Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan
2026-05-10
Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan
***
Of course. Here is the translation from Persian to American English, rendered in a formal, analytical tone suitable for a historical or political context.
***
The ambulance stopped, and we headed toward the well. We pulled the bucket out from the bottom of the well and washed our hands and faces. The driver poured some water into the radiator. We spent a few minutes walking around that small village. With the small camera I had with me, I took a few souvenir photos. Then I set off toward the shrine. I took off my shoes and entered the shrine. I could see several exquisite small carpets, a large TV, and on it a green standard and a few copies of the Quran. I recited a prayer for the soul of the person buried in the shrine, and a few moments later, I left the shrine. Next to the shrine, there was a house with brick walls. I glanced into the courtyard of this house. I saw items covered in dust. Seeing this scene saddened me. Apparently, our forces hadn't given the residents the chance to take even essential living supplies with them. It was clear that they had left the carpets and that large TV in the shrine of 'Seyyed Khalaf' for safekeeping, but they didn't know that the Ba'athists had no mercy or decency whatsoever. I took souvenir photos of the shrine and the village. I wanted to leave the place. I called the driver, but heard no response. I returned inside the shrine. I saw the driver rummaging through the carpets. I asked, 'What are you doing?'"
He replied, "Doctor! Why shouldn't we take these belongings?"
I said, "You must be joking!"
He said, "No, I'm serious..."
I said, "God damn you! These belong to innocent Muslims. Don't you see the flag of Abbas (peace be upon him) and the Holy Quran next to the shrine? These items have been left here for safekeeping. Don't you fear God?"
He answered, "Doctor, if we don't take them, others will."
I was astonished by this devilish logic. Hearing his response and justification reminded me of the inhumane act of the cursed Shemr on the day of Ashura — how he pulled the earrings from the ears of the children of Imam Hussein's (peace be upon him), and when one of the women strongly objected, he said, "If I don't take these earrings, certainly Umar-e Sa'd's soldiers will take them."
"I lashed out at him and said that by God, I would never make myself hell-bound. Then, in a threatening tone, I said: 'You no longer have the right to set foot in this place.'
With his head hung low, he left the shrine. We continued on our way and reached the base of 'P' battalion. I should mention that the driver had been influenced by the Iraqi army officers—an army that had entered the region not as liberators but as thieves, plundering the property and belongings of the Arabs of Khuzestan. Following the example of those officers, he too had wanted to commit such a vile act.
Until the end of April, we spent the days monotonously, and during this period, events and incidents occurred that threw things off their normal course. I remember that the battalion's engineering groups held a grand feast to celebrate the completion of the earthen dams and the successful containment of the water flow. Even officers from the Fifth Division in Basra were invited to this banquet. The seating for the feast was constructed using reeds and mats, in the style of the Iraqi villagers. Dozens of officers attended the ceremony. The food was prepared by a skilled and masterful cook. The meal consisted of three large platters filled with various types of rice, topped with roasted lamb. Inside the belly of each lamb were walnuts, almonds, and raisins, whetting everyone's appetite. The food platters were surrounded by large dishes full of fruit and bottles of soda. In short, they had gone extra mile, so much so that every five people had a large platter and a whole lamb to themselves.
The battalion commander gave the order to attack the platters. Hands interlocked. The chatter stopped, and no sound could be heard except for chewing and the fizz of soda bottles. To my bad luck, a captain from the second regiment—apparently from the primitive villages of Ramadi—was seated next to us. He ate with an unusual gluttony, using both hands. This repulsed me. Major 'Abdol Qader' from the staff, upon witnessing his rudeness, said: 'What kind of behavior is this toward that poor lamb? By God, if it had a tongue, it would curse you and wish you were killed by a missile.'
We all laughed, but he ignored our criticism and continued eating.
I asked Captain 'Hazem': 'Where did the funding for this feast come from?'
He replied: 'From the unit's budget!'
The unit's budget was usually funded by the profits from the stores where the soldiers made their purchases. It became clear that this feast had been funded by the blood of the unfortunate soldiers, not from the pockets of the officers and commanders.
A few days later, the battalion commander asked me to accompany Lieutenant 'Maz’har' in assessing the water of the Karkheh Koor River and whether it was drinkable. Apparently, the military commanders intended to install a water purification device on this river to save the time spent bringing water for the troops from Basra. The lieutenant, who was a combat engineer, and I set out toward the Karkheh Koor River in a jeep. Near the village of 'Ahmadabad,' we came across a large body of water that had accumulated behind the riverbed. The water covered a vast area and had created a barrier between our forces and the Iranian forces defending Susangerd. The river water was seemingly pleasant, clear, and drinkable, requiring only simple filtration. We sent one of the soldiers to the middle of the river, which was about five to six meters wide. He brought us some water, which we poured into a bottle to take back for the necessary tests. We also visited some of the empty houses along the river. In that area, we came across the wreckage of a Russian-made Mi-25 helicopter that had been shot down during the battles of January 5, 1981. This helicopter had apparently been used to confront infantry and armored units. The scattered pieces of the helicopter were spread over a ten-meter radius from the crash site. Some of the destroyed pieces still contained ammunition and anti-tank and anti-personnel missiles. I asked Lieutenant 'Maz’har' about how it had been shot down. He said, 'Do you see that tree?'"
"I said: 'Yes. It is a cedar tree located on the riverbank.'
He said: 'One of the Iranian soldiers was hiding under it. When he saw that this helicopter, along with another helicopter, was chasing Iranian forces during the battle of January 5th / December 15th in Susangerd, he fired an RPG and set it on fire. But he himself, along with several other soldiers, was killed by the fire of the second helicopter.'
I walked towards that tree. We saw the graves of the Iranian soldiers. It was near noon. Before returning, Lieutenant 'Maz’har' threw several sticks of dynamite into the river with the intention of fishing, but apart from a few small fish, he did not catch anything significant."
We returned to the battalion headquarters. They took the water sample and sent it, along with an official letter, to the laboratories of Al-Rashid Military Hospital. Two weeks later, they responded that the water was contaminated and not drinkable. The truth is, they did not trust water whose source was under the control of Iranian forces, and they feared it might be contaminated with deadly toxins and microbes. A few weeks later, an order was issued forbidding soldiers from drinking the water, bathing, or washing their clothes. Meanwhile, Lieutenant 'Mazhar' submitted a report regarding the downed helicopter, and the battalion commander immediately ordered the collection of any usable munitions and intact devices from among the helicopter wreckage. These pieces of equipment were transported to Basra three days later by the battalion's engineering groups.
To be continued …
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