When the Iraqi government declared war against Aylul Revolution in the year 1974, it launched an extensive attack on Kurdistan. Although the Iraqi Army placed its great weight for its attacks on the Balakayati area due to the presence of the revolution's command headquarters in the area, it did not ignore any area subject to the revolution. Rather, its attacks included all areas of the revolution. The Peshmerga forces were constantly shelling the military convoys of the Iraqi Army on the Aloka road, and in the west of the city of Duhok, especially where there was a detachment of Peshmerga in possession of a 120 mm mortar in the Samti cave, whose duty was to shell the Iraqi Army vehicle convoys in the event of any movement by them in the area. 

One day, at the beginning of October 1974, there were about ten military vehicles and armored vehicles accompanying one of the members of the Ba'ath Party leadership, named Abdulfattah Yasin, heading towards the 18th Brigade camp belonging to the First Division of the Army. The Peshmerga targeted them using the mortar they had in their possession, and they hit one of the armored vehicles, where all the soldiers inside were killed. After this official returned to Mosul, he gathered all the soldiers and mercenaries (Jash) they had the next day and began attacking the Peshmerga forces, with the goal of seizing Chia Rash and the caves of Tahsa and Samti.

The Iraqi Army units in the attack on the areas under the revolution's control included the 18th Brigade, the Fifth Brigade, the Second Division, artillery, and mercenaries from the Kujar, Doski, Surji, Zebari, and Herki tribes, and it lasted for eleven days.  

With the aim of providing support to the fighting fronts, the Ali Ali and Mirani battalions arrived as a support force to the battle area. The Iraqi Army initially attacked Chia Rash, which was defended by the First Battalion of the Duhok forces led by Numan Samad. The Iraqi Army began its attack with heavy shelling on the Peshmerga positions and the mountain, then the infantry and mercenaries attacked Chia Rash. Due to the intense shelling, (5) Peshmerga were martyred and about (40) were wounded on the first day of the attack, and the Army seized Chia Rash.

Then the Duhok forces used from Kavri Baski, the caves of Tahsa and Samti opposite Chia Rash, four DShKs, a 120 mm mortar, and an 82 mm mortar to shell the Army in Chia Rash. To prevent the Iraqi Army from establishing its positions and securing its military points, the force commander Abdul Razzaq Karmoyi was the one observing the shelling. After a week, they planned a counterattack and formed a force consisting of (40) Peshmerga led by Qadir Alikini, most of whom were from the engineering section of the Duhok forces. According to a well-executed military plan, they moved at night to the foot of Chia Rash and hid in the dense forest, taking all their equipment and military supplies with them.

The Peshmerga's attack plan was as follows: the next day, the shelling would stop at sunset, and the Peshmerga would attack the military bases by surprise. The campaign continued as planned, and orders were issued for the First Battalion to move in case the forty Peshmerga moved from their places, and they would be on high alert to begin the attack on the mountain. The attack was launched from two points: the clashes lasted for about one hour, and during this hour the Peshmerga forces were able to seize the entire mountain, and they inflicted heavy losses on the Iraqi Army soldiers and mercenary gunmen, reaching (21) dead and a large number wounded, while the rest fled, in addition to six soldiers who were taken prisoner and were later sent to the command headquarters in Balakayati. 

During this epic, the Peshmerga forces captured (14) Kalashnikov weapons, one RPG, large quantities of ammunition, and about ten thousand mines of various sizes and types which the Army had not been able to plant in the area.

 The Peshmerga also captured large quantities of 60 mm, 82 mm, and 120 mm mortar shells and military clothing. The Peshmerga's sacrifices in the epic of seizing Chia Rash were (6) martyrs and (20) wounded. It is worth noting that after this attack, the Iraqi Army did not launch any other attacks on the Peshmerga forces in Duhok Governorate until the setback of the revolution in 1975.

Sources:

  1. Masoud Barzani: Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, First Edition – Erbil, 2004.

  2. Sangar Ibrahim Khoshnaw: Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, First Edition, Daneshfar Printing House, Erbil, 2022.

  3. Hozhin Masoud Sarni: The Aylul Revolution in the Bahdinan Region 1961-1975, First Edition, 2018.

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