Several significant and distinctive things happened in the Ilam province throughout the eight years of the imposed war. One of these cases was the emergence of a group named “Ear-cutters” who were villains and killers and were supported by “Istekhbarat,” the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

 Iraqis were given 50,000 Dinars for each ear

Atefeh Jafari, journalist: “Hunter of Ear-cutters” is martyr Haj Yadgar Omidi’s memories, the commander of the 11th Amir al-Momenin army, written by Mohammad Ali Ghasemi and published by Soore Mehr publication. Ghasemi has written about one the best commanders, and his most important mission. You can read the interview with the author of this book below.

* The title of this book is the first thing that grabs your attention. Why “Hunter of Era-cutters”? 

Because of the arrival of a group known as the "Ear-cutters," whose purpose was to penetrate deep into Iran's military and spread fear and insecurity in places like Mehran and Dehloran, as well as the roads between them. This group created such a fear that commanders and whoever in charge decided to identify and destroy them by creating a special group, and they left this mission to Haj Yadgar Omidi, commander of the 11th Amir al-Momenin army.

*What was the Ear-cutters’ job?

After penetrating deep into the Iranian armies in the Mehran and Dehloran regions, and killing Iranian soldiers, they cut off their ears and give them to the Iraqi Intelligence Service. According to the information I got from the narrators, they were awarded 50,000 Dinars for each ear, which was a significant sum of money at the time, and that’s how they became famous as “Ear-cutters,” Later after this group was identified by Haj Yadgar, it turned out that the real name of their group was “Farsan” which means agile and fast. 

*Tell us about Haj Yadgar Omidi and what made you go for his memories?

Before the revolution, he worked for American and British companies in southern ports and sometimes in the northern with a high salary, but during the revolution, he lost his job because he supported some Ilami forces, and then, he started his revolutionary activities through his friends.

*What did he do after the revolution? 

He was a technical and active force who went to the villages to serve the people there, and when the war began, he voluntarily went to the front and later became one of the commanders. His squad and he had been fighting with this wicked group for years, and in the last operation, he destroyed the structure and core of this group, and he was martyred at the end.