Amidst the Ba'ath regime's sense of triumph over quelling Kurdistan's foremost revolution, Kurdish leaders found themselves targeted for assassination. Massoud Barzani, the son of Mustafa Barzani, revered as the leader of the Kurdish liberation movement, was among those marked for elimination. Following his father's illness, Massoud, alongside Idris Barzani, assumed leadership of both the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdistan Liberation Movement.
Massoud Barzani, who was in the United States with his father, President Mustafa Barzani, visited Europe in 1978 to meet with the leadership and discuss the revolution's affairs. At the same time, a delegation from the Iraqi government, led by Barzan Tikriti, was in Vienna. It remains unclear whether they traveled to Vienna with the sole intent of assassinating Massoud Barzani, using governmental affairs as a pretext, or if they learned of his presence there and decided to seize the opportunity. In his book Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Massoud Barzani states that Barzan and several others came specifically to kill him, as the Iraqi government aimed to eliminate him during those years.
Therefore, the best source to rely on in this regard is the book Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, as the terrorist incident described happened to the author himself. President Massoud Barzani's account of the incident is as follows:
In December 1978, we traveled from London to Vienna and were accommodated at branch headquarters. I decided to visit Paris on January 8, 1979, to see Imam Khomeini and wanted to meet Fars Bawa. On the evening of January 8, 1979, I informed Hamareza and Azad Barwari that we should visit Pirot Ahmad's house together. On the way, I told them of my intention to see Fars. They insisted that we return, but I didn't heed their advice. Mr. Pirot had a room in his apartment, and he was unaware of our visit until we were at his door.
President Massoud Barzani asked Mr. Pirot to inform Fars Bawa to come see him. However, Mr. Pirot did not tell Fars that Massoud Barzani was present and wanted to meet him. Instead, he conveyed it as a message from a friend, and Fars came.
President Massoud Barzani continues to narrate the assassination attempt, writing:
"After the meeting, I prepared to leave and told Fars, 'Let's go,' but he insisted that we wait and let our friends check the situation outside first. When our friends went downstairs, they found an Iraqi embassy vehicle waiting outside. Two individuals approached them, mistaking Mr. Azad for me, and placed their guns to his head. Fortunately, the guns did not fire."
President Barzani's comrades managed to escape from the terrorists. One of his comrades fired a sound pistol, which startled the terrorists and forced them to leave the area. The terrorists were unaware that Massoud Barzani was upstairs; otherwise, they might not have retreated so easily.
After the incident, the police arrived, and Barzani filed a complaint against the Iraqi government. In response, the Austrian government provided him with security guards. While waiting for the plane in the Athens transit hall, Saddam's brother Barzan Tikriti and several others with him also sought to return to Iraq.
President Barzani mentioned that he reminded Barzan Tikriti of this incident during a dinner in 1991, which took place amid negotiations with the Iraqi government. Barzan did not deny the incident or his involvement in the assassination attempt.
Sources:
١.مسعود بارزانی، بارزانی و بزووتنەوەی ڕزگاریخوازی کورد، بەشی چوارەم، بەرگی یەکەم، ١٩٧٥- ١٩٩٠ شۆڕشی گوڵان، (هەولێر- چاپخانەی ڕۆکسانا- ٢٠٢١).
