The leadership of the Aylul Revolution thought about targeting another strategic site of the Iraqi Army after the attack on the Baba Gurgur oil facilities on March 1, 1969, and for another commando operation by the Peshmerga, the Dukan camp, which was the headquarters of the brigade, was identified and was subjected to the fire of the Peshmerga forces, after two months of training special forces with special weapons.

The revolution leaders entrusted this task to two Peshmerga commanders, Aziz Akrayi and Rashid Sindi. The night of September 19-20, 1969, was the night of the attack, and the attack was carried out at the scheduled time as planned, and it achieved remarkable success, as the Peshmerga forces controlled the entire camp and caused heavy damage to the Iraqi Army, and the corpses of dozens of soldiers were scattered during the battle, and dozens of others were taken prisoner.

The Peshmerga forces used heavy weapons in this attack such as 120 mm cannons and RPG launchers, and although a permanent camp had been established there for many years with walls, barbed wire, and mines, the Peshmerga forces were able to seize it and remain in it for a period of time. In addition to the heavy damage inflicted on the army, the military forces guarding the water border of the lake suffered heavy damage, as their boats were destroyed and fell into the water, and a large number of soldiers drowned in the waters of Dukan and dozens of corpses remained in it.

But the Peshmerga's victory in this battle did not last long and ended in defeat, due to the mistakes and negligence of some Peshmerga officials. The mistake was that they kept the road between Dukan and Sulaymaniyah open after seizing the camp, because Dr. Khalid was responsible for the force tasked with cutting the Khalkan road, but he did not perform his duty and did not carry out the orders. On the other hand, all the Peshmerga had gathered in this camp, and suddenly they saw that the rapid support forces belonging to the Iraqi Army had opened fire on the camp with artillery, tanks, and machine guns. As a result of the shelling and attack by the Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga forces were forced to retreat, which led to the fall of a number of Martyrs and wounded, and their corpses were left on the battlefield, and the army regained its control over the camp.

It seems that the impact and losses of the Peshmerga on the Iraqi Army in this battle and other battles such as the Battle of Qara Dagh, Garmian, the strike on the Baba Gurgur oil facilities, the Battle of Bestana, Wadi Alana, Birmagrun, Azmar Mountain, Surdash Mountain, and many other battles, which the Iraqi Army was able to carry out with the help and support of the old political wing forces, initially controlled several places and remained in them, but the Peshmerga forces confronted them with a tight plan and inflicted heavy damage on them, which prompted some influential Ba'ath leaders to believe that the Kurdish cause cannot be solved by war and fighting, but can only be overcome by dialogue and peace, which led to the March 11, 1970 agreement.

Sources:

1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, 1st ed., (Ministry of Culture Press - Erbil - 2004).

2- Ari Karim, Several Living Pages from The Aylul Revolution, (Khabat Press - Duhok 1999).

3- Sangar Ibrahim Khoshnaw, Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, 1st ed., (Erbil - 2022).

4- Ibrahim Jalal, Southern Kurdistan and the Aylul Revolution, Foundation and Collapse, 1961-1975, Fourth Edition, 2021.