The Batufa area was one of the places that was subjected to an attack by the Iraqi Army since the beginning of the revolution. The Iraqi Army began its attack on the area in May 1962 with a large number of soldiers and personnel, supported by tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and the air force under the command of Colonel Majid al-Sabawi, who led the government forces in Badinan. The government attack began on 21 May from Zakho to take control of the Headquarters of the 1 force in the Barwari area, while a vast geographical area of Badinan was under the control of the revolution. Barzani, the leader of the revolution, also went to the Soran area to extend the revolution to all other areas, and the organized Kurdish Peshmerga forces, armed with light weapons, which included British rifles and Brno rifles, resisted the massive Iraqi Army, which was equipped with the latest weapons. The Zakho area was led by Force Commander Isa Siwar and his deputy Ali Halo.
The Iraqi Army continued its attack for 45 days, but it failed to move its forces from the Zakho-Batufa highway to the surrounding villages. In the midst of the battle, a soldier joined the ranks of the revolution with a mortar (knot 3) and changed the direction of the mortar muzzle towards the Iraqi Army and began shelling it. The balance of the battle changed immediately, even affecting the aircraft when they were transporting troops to the battlefield, as they were shelling the landing sites. This made it difficult for them to carry out the task of landing the army.
In this battle, the Iraqi Army launched more than ten attacks on the villages of Kalkhwar, Dehli, and Khizaw, but it was unable to reach them, so it began shelling them intensively. The shelling caused severe damage to the villagers as their homes collapsed, burned, and were evacuated to save their lives. The agents (Jash) also attacked the village of Baghbari despite the village being evacuated. However, the Peshmerga forces prevented them from reaching them and repelled the attack, despite two houses in the village being burned by the agents.
When the army's attack reached the village of (Ava Kanin) near Batufa, the Peshmerga forces led by Isa Siwar promised not to allow them to achieve their goals. Although the government forces reached the Batufa military camp, the Peshmerga prevented them from advancing further. They tried hard to push them back, but they were unable to do so and were forced to besiege them. After the government forces tried to break the siege and implement their plan, their efforts failed, and the fighting between them continued, resulting in the death of the government forces commander, Colonel Majid al-Sabawi, and a number of soldiers. After the death of their commander and the government forces remaining in the area for 21 days, the Peshmerga allowed them to return to Zakho. After the withdrawal of the government forces, the threat to the Headquarters of the First Force in Zakho disappeared.
The Iraqi Army suffered an estimated 200 dead and wounded in the attack that lasted 45 days, including Majid al-Sabawi and a number of other officers, in addition to the destruction of several military vehicles and the downing of an aircraft near the village of Avaknin. After the end of the battle, the Peshmerga's losses were the martyrdom of five Peshmerga and citizens who were in the national defense forces and supporting the Peshmerga.
Sources:1- Ari Karim, Some living pages from Aylul Revolution in, Khabat Press, Duhok 1999.
2- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part One, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, Ed: First 2004.
3- Hozhin Masoud Sarni, Aylul Revolution in the Behdinan Region 1061- 1975, First Edition, 2018.
4- Haji Mirxan Dolemari, Searching for Justice, Volume One, Second Edition, Isra Press, Tehran, 2021.
5- Shawkat Mela Ismail Hassan, Days in the History of the Aylul Revolution, First Edition, Erbil, 2007.