Iranian Dissident Army Launches a Major Attack

The New York Times
Monday, May 16, 1988
By BERNARD E. TRAINOR

WASHINGTON, May 15 - The ground war between Iran and Iraq, which is approaching its ninth year, has taken a small but politically significant turn with the first major attack by dissident Iranians against positions held by troops loyal to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The Iraqi-backed, anti-Khomeini Iranians, called the People's Mujahedeen, began their raid March 28 along a 20-mile front in the direction of the town of Shush in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzistan, east of the Iraqi city of Amarah. According to Western experts, this was the first major attack by the dissidents since they moved their head-quarters to Iraq in June 1986.

The attackers reportedly breached Iranian front lines, penetrated 10 miles inside the country and inflicted heavy casualties on the Iranian 77th Division before withdrawing 10 hours later.

Assaults Called Effective
Reliable details of the attack are scarce and the assertions made by the Iranian resistance are believed to be exaggerated, but American authorities say that the March attack was well-executed and effective.

These authorities say that the action, pitting Iranian against Iranian, was of minor military significance but was politically useful to the Iraqi Government of President Saddam Hussein because it showed that there was an organized and effective Iranian military opposition to the Ayatollah Khomeini's clerical-based Government.

The March attack was carried out by the National Liberation Army, the military arm of the Islamic socialist Mujahedeen. Previously, the Mujahedeen had conducted small-scale border incursions bombings and assassinations inside Iran.

The Mujahedeen are composed of Islamic leftists who helped overthrow the Shah in 1979. Ideologically opposed to the fundamentalist elements that soon gained control of the new, clerical-guided Government, the leftists were forced into exile in 1981 after a series of bloody clashes. Since then, the Mujahedeen have sought the overthrow of the Khomeini regime from outside Iran.

An Army of Exiles
The group is led by 40-year-old Massoud Rajavi, who made his headquarters in France from 1981 to 1986, when the leadership moved to Iraq. With the support of the Baghdad Government, he began to organize an army of exiled Iranians to fight against Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters.

Last June, Mr. Rajavi announced the formation of the National Liberation Army. Officials of the movement refuse to provide detailed information on the force but suggest that it has more than 15,000 soldiers. It is known to be basically a light-infantry unit, equipped with Soviet-made armored personnel carriers and artillery. It is also said to follow Soviet-style tactics and procedures, which parallel those of the Iraqi Army.

The Mujahadeen assert that their army is independent of the Iraqis but that they coordinate their activities with them. However, Western specialists say it is inconceivable that the Iraqis do not exercise some operational control over Mujahedeen units.