25th Karbala Division

25th Karbala Division
لشکر 25 کربلا
Active1980s–present
CountryIran Islamic Republic of Iran
BranchIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
TypeInfantry
Special forces
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQSari, Mazandaran province
Nickname(s)"Karbala" (کربلا)
Engagements
Commanders
Commander in ChiefGovernor-General Mahmoud Hosseinipour
Notable
commanders
Morteza Ghorbani

25th Karbala Division (Persian: لشکر 25 کربلا) was a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It was first officially formed as the 2nd Karbala Brigade (تیپ 2 کربلا) during the Iran–Iraq War, and was later expanded into a division.

According to Mohsen Rezaei, after a series of unsuccessful Iranian offensive operations in late stages of the Iran–Iraq War, it was decided to form several new brigades in the IRGC, and one new "special" division. The Karbala Division was later selected to be the special division. A team consisted of Hossein Basir, Mohammad Hassan Tusi, and other commanders were tasked to organize this division, and Morteza Ghorbani was appointed as its commander. Since then, the division was called 25th Karbala Special Division (لشکر 25 ویژه کربلا). The division was employed in the First Battle of al-Faw, which was successful in capturing the strategic Al-Faw Peninsula.[2] According to Iranian sources, Iraqi General Maher Abd al-Rashid had described the unit as a "black scorpion" that should be destroyed,[3][4] possibly a reference to their black frogman suits during the battle.

Sepah-e Karbala

The division was merged with a Basij unit in the Mazandaran Province to form the Mazandaran Karbala Provincial Corps during the rearrangement of the IRGC units in 2008.

References

  1. ^ "شمال نیوز :: روایت فرمانده لشکر 25 کربلا از حادثه خان‌طومان". www.shomalnews.com.
  2. ^ shohadayeiran.com, شهدای ایران. "«لشکر ویژه 25 کربلا» چگونه تشكیل شد". شهدای ایران shohadayeiran.com.
  3. ^ 25th Karbala Division farsnews.ir
  4. ^ "هفته تپه از افتخارات مازندرانی‌ها است". ایسنا - مازندران.