Late Thursday night, July 28, the National Liberation Army evacuated Kerend. Hours later, the Guards reinforcement divisions dispatched to the area still did not dare to enter. On Friday afternoon, July 29, Tehran radio announced that its Guards were still "advancing on Kerend."
From Tuesday to Thursday, and all day Friday, the regime's high command, Khatam operational HQ in Kermanshah, could be heard on the wireless network issuing constant orders for the bombardment of Islamabad and Kerend. As the NLA was evacuating Kerend, group after group of people joined the Army and moved across the border to NLA bases.
At around 8 pm, Monday, July 25, as NLA forces advanced toward Islamabad, they encountered five long columns of Khomeini's Guards and Army. Several other Guards battlions had taken up positions at various points along the Kerend-Islam-abad road. By then, the enemy had known of the NLA' s assault and its magnitude for several hours. Having lost Kerend, the regime mobilized all its forces in the region to repel the NLA before it reached Islamabad.
In a communique on July 29, the Khomeini regime announced that in addition
to the Guards Corps, the Army's 84th Khorramabad division, 81st Bakhtaran
division, 58th Zolfaqar division, and 55th airborne brigade of Shiraz -
all under the western operational headquarters' command - had deployed most
of their forces to confront the NLA and halt its advance toward Islamabad.
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