The occurrence of the battle
After the Peshmerga forces' attack on the Bangrd sub-district on October 11, 1976, the government was monitoring the movements of the Peshmerga forces with helicopters in the Bangrd areas and the surrounding regions. After the preparations, the government forces began their advance on December 25, 1976, and reached the village of Sider. From there, the Peshmerga forces of the Provisional Leadership, led by Kamal Kirkuki set off towards the village of Sider to confront the army's advance. When the Peshmerga force reached the Zakaria heights, the government had already begun shelling the village of Sider, so the Peshmerga force descended and was divided into two axes. Faqi Ismail and Lieutenant Hassan Khoshnaw were assigned to the Sider axis, while Salih Awzi, Sheikh Hussein Loter, and Bayez Abdullah, with a detachment consisting of thirty-five people led by Kamal Kirkuki and Nasr al-Din Mustafa, headed towards the village of Sharstin, and in that same village, they encountered the government forces.
The regime's army attacked the Peshmerga forces in the village of Sharstin from two other directions from Dukan. On the morning of December 26, 1976, fierce fighting broke out between the two sides. Due to the disparity in weapons and military equipment between the two forces, the Peshmerga forces were forced to retreat. Despite this, they managed to inflict heavy losses on the government forces. The regime's forces suffered nearly one hundred deaths in that battle (some sources indicate the death of 163 soldiers and the downing of a helicopter). In return, the Peshmerga forces had 7 to 9 Martyrs and 9 wounded, including the Peshmerga forces commander Kamal Kirkuki and the deputy official of the region, Nasr al-Din Mustafa.
The government forces did not refrain from anything in their attack on the village of Sharstin, from shelling civilians to burning and destroying their village. In that attack alone, 9 civilians were martyred, including women and children ranging in age from four to eighty years old, and 32 others were wounded. Nearly 100 innocent men, women, and children were also captured by the regime's army and sent to prisons. After the end of this fighting, all the wounded and displaced were moved to the village of Khorkhore, where they were served and sheltered by the village residents.
Source:1- Archive of the Encyclopedia Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.