Faraji-Nejad, nicknamed "Commander Afshin" and "Ali Mostashari" in the MKO, was one of the commanders of the terrorist group's military section after the start of the armed war in 1981 (1360 according to the Persian calendar).
MKO's infamous ringleader Maryam Rajavi had introduced him as one of the terrorist group's top military commanders as he was known for carrying out more than 60 successful assassinations.
He was in charge of various duties in MKO, including commanding Operation Forough Javidan (Mersad) and training terror teams for attacking Iran.
Operation Forough Javidan and Operation Mersad were among the last major military operations of the Iran–Iraq War. In July 1988, 7,000 militants from the Mojahedin-e-Khalq invaded Iranian Kurdistan, hoping to capture Kermanshah.
Iranian forces carried out Operation Mersad on July 27, 1988, in the western province of Kermanshah to counter the attack of the terrorist group Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) which was backed by the US and the Iraqi Ba'athist regime.
Two days before Operation, the MKO, who had gathered their forces on the Iranian-Iraqi border and were equipped with heavy and semi-heavy weapons by Saddam's regime, began invading Iranian territory. The leaders of the MKO thought that the forces would cross the main roads of Iran without encountering a major obstacle and would reach Tehran in a short time and occupy the capital of Iran.
However, in Operation Mersad, Iranian forces surrounded a large number of elements of the terrorist group in the Pataq Strait (or Mersad) in western Iran, and after three days of fighting, they finally won. More than 4,800 members of the MKO terrorist group were killed and wounded in the operation.
Majid Mohammadi, who has exited the MKO, says that in one of the group's previous meetings, Faraji-Nejad was talking about the group's criteria for choosing the assassination victims, saying that the first criterion was that the person had a beard, and the second was that the collar of his shirt was completely closed up (indicators that convey that one is religious in Islamic culture). In such cases, it was allegedly clear to them that the person was either an IRGC force or a supporter of the Islamic establishment, so they would assassinate him without hesitation.
Faraji-Nejad has also created one of the bloodiest scenes in Iran's history in Operation Mersad. He was the deputy of the MKO's brigade that was in charge of the occupying area between Iran's Sarpol-e Zahab to Kerend.
Samad Nazari, another former MKO member, says that on the second day of the operation, nearly 35 soldiers surrendered to the MKO forces. Faraji-Nejad handcuffed and blindfolded them and gather them in a place. As several of the soldiers were constantly asking for water, an MKO force informed Faraji-Nejad of this request, but instead of feeding them actual water, he turned to the shooters and said, "Give water to the captives" (meaning to shoot them).
Faraji-Nejad's heinous crime has been considered an honor for the MKO terrorist group for years.
Hadi Shabani, who was operating in the artillery unit of the operation back then, says that after killing the captives, the MKO forces piled up their bodies and took a picture of them, adding that the photo was referred to as one the most achievements of the MKO in the operation for years.
The MKO has conducted numerous assassinations and bombings against Iranian statesmen and civilians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Its members fled Iran in 1986 to Iraq, where they enjoyed backing from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the Islamic Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.
MKO terrorists enjoy the freedom of activity in the US and Europe and even hold regular meetings where European and American officials make speeches.
MNA/Nournews