The influential leader in the revolution, Idris Barzani, passed away on 31 January 1987, and bid farewell to the revolution and the struggle of the Kurdish liberation movement. Thus, sadness spread through the revolution's leadership and the Peshmerga forces. The Ba'ath regime exploited this situation and launched a wide-scale attack on the areas under the control of the revolution. When the revolution's leadership learned of this, it decided to strengthen the ranks of the Peshmerga forces and expand their activity to thwart the enemy's plan.
In light of the decision of the revolution's leadership, a Peshmerga force developed a tight plan, led by Muhammad Murad, to carry out an operation inside the government's control area, in order to show that the loss of any revolutionary leader would not stop the Peshmerga's activities, but rather expand them. For this purpose, those forces marched to the outskirts of the village of Dashtmari and identified a military outpost overlooking the village in the Ibrahim Khalil (Rizgari) sub-district belonging to the Badinan region to target it in the operation.
On the night of 8/9 February 1987, the Peshmerga forces moved and reached the intended target, but they faced a major problem that made it difficult for them to execute their plan easily, which was the presence of mines planted around the target. Therefore, they had to start working on clearing the mines, and this work was carried out by a number of Peshmerga experienced in mine clearance.
After clearing two rows of mines around the outpost, the Peshmerga returned to their headquarters in the morning. Although it was raining heavily that night, the Peshmerga did not care and carried out their work successfully and informed their leadership of the result of the operation (Murad, 2007, 138).
After discussing the attack plan with the Zakho local committee, they believed that it was an important activity and must be carried out quickly. Therefore, on the following night, 9/10 February 1987 at 10:00 PM, the Peshmerga forces approached the outpost. They successively and simultaneously showered the target with a barrage of fire with all weapons, including RPG shells and rifles, for fifteen minutes, and set fire to the soldiers inside the outpost and quickly managed to cross the barbed wire, climb the walls and barriers, and enter the target. At that time, the surrounding outposts and the 38 Military Division learned of the attack, as they pressured the Peshmerga forces with heavy and light weapons from all sides. As a result of this heroic operation, two Peshmerga of the Zakho local committee were martyred, namely: Ismail Saifo and Khalil Shino, and four others were wounded.
After the Peshmerga succeeded in achieving their goal and delivering the message of the continuity of the revolution to the enemies, they withdrew and reached the village of Cham Bahivi in the morning. The bodies of the two martyrs were transported to the village of Birkao, where they were laid to rest.
A few days later, the Iraqi Army launched a wide-scale attack on the region, supported by heavy weapons such as long-range artillery and warplanes, but the Peshmerga forces prevented them and resisted them strongly, and after fierce resistance, they confronted them and thwarted the enemy's attack.
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- Muhammad Murad, The Struggle of the Mountains, Memories and Events of the Gulan Revolution between the years (176-1989), (Kurdistan Printing House – Zakho- 2007).
3- Karwan Jawhar Muhammad, Idris Barzani (1944-1987) Life and Political and Military Role in the Kurdish Liberation Movement, (Hivi Printing House- Erbil- 2019).
4- Shimal Zebari, Some Hidden Truths in the Gulan Revolution, First Edition, (Rojhalat Printing House- Erbil – 2015).