The Battle of. Blood & Dust. By Sufyan Baloch

The Battle of Blood & Dust By Sufyan Baloch In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. It was after Isha Prayer during the month of Rabi Al-Thani 1436 (February 2015) and the moon was shining brightly on the camp of Ansar Al-Furqan. There was a total of eleven brothers in the group led by Shaykh Abu Hafs al-balushi (May Allah Accept Him) and we were making our final preparations for our journey into the Iranian battlefield. Little did we know that we would soon be embarking on one of the toughest operations of our lives which would span many months and cost many lives. We made our final farewells to our families and put our trust in Allah as we began our journey into Iranian hostile territory. The journey was extremely difficult and one that posed many risks, as Balochistan is littered with Rawafid checkpoints, patrols, and army camps. The sharp mountainous terrain made our task even more difficult but by the grace of Allah we were able to sneak past our enemies undetected and reach the city of Sarawan by the following day. Sarawan was the city of Harakat Ansar Iran s first martyr Hamza Sarawani (may Allah accept him) and being here really increased all of our iman. I had the pleasure of spending many months with him during the preparation of his operation which killed approximately 20 high ranking IRGC officers in Chabahar. It was through his sacrifice and bravery that we were all in this city today and we ask Allah to accept him among His noble martyrs. Ameen. After a short night s rest in Sarawan, we made our move into the mountains. We had to be alert at all times as we were nearing the battlefront and there was a lot of enemy activity in the area. All praise is due to Allah, Allah opened the way for us and we were able to safely reach an area near Qaser Qand after a nonstop journey of three days. We were all acquainted with this mountainous region and agreed to set up a temporary base here. Page 1

The martyrs Sadiq, Sheikh Abu Hafs, and Sharif (may Allah accept them) preparing for battle in the mountains of Qaser Qand. Sheikh Abu Hafs (May Allah Accept Him) was a great leader and began planning and strategizing an operation that would rain severe blows to the Iranian regime. He was meticulous in every detail of his planning but he also showed a deep concern for his men and made sure that we were all well. He would lecture us and encourage us and increase our iman in our preparation for our battle and would often say These [the Rawafid] are the enemies of our mother A isha (may Allah be pleased with her). After a few days, the plan was finalized and we were split into two groups and informed of our objectives and responsibilities. I was given the responsibility of leading one of the groups which consisted of three other brothers. Our objective was to reach the frontlines in Nik Shahr where we would receive further instructions. Nik Shahr was the hometown of one of the brothers in our group named Sadiq (may Allah accept him) and he was pleased that he would be returning there for an operation. We arrived safely but we were ill-equipped with just two motorcycles for transportation and very little ammunition. All praise is due to Allah, what supplies we had was from the mercy of Allah and from the support of our brothers and sisters who donated to us and our cause. We remained in wait for our orders for the next two days and remembered Allah often in the mountains of Nik Shahr. Meanwhile, another brother from the Ansar named Ghani (may Allah accept him) was surveying the city and informing us of enemy movements. We were notified about an enemy convoy that would be traveling through a major road in the coming nights. After consulting Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) we were given orders to attack this convoy. Brother Ghani (may Allah accept him) would later be caught and hung by the Rawafid Iranian regime. Page 2

The initial plan was to plant an IED on the main road where the enemy convoy would travel on, but unfortunately there was no opportunity for us to do so because of the high flow of traffic on this road from the morning to the evening. The only opportunity to plant the IED without being detected was in the late night but this also proved extremely risky due to Iran s law which prohibits motorcycles on the roads after midnight as well as the regular night patrols. Whatever solution we had to come up with, we had to come up with it fast as the convoy could come at any moment. We brainstormed among our group and came up with an excellent plan - we would use the motorcycle law to our advantage. Two brothers went on a motorcycle and aimed to get the attention of the convoy while the other brothers planted the IED in an alternative location. The convoy noticed the brothers on the motorcycle and a chase ensued our plan was working. The Rawafid convoy fired shots at the brothers who were able to evade the bullets and lure the convoy to the ambush point where the other brothers were waiting. By the grace of Allah, we were able to detonate the IED on the convoy; seriously injuring four soldiers and leaving two more psychologically impaired for life. There was a brief gunfight with the remaining soldiers and we were forced to retreat due to our limited ammunition. All praise is due to Allah that we were all able to escape unharmed and were also able to record the entire operation on video. We were eager to contact Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) and congratulate him on the success of our operation but were unable to reach him. The following day we lost complete contact with him and the brothers that were in his group. Our concern for the condition of our brothers grew more and more each day as rumors began to spread in the village that the Iranian regime had surrounded Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) and his men in the mountains. The hypocrites were boasting that Iran had sent over one-thousand soldiers and several military helicopters to attack the Mujahideen. The uncertainty of the condition of our brothers was heavy on us and not a day went by where we did not remember them in our prayers. The following week, we conducted another operation in Nik Shahr. We were informed of an enemy checkpoint that was only operational during the Friday prayers. We used this information to plant an IED in the checkpoint on Thursday night and detonated it the following afternoon. Two Rafida soldiers were killed and another two inured in this operation and all praise is due to Allah. After the operation, we were blessed to receive a message from Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) to meet him as soon as possible. We immediately made our preparations and began our journey to regroup with him. Page 3

