Hero of Patriotic War: ‘Liberation of Zangilan was the fastest operation’

The military personnel of the State Border Service (SBS) delivered a crushing blow to the enemy in the Second Karabakh War and showed real heroism and bravery in the way of restoring full control over Azerbaijani borders and protecting them.

Since the beginning of the Patriotic War, the country's border guards have cleared a large area of the enemy from the contact line in the Fuzuli district to the state border with Armenia, and within 24 hours, they have dealt devastating blows to the Armenians with a lightning-fast attack at a distance of 105 kilometers and planted the glorious tricolor flag of Azerbaijan on its historical lands along the state borders.

After the ancient Khudafarin bridge was freed from the enemy on October 18, 2020, as a result of Arazboyu operations, the target was Zangilan city and its surrounding areas. The military personnel of the SBS engaged in fierce battles with Armenians in the city of Zangilan, the historical land of Azerbaijan. The city was cleared of the enemy in a short period.

During the battles, a large number of personnel and equipment of the Armenian armed forces were destroyed. The surviving personnel of the enemy was forced to throw away their weapons and flee from the battlefield.

On this day of 2020 - October 20 - the glorious tricolor flag of Azerbaijan was raised in the city of Zangilan, which was liberated by the border guards. The liberation of the city was reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief by Babek Alakbarov, an officer of the SBS, a Hero of the Patriotic War who showed great bravery in the operations along with Araz River.

On this historic day, a group of border guards who took part in the operations visited the city of Zangilan and the areas where they once fought face-to-face with the enemy. They shared their memories about the fierce battles, how the enemy ran away cowardly, throwing away their ammunition.

According to the plan of operations along with Araz River, they moved in the direction of Zangilan on October 19, SBS colonel, Hero of the Patriotic War Babek Alakbarov, said in an interview with the employee of Report sent to Zangilan.

According to him, the liberation of the city of Zangilan from occupation was remembered as the fastest operation in the Second Karabakh War:

"We moved quickly in the direction of the city. We brought our groups closer to the bridge at the entrance of Zangilan city and observed the area. We saw that the civilian population, which was illegally settled in the city, was starting to leave. We kept the city under control and under fire by forming groups of firing squads on the high hills. We were given operational information that enemy soldiers were waiting in ambush outside the city. Our groups entered the city of Zangilan after conducting searches. We cleared the center and streets of the enemy, planted our glorious tricolor flag in Zangilan city, and reported it to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Then we deployed our groups on the hills and organized the city's defense. We assumed that the Armenians could send help to their soldiers from the direction of the Gafan district. Our assumption turned out to be correct and the enemy sent over 300 personnel and a lot of equipment toward the city of Zangilan. We kept them under observation. Armenians did not know that we were stationed in the heights. As a result, we became fully ready for battle."

According to him, fierce fighting started in Zangilan city on October 21 around 6:00 am (GMT +4). Brave border guards destroyed the enemy in ruins: "The surviving Armenians threw away their weapons and started running. We had martyrs and wounded servicemen during the fierce battles. I personally led the evacuation of our wounded soldiers. Some border guards with light wounds refused to be evacuated and tried to continue the fight. During the battles in Zangilan, the Heroes of the Patriotic War, Azer Yusifli, Mahammadali Alakbarov, Khudayar Yusifzade, and Miraga Gasimov, were martyred. May God have mercy on all our martyrs!"

Nasib Mirzayev, colonel of SBS, who received the Zafar Order, was one of the people who commanded the battles for the liberation of the Zangilan city. He said that together with the group he led, they entered the city's surrounding area on October 19.

The colonel said that after the successful completion of the operations to liberate the Amirvarli, Soltanli villages and the Khudafarin bridge in Jabrayil, the next task was to liberate the city of Zangilan and surrounding areas:

"Based on the task, we started moving towards Zangilan, bringing our supplies back to normal. It goes without saying that we were moving along the Araz River and Zangilan roads. The lack of a bridge in the direction of the Hakari River created some difficulties for us. At that time, we changed the direction towards the Araz river.

"We arrived in the town, positioned around the bridge, and split into groups to explore the area. Then we used an infiltration tactic. Many enemy fighters were destroyed in the city. Later, the Armenians sent their special forces to attack the city, but we defeated them too. The surviving soldiers had to flee," colonel Mirzayev said.