25th Karbala Division () was a division of the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

. It was first officially formed as the 2nd Karbala Brigade () during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, 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 The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

, and one new "

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

" division. The Karbala Division was later selected to be the special division. A team consisted of

Hossein Basir Hussein, Hossein, Hussain, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein, Hussin, Hoessein, Houcine, Hocine or Husain (; ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-N (), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "handsome" or ...

Mohammad Hassan Tusi Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, 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 (). The division was employed in the

First Battle of al-Faw The First Battle of al-Faw was a battle of the Iran–Iraq War, fought on the al-Faw peninsula between 10 February and 10 March 1986. The Iranian operation is considered to be one of Iran's greatest achievements in the Iran–Iraq War. The Ira ...

, which was successful in capturing the strategic Al-Faw Peninsula. According to Iranian sources, Iraqi General

Maher Abd al-Rashid Colonel General Maher Abdul Rashid (Arabic: ) (24 July 1942 – 29 June 2014) was an Iraqi military officer. Rashid rose to prominence during the Iran-Iraq War, and was regarded as one of Saddam's best generals,Karsh, Efraim ''The Iran-Iraq War 1 ...

had described the unit as a "black scorpion" that should be destroyed, possibly a reference to their black

frogman A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater. The term often applies more to professional rather than recreational divers, especially those working in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some Europea ...

suits during the battle.

Sepah-e Karbala

The division was merged with a

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

unit in the

Mazandaran Province Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is bordered clockw ...

to form the Mazandaran Karbala Provincial Corps during the rearrangement of the

units in 2008.

References

External links

How was the 31st Ashura Division formed?
mashreghnews.ir
31st Ashura Division
defamoghaddas.ir {{Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Military units and formations of Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution Divisions of Iran Karbala Division 25 Karbala Division 25