In the summer of 1965, in Rawanduz and its surroundings, the battle and clashes between the revolution and government forces lasted for several months. The Iraqi regime had constantly intensified its attacks and assaults on the Peshmerga to reduce the threats to Rawanduz, Mount Korak, and the main roads. It tried to seize Mount Zozk, Handren, the Akoyan valley, and the Alana valley, and to impose its authority over the entire Diana plain. On the part of the revolution, there was an attempt to keep strategic locations, such as high mountains, in the hands of the Peshmerga. As mentioned in one reference, the revolution's leadership had a plan to seize Mount Korak, Mustafa Barzani the leader of the revolution, visited Mount Handren and the Akoyan valley for this purpose. He met with the responsible Peshmerga commanders of the Balakayati force and discussed the attack on Mount Korak with them. Both Fakhir Mergasori and Mela Amin promised to carry out this task.

Preparation and plan for the attack

First: Bombarding all army military bases in Khalifan, Miltokr of Rawanduz, the Kawlokan garrison, and Diana at the same time. For each base, one 120mm mortar and 200 artillery shells were allocated.

Second: Carrying out a comprehensive attack on Mount Korak with the aim of seizing the mountain and Gali Ali Beg and besieging Rawanduz. The task of this attack was assigned to the Akoyan Battalion, commanded by Mela Amin and Hama Ziad, and a battalion of the Communist Party, commanded by Lieutenant Riaz Badirkhan. The general responsibility for the battle was assigned to Fakhir Muhammad Mergasori.

Third: The attack on the Miltokr military base was assigned to a battalion of the Balak force, commanded by Izzat Suleiman Beg Dargali and Mam Sadiq.

Fourth: The task of attacking the Khalifan military base was assigned to the Betwata Battalion, commanded by Hali Dolemari and Tanjo Yunis.

Fifth: The attack on the Diana military base was assigned to two battalions of the Balak force, commanded by Haji Berokhi and Hadi Hasko.

Sixth: The general commander of the battle front was Abdullah Agha Pishdari, the commander of the Balak force, and his assistant was Kamal Numan Sabit. The general supervision of the artillery was by Captain Bakr, Lieutenant Khidr, Omar Agha Dolemari, Khidr Dabagh, Nawzad Khoshnaw, and Khalid Shamsaddin.  

At 5:30 PM on August 6, 1965, the shelling by the revolution's artillery on the bases and outposts of the Iraqi Army began. Masoud Barzani in the book 'Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement' says: 'We were on Mount Rabenok, watching the military bases as artillery shells from the revolution's artillery rained down on them. Great chaos fell upon the bases, and they were struck with fear and panic. Both the Khalifan and Miltokr of Rawanduz bases were completely destroyed and caught fire. The Kawlokan garrison base did not suffer much damage because its location was very fortified. Also, fire broke out in the Diana base, and most of its facilities were destroyed.'

In another reference, it is stated that the revolution's artillery was able to hit its targets in such a way that it destroyed the observation posts and outposts of the Iraqi Army and stopped their shelling. Two army outposts on Mount Korak were destroyed, but the third one, due to the presence of a mountain peak inside the outpost, was not as affected by the shelling. At 9:00 PM that same night, the general attack began. In the very first hour of the attack, two outposts on Mount Korak were seized, but the third outpost, which is called the 'Fat Peak' outpost, was not seized due to the difficulty of the location and the strong resistance of the soldiers commanded by Lieutenant Qahtan. Although it was besieged for a week, they continued to resist. This was the reason why the Peshmerga could not seize Gali Ali Beg, even though the Iraqi Army suffered heavy losses, with the bodies of 40 of their dead left on the battlefield.

On the Miltokr front, the soldiers abandoned their position and the Peshmerga seized it. In Diana, several places were seized, but they fell into a battle with the mercenaries (Jash), and one Peshmerga was a Martyr and one was wounded. The battle between them continued until dawn, but when it became light, the Peshmerga retreated. The government began to repel the Peshmerga attack with all its power, heavy and light weapons, warplanes, and mercenaries (Jash).

As a result of the army's shelling on the Korak front, the Peshmerga suffered heavy losses. When they were resting, a row of artillery shells fell among them and exploded, resulting in the martyrdom of 27 Peshmerga. This caused their morale to drop and the attack on Korak to slow down. The government forces suffered heavy losses, but in return, the Peshmerga's losses were not small. Although the goal of the attack was not achieved and no significant changes occurred in the military map, it was an important military test. On this basis, Barzani, the leader of the revolution, ordered them to defend the defensive lines and strengthen them, and also not to lose their vigilance and awareness and to respond to any movement of the enemy. 

Government reactions to that attack                

The government heavily shelled the village of Akoyan, which resulted in massacres and heavy damage. During that period, the family of Barzani, the leader of the revolution, was staying in the summer resort of Kodo near Haji Omaran, where there were many nomadic tribes in that summer season. Apparently, the government's intelligence agencies were aware of this, so they began bombing the place with four Hawker Hunter warplanes, but they could not hit their targets accurately; their bombs fell among a group of nomads. As a result, 4 people were Martyrs, two of whom were children, and 14 others were wounded.

Sources:

1- Ari Karim, Some Living Pages in the Aylul Revolution, Khabat Press, Duhok 1999.

2- Zarar Suleiman Beg Dargali, My Memoirs in the Years 1943-1977.

3- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, Volume Three, Part One, First Edition, Erbil, 2004.

4- Lieutenant Khidr Abdullah Dabagh, Memoirs and the Artillery of the Great Aylul Revolution – Iraqi Kurdistan, Third Edition, Enlightenment Press – Erbil, 2020.

5- Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of Barzani ... Haji Berokhi, Volume One, Second Edition, Turkey - 2020.