Muhammad in Medina an ambush for the Meccans at Badr. Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded the Muslims. Meanwhile, a force from Mecca was sent to protect the caravan. The force did not return home upon hearing that the caravan was safe. The battle of Badr began in March 624. Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans and taking seventy prisoners for ransom; only fourteen Muslims died. They had also succeeded in killing many of the Meccan leaders, including Abu Jahl. Muhammad himself did not fight, directing the battle from a
Operation Badr (1973) Calendar, which meant that Muslim soldiers would be fasting. It was in Ramadan that the Muslims won their first victory at the Battle of Badr in the year 624. Opting for something more inspirational than the High Minarets as a name, Operation "Badr" was chosen by Egyptian commanders as the codename for the assault. In any crossing of the Suez Canal by Egyptian forces, success was highly dependent on the performance of the Egyptian Corps of Engineers, which had several daunting tasks to accomplish. Israeli engineers had constructed a massive artificial sand barrier spanning of the canal's east bank (except