Battle of Mirbat

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Battle of Mirbat
Part of Dhofar Rebellion
The Wali's Fort. The Battle centred on the Dhofar Gendarmerie fort (not shown)
Date 19 July 1972 Location Mirbat, South Oman 16°59′33″N 54°41′31″E / 16.9924934°N 54.6919477°E / 16.9924934; 54.6919477 Result British/Oman sultanate victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  Oman	PFLOAG
Commanders and leaders
Mike Kealy	Shaheed Salim Musalim †
Strength
10 British soldiers (9 SAS, 1 Int Corps) 25 men from Omani Gendarmerie[1] 30 Balochi Askari[1] 60 soldiers of a local firqat[2] 3 BAC Strikemaster light attack jets[2] 21 SAS reinforcements[2] 3 helicopters[2]	200–300 Adoo guerrillas
Casualties and losses
2 SAS soldiers killed 2 Gendarmes killed[2] 1 jet damaged	80 killed 12 captured[2]

The Battle of Mirbat (19 July, 1972) was an attack by Communist guerrillas targeting an Omani government position during the Dhofar Rebellion in the town of Mirbat, Oman. During the Dhofar Rebellion, Britain assisted the Omani government, an absolute monarchy, by sending elements of its Special Air Service (SAS) both to train soldiers and fight against the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) guerrillas, also known as the Adoo. The assault was defeated after the arrival of several BAC Strikemaster attack aircraft belonging to Oman, firing rockets at PFLOAG's positions which forced the guerrillas to retreat.^[2] After the battle the British and their allies recovered the corpses of the attacking guerrillas, some were put on public display as a tool of terror, to act as warnings to potential left-wing rebels who were tempted to join the rebellion against Oman's government.^[2]