Iranians capture Kurd city

          
          Iranians capture Kurd city: Most guerrillas flee to mountain citadel, vow to fight again
          The Ass ( 1837-1 983); Sep 4, 1979; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Baltimore Isa, The (1837-1984)
          pg. Al
          Iranians
          capture
          Kurd city.
          Most guerrillas flee
          to mountain citadel,
          vow to fight again
          Mahabad , IraulAP) — Government
          troops striking undercover of jet Iighter
          helicopter gumblps and tanks breached
          rebel defense lines outside this Kurdish
          stronghold yesterday, driving most of the
          guerr illas Into thesurroundlngbllls.
          As the troops advanced In a two-
          pronged attack aimed at crushing the re-
          bellion, the main guerrilla force and most
          of the city's population filtered into the
          sur ndlnghllls and vowed tofight on.
          The 64th Infantry Division and the 81st
          Armored Division burst through Kurdish
          defense poeltionsen the city's northern ap-
          proaches, but observers at the scene said
          they apparently did notwanttoenter the
          city at night and probably would make
          their final push Into Mahabad at daybreak
          today.
          The division commanders were quoted
          on the state radio as saying government
          forcer had “victoriousl y' entered Maim-
          bad and had been ‘ weleomed by the peo-
          pie.” But the e was no sign of Army troops
          in the area of the city's main Muare, and
          several armed ICurds could be seen In the
          streetsin the area.
          Heavy exchanges of artillery firecould
          be beard Into the night echoing through
          the nearby bills. Government tanks fired
          Into the main body of Kurdish forces re-
          heating toward the mountain stronghold
          of Sardasht, which Is 50 miles to the south
          and close totheiraqi border.
          Mother column of troops advanced
          through Mababad's southern approaches
          and arrived at the outskirts of the city at
          nightfalL
          Government commanders claimed
          there were no casualS among their
          troops but the rebels suffered an undeter-
          ininednuniber.
          The Kurds—who are seeking autonomy
          from the central government for theirre-
          glen of western Iran-have been fighting
          the revolutionary regime of Ayatollah
          RuhollabKbomelnl for montha.
          “Now we are going to concentrate our
          forces In Sardasht where they ca 5 t use
          their tanks so effectively,” said a ranking
          official of the banned Kurdish I mocraUc
          party. He vowed the Kurds would deliver
          a “severe blow” to the Iranian Army at
          Sardasht.
          Before the fighting erupted yesterday,
          many of the estimated lO 000 guenillas
          and most of the city's civilian population
          of 100,000 left Mahaba& the civilians car-
          rying as many personal belongings as pos-
          sible. The withdrawing rebels took arM-
          lery pieces and other heavy weapons with
          them.
          The city itself appeared to have suf-
          fered little damage In the fighting. One
          school, a government vocational training
          center and a handful of houses were dam.
          aged by rockets fired by helicopter gun-
          shipa. Most of the action within the city
          was centered on the garrison Kurdish
          rebels used as their bastlona
          The reb4 driven out of the nearby
          city of Saqqez more than a week ago, had
          vowed to hold onto Mahabad despite
          threats the Army would attack If the gov-
          ernment was not allowed to reestablish
          Its authority in the city. Mababad Is head-
          quarters of theE f l ?.
          Government forces bad been building
          up outside Mahabad for a week awaiting a
          S4ILtAN.ALCoI. 5
          Reprodsoed with permissios of the ooppright owaer. Farther reprodactioa prohibited wthoat permissioa.
        

          
          Kurds lose one stronghold,
          fall back into mountains
          JliAN from Al
          decision on whether they would attack.
          Last Monday a KurdishdelegatlOn went to
          Tebran on a fruitless mission to explore
          the possib ility of a negotiated settlement.
          There were r io reports of fighting yes
          terdayoutslde this western re g ionof jn.
          The state radio In Tebran said thfl5v.
          ernment forces had dropped leaflets from
          helicopters on trouble spots in Kurdistan
          calling on the Kurt “to free yourself
          from these non-Islamic party heads (andj
          give them uptothe authorities.”
          The report said the K U? was working
          for the “benefit of foreign powers,” which
          were not identified. Last Friday, Ayatol-
          lab Khomeini accused the Kurds of
          spreading “communist corruption.”
          The KU? is considered the major
          uni iyingpolitlca lforcelnKurdi stan.
          The secretary-general of the KDP
          Central Committee, Abdot Rassan Qas.
          semlu, and the Kurdisk spiritual bea4
          Sheik Ezzedin Rosselni, went Into hiding
          when the KUP was outlawed and their
          whereabouts are unknown, The govern.
          mentoas oreerec uieir arrest aim trw ' wi
          charges of belngcountw.revo lu t ionar la.
          Into allow replacement
          of dYe mined journalist s
          Tehran 0 1TTh tReuter)—Nasser
          Minachi, the Iranian head of Information
          services, said yesterday that foreign publi-
          cations whose correspondents have been
          expelled fro are free to send re-
          placements. —
          flowever,Mr. Mlnacbi, who is National
          Guidance Minister, said all journalists
          coming to for the first time would
          have to swear to write the truth.
          The official Pars news agency quoted
          Dr. Minachi as saying: “When someone Is
          expelled It does not mean the publication
          or news agency cannot send a replace
          ment. Our protest Is against the offend-
          e n.”
          Referring to government denials of
          news of published abroad, he said,
          “They nut our protests after re
          pealed objections by us and they do this by
          publishing them on the back page where
          they go urznotlced7
          Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.