At 11 pm, on Monday, July 25, National Liberation Army forces moved from Islamabad toward Kermanshah. The enemy had placed an ambush at the exit from Islamabad, near the power station. They opened heavy fire. The NLA vanguard brigade pounded the enemy's ambush in return and the column moved ahead. On the road to Hassanabad Pass, Khomeini's forces were fleeing in cars or on foot. Some surrendered, and their security was guaranteed, and some fled up into the heights. Dozens of enemy vehicles left on the road slowed the NLA column.
At approximately 12 midnight, the NLA advance was halted at Hassanabad Pass. Guards Corps forces, including forces attached to the 33rd Al-Mehdi division, had taken up positions atop the pass. The enemy was well aware that the NLA intended to advance beyond Islamabad as far as possible.
An hour of clashes at Hassanabad Pass and the road was cleared of Khomeini's agents. The Guards Corps informed its high command in Kermanshah that it had been hit hard and was unaware of the Al-Mehdi command's condition.
The August 21 Jomhouri Islami newspaper interviewed the commander of the GC Hazrat Rassoul battalion, Barati, on this confrontation. Noting that `after Islamabad, our battalion was the first to clash with the [Mojahedin]," Barati said, "They had taken the dominant positions on top of Hassanabad Pass and thus opened a barrage of fire on our forces... Since they had reconnoitered the area, they enjoyed a military advantage over us."
Go to next page. Go to previous page.