The next few days were cold and rainy with thunderous storms brewing in the night skies. We used the harsh weather conditions as well as the darkness of the night to sneak through the enemy patrols and reach our trapped brothers in a barren desert area. We eventually reached Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) who warmly welcomed us and expressed tears of joy upon our safe arrival. Glory be to Allah, there was no shelter for us from the heavy rain as we lay exposed in the barren desert with the Rawafid relentlessly hunting for us day and night. It was in this difficult circumstance that our brother Sharif (may Allah accept him) narrated to us their ordeal of the previous two weeks. Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) and his men were in the mountainous region of Qaser Qand when our group went to Nik Shahr. After their vehicle had broken down, they spent that day scouting the area for a safe location to set up a camp. By night, they were hungry and thirsty and returned to get supplies from their vehicle, but something did not seem quite right. As they approached their vehicle, they noticed strange footprints on the ground and later on that their entire vehicle was littered with Iranian bullets. There was a sound of large movement in the distance so the brothers grabbed what little supplies they could and moved to higher ground. Overlooking their vehicle, the brothers saw some Iranian spies and their Balochi puppets surrounding their vehicle. They were destroying their food and water supplies and were setting up an explosive trap in the vehicle. One of the brothers asked Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) Why don t we attack them and catch them off guard? to which the sheikh replied No! If we do so, the Balochi people will say that Abu Hafs has killed his own people. One day, I will advise them and give them dawah. Sensing that the Rawafid were advancing upon them, the brothers decided to make their escape. For two weeks, the brothers remained without food and water thirsty and starving to the point of death. At this state, they put their full trust in Allah and they carried their weapons and evaded the Iranian regime, scavenging whatever they could for food and drink. But by the grace of Allah they were able to reach a safe location where one of the Ansar took care of them until they regained some of their strength. It was then that they contacted us and arranged to meet with us in an alternative location - the barren desert. Page 4

Now that we were united in the barren desert we had to make our escape. Our food and water supplies were low so we decided to make our way towards Nik Shahr. To make matters more difficult, we received news that our brother Ghani (may Allah accept him) was captured by the Iranian government for his role in our first operation in Nik Shahr. We were all devastated but we could not afford to sit in the mountains as the Iranian spies were aware of our location. We exclaimed the Takbir and took whatever we could of our weapons and supplies and made our way to the city remembering our brother in our prayers every step of the way. The journey was extremely risky as there were several Iranian drones hovering the skies above us, surveying the area for our very location. To our dismay, we were spotted by an Iranian drone and several missiles were fired in our direction. All praise is due to Allah that we were neither killed nor injured from their strikes and we were able to escape. Unfortunately, in the chaos of the moment, Sheikh Abu Hafs and Sadiq (may Allah accept them) were separated from our group and we had no choice but to continue the journey without them. The news of brother Ghani s capture (may Allah accept him), surviving the missile strikes, the separation from our brothers, the lack of food and water, the harsh mountainous conditions, and the threat of another imminent attack was starting to take its toll on us. All the brothers had become extremely weak and it seemed that death was a certainty. Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Allah, it was in this miserable state that we reached an oasis in a safe mountainous area which was controlled by some of the Ansar. We immediately tried to establish contact with Sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) but all our attempts were in vain. We were all concerned with their condition and one of the Ansar named Muslim (may Allah accept him), who was Sadiq s brother, volunteered to search for Sheikh Abu Hafs and his brother (may Allah accept them). In the night, we were informed by one of the Ansar from Sarbok that the security of the oasis may have been compromised and that the Iranian spies may have learnt of our whereabouts. We used to cover of the night to secretly change our location to another oasis. We later learned that the Iranian army had set up a major attack on the oasis only to find that it had been deserted just hours before and all praise it due to Allah. Page 5

