After the end of the negotiations between the leadership of the Aylul Revolution and the Iraqi government, the Iraqi government retreated from the terms and articles contained in the agreement and imposed war on Kurdistan once again.
Tensions escalated and turned into a state of invasion. In April 1974, the Iraqi Army's attacks on the regions of Kurdistan began. The army began its attacks on the revolution's regions in a way that used all its military capabilities, including countless soldiers, hundreds of modern tanks, and all types of air weapons and warplanes, in order to disrupt the Kurdish revolution and abort it completely. In response to the Iraqi Army's attack, the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces took a number of military steps from the beginning of the war, including the Third Battalion of Surdash, affiliated with the Rizgari forces, besieging the Suse camp, which was the headquarters for a unit of the Iraqi Army.
In May 1974, the Iraqi government attempted to break the siege imposed by the Peshmerga forces on this camp. The army moved from Sulaymaniyah and Dukan towards the area. The Peshmerga forces, which included the Third Battalion of the Rizgari force led by Anwar Azur, drew a map to respond to the Iraqi Army regarding the possibility of an attack on the Sulaymaniyah and Dukan roads.
Khuikha Smayli Talan's company took its positions in the village of Kani Khan, Abdullah Haji Rashid's company was stationed in Tasluja, Omar Hama Ali's company was on alert in the village of Kalwanan, and the commander and headquarters of the battalion and Hama Tal Haji Qadir's company were stationed in the village of Khra Zewi.
The Iraqi Army began to move and attack from Sulaymaniyah. Abdullah Haji Rashid's company, which was stationed in Tasluja, clashed with the Iraqi Army and managed to inflict heavy damage on it. However, due to the large number of army soldiers, the support of the tank battalion, and the small number of Peshmerga members, the Peshmerga force could not hold out and defend for a long time, especially after the martyrdom of the company commander Abdullah Haji Rashid and the platoon commander Sheikh Jafar Kuliji. Subsequently, the Peshmerga forces withdrew from that axis and left the position, and the Iraqi Army continued its advance in the hope of reaching the Suse camp.
After the Iraqi Army crossed the Peshmerga defense line in Tasluja with the support of tanks and mercenary gunmen, it continued to advance towards the Suse camp. It imagined that there was no obstacle left in front of the Peshmerga's defense, but 6 km from the Suse camp, specifically at the bridge of the village of Khra Zewi, the Peshmerga forces attacked the Iraqi Army and managed to destroy two tanks with RPG shells and kill a number of soldiers and mercenaries. The Peshmerga forces did not allow the army to reach the besieged camp until the afternoon. However, when two Peshmerga were martyred, namely Ibrahim Kani Shaitan and Rahim Qamish, and the battalion commander was wounded while recovering the bodies of the martyrs so they would not fall into the hands of the army, the Peshmerga forces could only recover the bodies of the martyrs and their wounded commander, and withdrew its forces. Thus, the road was opened for the Iraqi Army to break the siege of the Suse camp.
Sources:1- Sanger Ibrahim Khoshnaw, Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, First Edition, (Danishfar Press - Erbil - 2022).
2- Shawkat Malla Ismail Hassan, Days in the History of the Aylul Revolution, 1961-1975, (Ministry of Education Press - Erbil - 2007).
3- Karwan Jawhar Muhammad, Idris Barzani 1944-1987, His Life and Political and Military Role in the Kurdish Liberation Movement, (Hevi Press - Erbil - 2019).