In the autumn of 1969, the balance of power and victory tilted in favor of the Aylul Revolution as a result of the successive defeats of the government forces in the army, commando forces, and agents (Jash), in the military campaigns that covered the revolution's regions extensively, supported by tanks, cannons, aircraft, and advanced weapons. The revolution's leadership was pushed to develop a detailed plan to attack the Merka front and expel the army and agents from the region, which consisted of two battalions and also included twice the number of the two battalions in agents (Jash).

The Peshmerga whom the revolution's leadership tasked to participate in this attack included part of the Rizgari force, part of the Kawa force, and several units of the Halkord force. They were led by Commanders Fakher Merksori, Haso Mirkan, and Abdullah Sadiq. The battlefield commanders were Izz al-Din Qara Muhammad, Mam Weso Dziyi, Corporal Darwish, and Faqi Hamdamin.

November 6, 1969, was the date of the attack, and the Peshmerga launched the attack at the specified time and place as planned. They were advancing moment by moment from the first hour. Says Masoud Barzani in his book Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement about this Peshmerga epic: The communication department in the security services informed me that chaos and disorder had spread to the enemy's ranks and that army units had abandoned their commanders, mutinied, and fled. The headquarters of the two battalions joined the mutineers, and a company commander was killed. The morale of the agents (Jash) collapsed, and the enemy had nothing left but the summit of Mount Asos. Once this summit is seized, the victory will be complete and the enemy will leave Merka completely.

After an hour, the Peshmerga Forces seized the Asos summit and the government forces fled to Sarsian. The Peshmerga operation in the region lasted three days, during which the entire region fell into the hands of the Peshmerga Forces. As a result of this Peshmerga operation, the government forces suffered heavy losses, including more than 230 dead, including the leader of the agents (Jash) named Ali Abbas Agha, and a large quantity of weapons, Ammunition, war equipment, and food supplies fell into the hands of the Peshmerga.

The Peshmerga victory in the epic of Merka resulted in several outcomes:

1. Some residents of the region, including some nobles of Mir Awdelian, intended to join the government in light of the army's previous victories. But the Peshmerga victory and the defeat of the government forces changed their minds and they retreated from their position, except for a few.

2. A large number of the forces of the group belonging to the old Political Bureau changed their positions, left their group, and joined the revolution.

     

3. The Iraqi Army forces moved from attack to defense, and they did not stop there, but thought about reconsidering their aggressive policy, abandoning repressive military efforts, and thinking about a peaceful, negotiated solution with the Kurdish revolution. Because what they planned was not achieved through military invasion.

The Ba'athists reached the conclusion that they were unable to suppress the Kurdish revolution, as evidenced by a statement by the then Iraqi Minister of Defense, Hardan Tikriti, who says: "In reality, the Kurds were able to overthrow the government for half a century with their heroic resistance to the point that we were afraid that if the war continued, Baghdad would fall into the hands of Barzani." He also says: The number of Iraqi Army casualties within one month before the March 11, 1970 agreement was 362 dead and wounded per week. Therefore, the central government could not resist and demanded a ceasefire and negotiations with the revolution's leadership, which led to the March 11 agreement.

Sources:

1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, First Edition, Erbil - 2004.

2- Ari Karim, Some Living Pages in the Aylul Revolution Khabat Press, Dohuk - 1999.

3- Sangar Ibrahim Khoshnaw, Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, First Edition, Erbil - 2022.

4- Khoshawi Ali Kanyelnji, Memoirs of Aziz Qazi Hamad Surchi, Daneshfar Press, Erbil - 2023.

5- Karwan Johar Muhammad, Idris Barzani 1944-1987 Life and Political and Military Role in the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Hevi Press, Erbil - 2019.