We reached the second oasis safely by the grace of Allah and again hoped to establish contact with sheikh Abu Hafs (may Allah accept him) but to no avail. Here we decided to rest and regain our strength after all it was the first real break we had in a long time. We all took off our armor and set our weapons aside to get some rest. Some of us went to catch fish from the river while others prepared a fire for cooking and we all shared a blessed meal with each other. We also decided to freshen ourselves up by swimming in the river. After all the hardship and difficulty we faced, this was really one of the most sublime blessings from Allah. But it was short lived. In an absolute instant, we heard the thunderous roar of an Iranian gunship helicopter heading towards our direction. One of the brothers who was on guard duty informed us that there was a massive brigade of the Iranian army at the foot of the oasis. The brothers did not waste a single second nor did they hesitate in the face of the enemy. We were caught off guard, but we quickly rushed out of the water and grabbed as much armor, weapons, and ammunition as we could. We were face to face with one of the world s superpowers but Allah removed any fear of them from our hearts. We raced into battle firing many rounds courageously into their ranks, holding off forces both in the air and in the land. The monstrous roar of the gunship above us, the blazing whiffs of the bullets ripping through the air beside us, the clatter of gunfire around us, the clinking of ammunition hitting the ground below us, and the loud exclamation of the takbir Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar! Words cannot describe the intensity of this battle as it was truly one of the fiercest battles I have ever faced. The ferocious battle continued for what seemed like hours. We were standing our ground bravely and holding off the entire army, unleashing rounds and rounds of devastating blows into the their rank, but we could not continue much longer with the gunship helicopter stalking us from above. To make matters worse, the Rawafid were receiving more reinforcements on the ground and not a single brother among us remained uninjured from this battle. There was no way out and we were certain that this would be our last battle. We recited the Shahadah and prepared ourselves to embrace death fighting to our last drop of blood. Page 6

To our amazement, a miraculous dust storm began to engulf the entire battlefield and rain began to pour profusely the help of Allah had arrived. We could barely see anything but we could hear enemy gunfire in the distance and the constant roaring of the gunship helicopter echoing throughout the mountains. We agreed to use the change in weather to our advantage and evade the Iranian ambush. As we slowly retreated, we continued to fire rounds in the enemy direction. Then suddenly, a bizarre sound erupted from the gunship, followed by a loud explosion which shook the ground beneath us. By the grace of Allah, Allah had brought down the gunship with one of our stray bullets. The battle was not over yet as we still had to make our retreat. Brother Sharif (may Allah accept him) continued to delay the Rawafid from advancing upon us, firing the remaining rounds of his ammunition into the enemy direction. As we edged our way towards an escape, we looked back and noticed that Sharif (may Allah accept him) had been struck by an enemy bullet. As he fell to the ground, he proclaimed Allah! Allah! and attained his martyrdom on the spot. We continued our retreat with an overwhelming sadness in our hearts as our martyred brother lay motionless at the edge of the oasis, our enemies advancing upon him. The Iranian army were unable to pursue us as they had sustained too many casualties and no longer had the support of their gunship and by the grace of Allah, we were able to escape safely. Some hours later, some villagers from a nearby village went to investigate the scene of the battle and the Iranian army went to collect their dead. The villagers later reported that they were amazed to see the bodies of the Iranian army already rotting with a repulsive stench while the body of Sharif (may Allah accept him) remained completely pure. To quash the amazement, the Iranian army forbade anybody to touch his body for up to two weeks so it too could rot as well. To their surprise, after two weeks, the body of Sharif (may Allah accept him) was emanating a sweet musky fragrance and his blood was still freshly dripping from his body glory be to Allah. We ask Allah to accept his martyrdom and elevate his status on the day of resurrection. Ameen The body of Sharif (may Allah accept him) covered by the dust of battle one week after his martyrdom - his blood still dripping wet with a sweet fragrance eminating from his body. Page 7

We were now in a safe location provided by the Ansar but we lost many of our possessions in that battle including our clothes, food, money, weapons, and videos of our operations. Knowing that the Iranian spies were right behind us, the Ansar provided us with whatever they could and recommended us to leave the city area and return at a better time. We ask Allah to bless them and protect them for their generosity and the hardships they faced. Ameen. As we ventured back to our camp on foot, maneuvering our way through the rough terrain of the Balochi mountains, we could not help but wonder what hardship Sheikh Abu Haf s group had faced (may Allah accept them). We marched for two whole weeks until we finally reached our camp and all praise is due to Allah. It was upon our arrival that we received the unbearable news of the martyrdom of Sheikh Abu Hafs, Sadiq, and Muslim (may Allah accept them). We were also told that our brother Ghani (may Allah accept him) had also been hung by the Iranian government after a torturous ordeal under their captivity. My dear brothers and sisters, we faced many hardship and lost many lives in this journey but we also received many blessings and many miracles from Allah. I narrated to you these events in hope that it would raise awareness of our cause and inspire you to support our Jihad against the Rawafid government of Irani. May Allah reward you as the reader and us as the writers, and may he forgive us for any errors in our narration. Ameen. Page 8