These small units who infiltrate and opening the gate of Shushtar were led by Al-Bara' ibn Malik.[6] Hormuzan then retreated to the citadel and continued his resistance, but was eventually forced to surrender.[7][5] According to another version written in the Khuzestan Chronicle, similar to the version by al-Tabari, a defector from Qatar, along with another person, asked the Arabs for some of their plunder in exchange of how to enter the city.