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
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