This battle was a severe blow by the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Gulan Revolution against an Iraqi Army outpost. On the night of August 12-13, 1985, when a force of the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Communist Party conducted a patrol to the Batifa area of Duhok Governorate to see and inspect the ranks of the organization and the citizens of the area, they later decided to carry out a partisan activity, and for that, they identified the (Girda Hol) outpost. That outpost was located in the western part of the Batifa town. The Peshmerga force, according to a planned plan, attacked the outpost at 12:00 midnight and a fierce battle began, but due to the resistance of the soldiers of the outpost and the arrival of a large military force from the Batifa Brigade, the Peshmerga force retreated.
It is clear that one of the tasks of the Peshmerga was to disseminate the plan and program of the revolution and the goal of its ignition and confrontation with the Iraqi government to the masses, in addition to other tasks, through groups of cadres and Peshmerga who infiltrated the masses in the cities and villages of Kurdistan. Here and there, they visited their organizations and held meetings and gatherings for them. In addition to that, they invited other people to have secret contact with the ranks of the revolution's organizations in order to strengthen the support of the masses and the ranks of the organization and the Peshmerga. This was an effective way of conveying the beliefs of the revolution to the residents of cities and villages. There were also many times when the same patrol included Peshmerga activity, such as attacking military and security bases and headquarters.
In 1985, the Peshmerga forces in the Badinan region were constantly active in strengthening the ranks of the organization and carrying out Peshmerga activities. They faced government forces in many places and recorded great victories. For example, in August, a Peshmerga force affiliated with the Zakho District Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the (3rd) Company of the Iraqi Communist Party formed a joint patrol to search through the villages of the Batifa area in the Badinan region, to see and hold meetings and gatherings with the masses and inspect the revolution's organizations, with the aim of clarifying the policy and beliefs of the revolution and the struggle for freedom and democracy, and to further raise the awareness of the masses about the self-imposing policy of the Ba'ath regime, the breadth of the circle of oppression and tyranny, and the struggle and fighting of the revolution for the sake of ending it. It is clear that this joint activity between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Communist Party dates back to their alliance, which was based on the foundation of a unified front of the political parties of Kurdistan, known as the JAWDA Front, which was established on November 28, 1980.
After the first plan of the outing was successfully completed, which consisted of seeing the people and holding meetings and gatherings, the Peshmerga force decided to carry out a Peshmerga activity during that same patrol, in order to whisper into the ears of the Ba'ath regime that the revolution is strong and capable of carrying out Peshmerga activity wherever it is, causing damage to the government's institutions and military bases, and also has strong mass support. On the other hand, it gives morale and spirit to the masses and supporters of the revolution to build more hope and aspiration upon it.
To carry out this activity in that same area, they identified the (Girda Hol) outpost, which is located next to the town of Batifa in the western part. The Peshmerga force, which had fully drawn up the plan to attack the outpost, went out for it in the dark night of August 12-13, 1985. First, to reach the outpost and open a safe path, they began to remove the mines around the outpost by several Peshmerga who were experts in mine removal, as the Iraqi Army, to protect themselves from the danger of the Peshmerga, had mined the surroundings of all military camps and bases. After they cleared the path of mines and removed the only obstacle to reaching them, they decided to get close to the outpost and attack it. At 12:00 midnight, they very quietly reached the walls and ambushes of the outpost and in the blink of an eye carried out their attack. A hot battle began and continued for a while. Although there was strong resistance from the soldiers of the outpost, the Peshmerga were able to enter the outpost. In that counter-attack by the soldiers of the outpost, several grenades fell among the Peshmerga. Then the Batifa Brigade and the surrounding outposts woke up, and they also began firing in the direction of the Peshmerga force and came to the aid of their soldiers with a large force. In those confrontations, a number of Peshmerga were wounded.
It is clear that due to the strong resistance and the confrontation of the brigade and the surrounding outposts that came to the aid of the outpost, the Peshmerga could not continue the attack. Instead, being able to move the wounded Peshmerga to a safe place, they gave up the attack and retreated. From that moment on, the Iraqi Army heavily shelled the area. In the middle of that shelling, the Peshmerga force withdrew to the village of Beghabare and treated the wounded Peshmerga, then moved away to a place far from the government.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, Roxana Printing House, 2021.
2- Muhammad Murad, Khabata Chia, Memories and Stories of the Gulan Revolution between the years (1976-1989), Kurdistan Printing House – Zakho, 2007.
3- Jamal Fathullah Tayeb, The Kurdish Liberation Movement in Southern Kurdistan, First Edition, Shahab Printing House, Erbil - 2012.