Armed with light and medium-caliber weapons, the enemy forces first tried to encircle the combatants. Quick reaction by the Mojahedin, however, led to an extensive clash which lasted several hours.
The confrontation occurred in an area of 150 sq-kms. It continued until Monday morning and turned into hand-to-hand combat at some points. Surprised by the Mojahedin's swift reaction, the enemy hastily put its forces on alert in the cities of Mehran and Saleh-Abad in Ilam Province (western Iran) and dispatched reinforcements to the scene of the fighting.
Despite their large numbers, the Guards suffered heavy casualties. They repeatedly requested further assistance and retreated when the Mojahedin combatants returned fire. The enemy attacked the Mojahedin's positions with 82-mm mortars. The Mojahedin pursued the attackers, dealt heavy blows to them in a series of confrontations, and forced them to escape into Iran.
Dozens of the enemy's agents were killed in these clashes. The corpses of several of them were scattered on the scene and others were transferred into Iran.
Simultaneously, the Guards Corps and State Security Forces were placed on alert across Ilam Province.
Five members of the Mojahedin were slain. They were Abbas-Ali Baqeri, Assadollah Ranjbar, Mehdi Mosleh, Mansour Beheshti, and Moussa Heydarzadeh. A former political prisoner, Mr. Heydarzadeh had spent 12 years in different prisons of the Khomeini regime from 1981 to 1993.
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
March 2, 1998
Back Home