After more than a year of ceasefire between the Iraqi government and the Aylul Revolution, the regime of Abd al-Salam Arif reneged on its promises contained in the ceasefire agreement, and in late March Year 1965, it imposed war once again on Kurdistan, as the regime believed that the division of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdish revolution represented a suitable time to resume attacks and raids, which would increase their chances of achieving victory. In the autumn of Year 1965, the Iraqi Army launched a major attack on the mountains of Bani Harir and Zinetir, and a fierce battle lasted for three days, resulting in the death of a large number of soldiers and mercenary gunmen.
During that battle, the Artillery of the Revolution played an important and influential role in shelling the Iraqi forces, especially the camps and encampments in the Harir plain using 25-pounder guns, which were supervised by an Officer of the Artillery of the Revolution Lieutenant Khadr Abdullah al-Dabbagh, as the artillery was able to inflict heavy losses on the Iraqi Army and cause widespread chaos in its camps. This is evident from the praise and appreciation of the Peshmerga commander Younis Rojbayani on the battlefront, as he thanked and congratulated them wirelessly for their performance.
Year 1965 and the following year were among the most difficult years in the life of the revolution, as they witnessed many fierce battles and great victories were achieved in them. In that same year, the leadership of the revolution was moved from the Pishdar area to the Balakayati area until the 1975 setback, so the government directed most of its power, energy, and the weight of its land and air attacks towards that area, with the aim of reaching the leadership of the revolution as quickly as possible and achieving victory over it, and consequently defeating it in the near future.
It is clear that those battles that took place during that period lasted for a full year, without the government being able to achieve a decisive victory, and despite its ability to control some cities and towns, the mountainous areas were more suitable for the Peshmerga forces to defend, as they were able to inflict heavy losses on the government forces, and this is what actually happened. In general, the Iraqi Army suffered heavy losses in those battles, as the bodies of many officers and soldiers were left on the battlefields, and dozens of pieces of various weapons fell into the hands of the Peshmerga forces, which led the government to increase the number of soldiers and war equipment on the battlefront.
Sources:1- Hawkar Karim Hama Sharif, Aylul Revolution, First Edition, (Salahaddin University Press - Erbil - 2012).
2- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part One, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, First Edition, (Erbil - 2004).
3- Lieutenant Khadr Abdullah al-Dabbagh, Artillery of the Great Aylul Revolution, Third Edition, (Ministry of Culture Press - Erbil - 2020).
4- Karwan Jawhar Muhammad, Idris Barzani 1944-1987 Life and Political and Military Role in the Kurdish Liberation Movement, (Hevi Press - Erbil - 2019).