Two military outposts of the Iraqi Army, which were stationed in Bawakarawa behind the village of Rayat in the Balakayati region, were there to control the area and protect the main road of Choman-Haji Omaran. Clearly, the soldiers of those two outposts had a harsh attitude and treatment toward the villagers, tradesmen, and shepherds. They were constantly harassing them until it reached the point that they would shoot at shepherds, cowherds, and those who went into their orchards and gardens. Because of that, they could not freely carry out their daily work and livelihood. Clearly, the voice of their dissatisfaction, complaints, and grievances crossed the secondary village borders and reached the headquarters of the revolution, that those two Iraqi Army outposts had completely disrupted the situation of the people of Rayat, especially the shepherds, who could not freely graze their animals in their pastures, and their bad treatment had tightened the noose on them.
According to the account of Ali Wasta Hamad, a Peshmerga of the Gulan Revolution and a participant in the activity, during that period, the headquarters of each of the Balaki region of the Kurdistan Democratic Party under the command of Najmadin Goroni and the Ninth Region of Balaki of the Socialist Party of Kurdistan under the command of Ahmad Faqi Rash were in Gundazhor. During that period, an alliance existed between the two parties within the framework of the Jood Front. Therefore, they agreed together that in a joint activity, they would respond to the bad treatment of both outposts and set a limit for them. For this, they decided to form a joint Peshmerga force and launch a surprise partisan attack on both outposts and teach them a lesson so that they would stop their unjust behavior and no longer harass the villagers, so that they could freely carry out their work and livelihood and the danger to their lives would disappear.
On the evening of a spring day in 1981, when there was an hour and a half to two hours left until sunset, the joint force of both parties, numbering more than twenty Peshmerga, approached both outposts at a distance of less than one kilometer. The Peshmerga wrapped themselves in spring plants of the karkol type so that the soldiers would not notice them, given that their attack was in broad daylight. When the Peshmerga reached the designated location above both outposts, each established themselves in their place. Then, at the same time, they fired a volley of bullets at both outposts with the weapons they had. For half an hour, both outposts came under a hail of Peshmerga bullets, and they could not even lift their heads for a second. Then the Peshmerga each hid in their own place, which was a rocky area, until night fell, and then they began to withdraw to their bases in Gundazhor.
However, the Iraqi Army, which had two military camps in Darband and Bawakarawa, as soon as they received the news that the Peshmerga had attacked both outposts, they shelled that area, valley, and ravine and fired DShK. Ever since the Peshmerga attack, the regime's army continued shelling and DShK fire until night fell. As a result of this, only one Peshmerga was wounded, but according to the information that reached the Peshmerga from the people of the area, two soldiers were killed in both outposts and three others were wounded.
Undoubtedly, carrying out such activities had a great resonance in the area on the one hand, for the government and the citizens, that the revolution has an effective force and ability to strike and inflict damage on military and security agencies. On the other hand, it had a great impact on the fear and intimidation of the government's military camps, that from now on they must deal with citizens in a different and wiser way, otherwise they would face even more dangerous attitudes.
Source:1- Interview with Ali Wasta Hamad Khalkani, Peshmerga of the Gulan Revolution, participant in the battle, resident of Soran, Chami Rizan neighborhood, May 4, 2026.