The long silence prevailing at the southern front of the Gulf war was broken with the artillery fire of the National Liberation Army of Iran. A few minutes later, 15 NLA brigades launched an extensive attack on the 77th Khorassan division one of the Khomeini regime's crack forces. In an intense, 24-hour battle, the NLA forces captured 600 square kilometers of Iranian territory and seized control of the strategic international Dezful-Amarah highway, west of the city of Shush. Khomeini's 77th division was routed, suffering 2,000 deaths and 1,500 wounded. 508 of its forces, including several of the division's senior officers, among them two majors and one captain, were taken captive. The NLA brigades also seized more than $100 million worth of war equipment and arms, some of which - including four M-47 tanks, one M-113 armored personnel carrier, 11 command jeeps, one mobile rocket launcher, anti-aircraft guns, ten anti-tank guns, five 106 mm guns and 750 G-3 and AK-47 assault rifles - were transferred behind the lines and the rest set ablaze at the site.
The NLA's major spring offensive at the southern front had been code- named the "Shining Sun" operation. In addition to the gunner and artillery, combat support, reconnaissance, communications, infirmary and combat engineering units and battalions, 12 NLA combat brigades fought against the Khomeini regime's forces, comprised of the 77th army division, gendarmerie battalions and other reinforcements.
According
to the operational plan, 12 combat brigades engaged the enemy on three axes
and at nine different fronts along 30 kilometers of the enemy's defensive
fortifications. At each of the northern, central and southern axes, four
National Liberation Army brigades attacked the enemy positions. Command
On Sunday, March 27, all National Liberation Army forces participating in
the operation readied themselves for zero hour.
Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance and the Commander in Chief of the National Liberation Army of Iran, assumed direct command of the offensive.
At sunset, the NLA's infantry, armored and mechanized brigades began penetrating towards their designated positions. The artillery and gunner units, on full alert, awaited the order to open fire.
