After the setback of Aylul Revolution the Ba'ath government deployed its military forces across all heights, hills, and roads. However, with the outbreak of the war with Iran (1980-1988), the Iraqi government was in dire need of using those forces in its war with Iraq, which forced it to move them to the battlefronts. This step also provided an opportunity for the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces to obtain more freedom of movement, expand the area of their liberated territories, establish direct contact with the masses, and develop the political and combat activity of the Peshmerga [1].

The most prominent activities during this period were the battles of 1981, where the Peshmerga Forces dealt two strong blows to the Iraqi Army in two epic battles in the village of Banibnok on the Surin Mountains and the areas of Zalim and Karchal. In the first battle, the Peshmerga Forces were able to carry out a distinguished activity and inflicted heavy losses on the Iraqi Army soldiers, including killing and wounding a large number of soldiers, and (124) other soldiers were captured. Hundreds of weapons and military equipment fell into the hands of the Peshmerga Forces, but the Peshmerga Forces did not escape losses in this battle, as four Peshmerga were martyred, namely (Akram Hama Rashid, Banibnoki, Professor Sulaiman, Osman Banjwini, and Commander Abu Bakr Mahmoud Banibnoki)[2].

In the same year, the Peshmerga Forces continued their activity against the Ba'ath government institutions in the region. During the first six months of 1981, the Peshmerga Forces carried out more than 238 different operations against the army, militants, and government institutions. The government forces' losses in these operations reached (1251) dead and a large number of wounded, in addition to gains in weapons, ammunition, supplies, and military equipment. During those operations, (48) Peshmerga were martyred [3].

It is worth noting that military activity in any revolution and armed uprising plays an effective role in raising the morale of the Peshmerga, the masses, and the supporters of the revolution, while building hope in their souls, which leads to victory and the achievement of goals. Conversely, it sows fear and anxiety in the ranks of the other side, forcing it to listen to their legitimate demands and call for dialogue and consensus [4].

Sources:

1- Masoud Barzani: Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, Roxana Printing House, 2021.

2- Jamal Fathullah Tayeb: The Kurdish Liberation Movement in Southern Kurdistan (21/3/1975 - 28/11/1980), First Edition, Shahab Printing House, Erbil, 2012.

3- Omar Osman: The Life of a Kurd, Mukryan Printing House, Second Edition, Erbil – 2008. ‌

[1] Jamal Fathullah Tayeb: The Kurdish Liberation Movement in Southern Kurdistan (21/3/1975 - 28/11/1980), First Edition, Shahab Printing House, Erbil, 2012, p.213.

[2] Masoud Barzani: Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, Roxana Printing House, 2021, p.58.

[3] Masoud Barzani: Same source, p.58.

[4] Omar Osman: The Life of a Kurd, Mukryan Printing House, Second Edition, Erbil – 2008, p.138.