After the collapse of the Aylul Revolution in the year 1975, it did not take long before the Kurd revolution rose again, continuing its activities in a partisan manner, under the name of the 26th of Gulan Revolution, in the year 1979, the Peshmerga force was sent back from the country of Iran to the areas of southern Kurdistan within the framework of special groups and detachments for the purpose of reactivating party organization and Peshmerga activities, given that after the collapse of the Aylul Revolution, most of the leaders, Peshmerga, and Peshmerga officials had taken refuge in the country of Iran. Upon their return, their mission was to search through villages and rural areas to revive secret organization, carry out Peshmerga activities, and convey the voice of the revolution to the inside and outside of the country.
One of those Peshmerga detachments that were on a tour of the areas targeted the Barzan region in the Goretu sub-district near Mergasor district, commanded by Dr. Abdulrahman Zarari. As indicated in that source, it is clear that in that place, the Iraqi regime had stationed a road and bridge engineering team consisting of five engineers to build a military road to the village of Zet and the surrounding areas, so that the regime's military force, tanks, and armored vehicles could easily reach those areas, and perhaps easily prevent the Peshmerga's raids and activities in the area. The engineers were from different countries such as (Jordanian, Egyptian, Palestinian, an Arab from Baghdad, and a Kurd), and a military division had also been brought to comb the area and monitor the road project.
As mentioned in the indication, in the spring of 1979, the aforementioned Peshmerga detachment reached the engineers' camp with a well-knit partisan plan for the purpose of kidnapping them. In a short time, they were able to kidnap all the engineers and leave the place, but after a while, the military force became aware of their disappearance through one of the soldiers who had visited the engineers' camp, and they immediately gathered their forces and began preparations. In an instant, the Iraqi Army force began to move and search for the engineers, and because the Peshmerga force had not yet moved far in the area, they clashed with the soldiers, faced each other, and a battle began between them.
Abdulrahman Haji, who is one of the Peshmerga who participated in the activity, spoke to us about how the engineers were kidnapped and then the confrontation with the military force, saying: We were a Peshmerga detachment commanded by Dr. Abdulrahman Zarari on a partisan tour in the area. We drew up a plan to kidnap the engineers of the Goretu camp. The goal of carrying out the activity was to disable the aforementioned road project, because if the road were implemented as the government had planned, it would become a major obstacle to the movement and activities of the Peshmerga force in the area. In the continuation of his account, he said: On a spring night in 1979, we climbed the foothills of Piran Mountain until we reached opposite Mergasor, then we descended towards the engineers' camp in Goretu. He pointed out that because he was proficient in the Arabic language, he was one of the Peshmerga who entered the engineers' room and woke them up one by one and took all five of them, climbing towards Piran Mountain, which overlooks the Goretu sub-district and Mergasor district from the northeast. When they reached the mountain, it became day, so they could not continue walking until it became night, they stayed on the mountain and hid themselves.
The Iraqi Army military force had surrounded the area in such a way to find the engineers, searching intensively and closing roads and paths. Throughout the day, they continued searching and inspecting from the sky by helicopter for traces of the engineers. When the darkness of night fell, the Peshmerga force began walking on the mountain top towards the Dashti Hert side and descended to the foothills of the mountain. He said: At the foothills of the mountain, we met with the army's military force and faced each other, and a hot battle lasted for two hours took place between us. After a fierce battle, the Peshmerga were able to break the lines of the Iraqi Army's trenches and save themselves, but in the heat of the battle between the two forces, four of the engineers were killed and one remained, whom they delivered to the revolution's leadership. According to the information that reached the Peshmerga, the army had casualties in killed and wounded, but their number was not known, and from the Peshmerga force, only one was lightly wounded.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, (Ruxana Printing House- 2021).
2- Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of Barzani, Volume Two, Second Edition, Turkey- 2021.
3- Safar Yusuf Mirhaj Zhazhoki, Martyr Dr. Abdulrahman Zarari (A collection of life and Peshmerga service), (Danishfar Printing House- Erbil-2022).
4- Interview with Abdulrahman Haji, from Balakayati, Peshmerga of the Gulan Revolution, participant in the battle, Soran. February 2, 2026.