The year 1965 and the following years were among the bitter and difficult years of the life of the Kurdish revolution. In that year, many fierce battles took place and many great victories were achieved. After the interruption of the dialogue between the revolution and the Iraqi government, both sides prepared for war and confrontation. They clashed in various areas, and large and widespread battles took place. In that year, many places and vast areas fell into the hands of the revolution, and a large number of people and government-affiliated armed men joined the ranks of the revolution. The national and revolutionary spirit spread deeply among the tribes. The Iraqi government, in order to weaken the revolution and take back the areas it had lost, launched several widespread attacks such as: the attacks on Safin Mountain, Pira Magrun, Qaradagh, Azmar, Zinatir, the Rawanduz front, and many others, which led to great battles and epics.
The Zozik battle also came about as one of the continuations of those widespread attacks that the Iraqi Army launched on the mountain in the autumn of 1965. But before we get into the details of the attack, it is necessary to present a summary of its geographical location and its strategic position for the revolution, as it is one of the famous mountains of Southern Kurdistan. It overlooks the city of Soran and is surrounded by a group of villages, such as: the villages of Barsrin and Piruswan in the east of the mountain, and each of the villages of Sitkan in the north, and Badlian and Delzian in the west, and Barziwa, Kawrin, and Gwan are located at the foot of the mountain. In the days of the Aylul Revolution, each of these villages was an important shelter and support for the revolution in the survival and assistance of the Peshmerga, especially during the moments of battle.
The importance of Zozik Mountain for the Aylul Revolution lay in its military aspect, due to its geographical location and strategic position, as the main Hamilton road passes through the foot of the mountain. On one hand, it was for the protection of the road, and on the other hand, as it overlooks the Diana plain, it was an important point for connecting both the Barzan and Balakayati regions, which were the main centers of the leadership of the Aylul Revolution. That is why the Iraqi government was always in the plan and program to take control of strategic places and disrupt the revolution in all those places.
To protect the area and prevent the occupation by the Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan established a defensive line on Zozik Mountain, the Srot pass, and the Omaragha pass, reaching the Museka river, and established positions there (Gardi, 2020, 315). The aforementioned army was constantly in effort and planning to reach the strategic places.
At the beginning of the autumn of 1965, the Iraqi Army, with the support of warplanes and tens of thousands of soldiers and hired gunmen (Jash), launched an attack on Zozik Mountain. Initially, it began with intense shelling on the mountain. After the shelling, thousands of Iraqi soldiers stormed the Peshmerga positions. After several intense attacks, they were able to take control of one of the heights of the mountain. This became a source of danger to the Peshmerga positions at the foot of the mountain, so a retreat was decided in order to carry out a counter-attack with a solid plan and be able to retake the places they had lost. Although the Peshmerga forces initially started with several minor attacks to retake the places, they were not successful.
Then, with good preparation, the Peshmerga forces, with a solid plan under the command of Haji Berokhi, the battalion commander, and several other military officials such as: (Arif Yasin, Ramazan Yasin, Jadir Gwezi, Azizkhan Mahajir, Sabah Mirkay Khailani, Ali Shakak, and Jawhar Bersiavi), as well as (Hamid Afandi, Mustafa Nerwayi, and Hassan Khal Hamza), attacked the Iraqi Army. After a fierce battle of several hours, the Iraqi Army soldiers could not hold their ground against the Peshmerga attack, but were defeated and fled. About 21 soldiers threw themselves down from the mountain behind the village of Gwan, and a large number of their dead bodies were left on the battlefield. The Peshmerga forces had only two Martyrs and five wounded.
This victory of the Peshmerga and the defeat of the Iraqi Army became a source of anger for the leaders of the Iraqi government and their officers. Therefore, they decided that by any means necessary, they must occupy these places and take revenge on the Peshmerga forces. For this, on May 3, 1966, they launched a major attack from the fronts of Handren Mountain, Zozik, and the Omaragha pass with the support of warplanes and the army's artillery.
After several days of continuous fighting, in which each of (Masoud Barzani and Idris Barzani) were supervising the battle front, especially since the Iraqi government had put a lot of pressure on the Peshmerga positions and had been able to take several places on Zozik Mountain, (Mala Mustafa Barzani), the leader of the revolution, was present himself on the battle fronts on Zozik Mountain. The Peshmerga forces were able to defeat the Iraqi Army on all fronts and cause it great losses, which consisted of the killing of (400) soldiers and the wounding of (600). Among the spoils that fell into the hands of the Peshmerga were four (75)mm cannons, four (4.2) mortars, ten (2.3) Grie mortars, (600) pieces of light weapons, (15) wireless devices, and a large number of bullets.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part One, First Edition, Erbil 2004.
2- Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of Barzani ... Haji Berokhi, Volume One, Second Edition, 2020.