PUK insurgency

PUK insurgency
Part of the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
Date 1975–1979 Location Iraqi Kurdistan (nominally northern Iraq) Result Long-term Iraqi strategic victory PUK military failure KDP tactical failure kurdish rebels failed to defeat the iraqi government Eventual 1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions in Iraq
Belligerents
Iraq	PUK	KDP
Commanders and leaders
Saddam Hussein	Jalal Talabani Nawshirwan Mustafa Ali Askari  †	Mustafa Barzani Massoud Barzani
Strength
30,000	55,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	16,000 killed

The PUK insurgency was a low-level rebellion of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) against Baathist Iraq from 1975 to 1979, following the defeat of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War, which forced that organization to declare a ceasefire and move into exile in Iran. Due to lack of foreign support, the PUK guerrillas were only able to operate in the most remote parts of the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.^[1] During this period, the PUK plunged into a political crisis with the KDP, which led to heavy intra-Kurdish warfare, climaxing in 1977. After the insurgency, the PUK entered into an alliance with Iranian forces during the Iran–Iraq War, and were backed by Iran in the Kurdish rebellion of 1983.