After four years of ceasefire under the March 11, 1970 agreement between the leadership of the Aylul Revolution and the Ba'ath government, negotiations reached a dead end in April 1974. The Ba'ath reneged on its promises and resumed its attacks on Kurdistan. The Ba'ath had signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union in April 1972 and armed its forces with the latest weapons available from the Soviet Union, such as Tu-22 aircraft (TU22) and Sukhoi MiG, as well as 25 cannons of 120 mm and 152 mm caliber, SAM missiles, and T-62 tanks, in addition to the nationalization of oil in 1972. In parallel with the military sector, its economic sector also flourished, and it constantly thought in its heart about exterminating the Kurdish revolution.
When the Iraqi Army attacked Kurdistan, the Sefin force was ordered to defend Mount Sefin to prevent the army from advancing from that axis, despite the presence of some army outposts on the mountain before the battle began. The Commander of the Erbil Plain Force ordered one of his battalions to reinforce the defensive line of Mount Sefin under the command of Sayed Kaka and two companies from the battalion led by Mam Hamadamin and Arif Abu Zaid. This Peshmerga force climbed the mountain with a 106 mm cannon and a DShK weapon. The force attacked the army outposts three times, but they did not succeed in that mission due to airstrikes, army artillery, the severe cold, and the accumulation of snow in some parts of the mountain.
After a period of sending this Peshmerga battalion, Fares Bawe, Commander of the Erbil Plain forces, realized his inability to confront the Iraqi Army's tanks and armored vehicles in the semi-plains, so he decided to move his entire force to Mount Sefin, as he was aware that the government intended to seize the mountain.
In June 1974, the Iraqi Army launched an intensive attack on Mount Sefin, and a company of Peshmerga forces led by Fares Bawe was sent to Mount Awkurd. Sayed Kaka's battalion was responsible for guarding the Kani Samail defensive line behind the Hiran sub-district. After days of successive attacks and the steadfastness of the Peshmerga, the Sefin forces were defeated and the army seized the mountain. With the defeat of the defensive line wing, the government's attacks on Mount Awkurd intensified, and despite their heroic defense, Nayef Bawe's company lost 14 Martyrs and 20 wounded. After controlling Mount Sefin, the Peshmerga forces withdrew to the village of Konfeluse behind Mount Hori. On the other hand, the Peshmerga forces withdrew from the villages of Suse, Samaguli, Kartak, and the Samaguli valley of Mount Binbawi to Mount Sefin, which had been fighting for more than a month. Bloody battles were managed in stages from Mount Didwan to Mount Sefin, which is more than 50 kilometers away, and there were heavy losses of dead and wounded. Fatigue had exhausted the Peshmerga forces, the defensive capability was weak, and government aviation was bombing Peshmerga positions daily and heavily, so the decision to withdraw was made.
After the Peshmerga forces withdrew to Mount Hori, the Iraqi Army continued its attack and advance to occupy the area, and fighting broke out again near the mentioned mountain. Initially, some forces, whose morale was frustrated due to the first withdrawal, left their positions again, but a Peshmerga force led by Sayed Kaka cut off the Iraqi Army's advance and inflicted heavy damage on it. Thus, Mount Hori remained in the hands of the Peshmerga until the revolution's setback in 1975.
Sources:1- Omar Osman, The Life of a Kurd, Volumes One and Two, Mukryan Printing House, Second Edition, (Erbil- 2008).
2- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, The Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, First Edition, (Erbil- 2004).
3- Sayed Kaka, Memories of a Peshmerga, First Edition, (Ministry of Culture Printing House- Erbil- 1997).
4- Sangar Ibrahim Khoshnaw, Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, First Edition, (Erbil- 2022).
5- Khurshid Shera, Struggle and Blood, Memories of the Peshmerga Years, (Haji Hashim Printing House- Third Edition, Erbil- 2015).
6- Karwan Jawhar Muhammad, Idris Barzani 1944- 1987 Life and Political and Military Role in the Kurdish Liberation Movement, (Hevi Printing House- Erbil- 2019).