraqi army units. This was despite the fact that I had not yet completed my training, which was not supposed to exceed three months.

At 11:00 AM on September 19, 1980, we lined up as the names of 31 doctors being transferred to the Third Corps—stationed in the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq—were called. I was among them. That same day, I went home and spent a weary, tedious evening with my family. The following afternoon, I traveled with the group of doctors to Nasiriyah. We arrived at our duty station at 11:00 PM on September 20 and were greeted by ten Egyptian laborers residing in Nasiriyah. They were busy paving the city's streets. After considerable effort, we managed to find a place in one of the city's modest hotels and made it through the night. The next morning, we went to the headquarters of the Third Corps in the city. This headquarters was located in an old British barracks building, from which a revolting odor emanated. Its appearance was utterly depressing.

We waited until 12:00 PM for our reassignment orders, at which point seven other doctors and I were assigned to the Fifth Division stationed in Basra. We set out for Basra that same day and arrived at 5:00 PM. This was my first time traveling to Basra—Iraq's primary port and second-largest city after the capital. Despite its dirty streets and the presence of many foreigners, particularly Egyptians, moving about, its residents are wonderful people. They welcome every newcomer with open arms and generosity. We spent a beautiful and invigorating evening in the Al-Ashar district. The next morning, we reported to the Fifth Division headquarters near the Shu'aiba area and were dispersed among its brigades. I was sent to the 11th Field Medical Unit attached to the 20th Mechanized Brigade.

We were transported by military jeep, accompanied by Captain Sabah al-Murabiti, a dentist, to the unit's headquarters in the Al-Duraihimiyah area (a district of Zubair). All personnel from the unit, along with members of the 20th Brigade, had been deployed to the border area of Nashwah.

At 12:15 PM on September 22, 1980, thirteen Iraqi jetfighters took off from the Shu'aiba airbase, adjacent to our unit, headed towards the Iranian border. An hour later, they all returned to their base. I had initially assumed this was merely a training flight. However, at 3:00 PM, a grim announcement suddenly came over the radio, declaring the start of war against the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The reason given for starting the war was to respond to the aggression of the "Persians" and to defend Iraq from the threat of Iranian invasion! As soon as I heard this announcement, I recalled the words of my martyred friend, Abdulghani Samisam, who had spoken to me months earlier about Saddam's decision to start a war. I spent that night in a state of severe anxiety and mental anguish. I had no idea what the next day would bring!

At 6:00 AM on September 23, I was in the middle of eating bread and eggs. I hadn't even taken my third bite when the sound of a massive explosion rang out. We ran outside in a panic. Several Iranian jetfighters, flying at low altitude, appeared and bombed the Shu'aiba airbase, the chemical cement factory, and the SAM missile site.

We spent that day in the shelters around our unit, which had been built for just such an occasion. Aerial battles continued in the skies over Basra, and the Iranian pilots demonstrated great effectiveness and skill in destroying the city's military and economic infrastructure. As darkness fell, we returned to the building to rest. Baghdad's radio and television broadcast patriotic anthems and minute-by-minute reports of battle scenes and the activities of the Iraqi army on the operational fronts.

On September 24, the order came down to move to the village of "Nashwah" to join the medical teams stationed there. Before departure, they issued me the standard gear of an infantry soldier. I objected to this, stating, "I am a doctor, not an infantryman."

Captain Zidan said, "Take it before you get a reprimand from the brigade commander!"

I was surprised to hear that. I resigned myself to God's will. I took the weapon and traveled in a military jeep through the anxious, chaotic streets of Basra. As we moved towards Nashwah, I could hear the sound of artillery fire from the Iranian border in the Shalamcheh region. Two hours later, we arrived at the village of Nashwah, located on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand) river—30 kilometers south of the city of Al-Qurnah. The village (Nashwah) is situated 25 kilometers from the Iranian border, directly opposite the Tala'iyeh and Kushk regions. The 11th Field Medical Unit had set up in the village's medical center. After a brief rest, the unit members informed me that our forces had launched an assault on the Tala'iyeh and Kushk regions at 5:00 PM on September 22. Even though 24 hours had passed since the attack began, only a few soldiers had received superficial wounds. It was clear from this that no significant military engagement had taken place. Dr. Sabah al-Rubaie told me that the army's intelligence unit had spread rumors before the attack about Iranian troops amassing opposite our forces to encourage them to fight, but as a result of this misinformation, many of our men had become so fearful and anxious that they had come down with diarrhea.

A few hours later, I met with some soldiers returning from the front. They said that Iraqi forces had captured the bases at Kushk, Asiud, Ghazil, and Shahabi. At first, I didn't believe their report until, around noon on September 24, I came face to face with an Iranian prisoner—a man with a thick beard. Lieutenant Abdulsalam from the 3rd Battalion of the 20th Brigade brought this Iranian captive to us for treatment, his hands tied behind his back. He appeared to have suffered a concussion. I asked the officer to untie his hands; he responded, "Doctor, be very careful! He has killed three of our men near the Asiud outpost and wounded several others."

The lieutenant untied his hands and said, "When this man was captured, Captain Muhammad al-Sahhaf hit him in the head several times with his rifle butt."

I told him, "Right now, he's wounded and a prisoner, and he needs to be treated."

After receiving treatment, the captive said a few words in Persian, which I did not understand. He then raised his hands in the *Takbirat al-Ihram* posture. I understood that he wanted to perform the noon prayer. I smiled, feeling very pleased. The captive was sent to the tent of Major Draid Kashmoula, the Adjutant Corps commander, who, with complete graciousness, made all the necessary arrangements for the prisoner to pray.

That night, several military trucks carrying Iranian prisoners arrived. I was unable to speak with these prisoners, but from the number of wounded, killed, and captured, one could conclude that the clash had not been between two armies. Instead, it was between our armed to the teeth invading forces and Iranian border guards equipped with simple weapons, creating a very unequal situation. This inequality allowed the Iraqi forces to seize the Iranian border strip in the shortest possible time and penetrate deep into Iranian territory.

To be continued …