Yadoulah Karim Faili, a living witness who is relating these events is unveiling these historical details which took place in the hands of a Faili Kurd who prevented the assassination of the late Idris, the son of the legendary Mullah Mustafa Barzani and father of Nechirvan Barzani, the current Kurdistan prime minister. By clearly proving the extent of the loyalty of the Faili Kurds outside the Kurdistan Regional Government/Iraq for their national cause.

The events for this attempt in 1971, a year after the signing of the 11th March Agreement when the late Idris Barzani went to Baghdad, by official invitation from the ruling Ba’ath party, accompanied by his Assistant the late Sergeant Hamid Berwari and their driver. On arrival to Baghdad they stayed in Ashtoura Hotel located at Aquaba Bin Naafa Square, next to Al thoura Newspaper then. The owner of this hotel was Al Haj Ali Jan Faili.

The Late Marrouf Othman (nickname Abou Wafaa), a Kurd who was a Ba’ath Government Senior Officer from The Intelligence Service, and who was also a clandestine member of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) informed Mr Aziz Mohammed Rahim Ketuly (Abou Sami – father of Dr Kamal Ketuly), a fellow member of the KDP in whom he often confided in within this secret Kurdish organisation of a plot by the Ba’ath Intelligence Service and by some traitor Kurds opposed to the Kurdish Movement and to the Barzani family at that time, to assassinate the late Idris Barzani.

This was to take place when the late Idris Barzani would arrive in Baghdad to attend an invitation by the Ba’ath leadership. Mr Aziz Ketuly immediately informed his superior in the KDP, Mr Yadoulah Karim, who was the Head of the KDP 5th Branch in Baghdad and the Head of the Kurdistan Youth Union in Baghdad.

Mr Yadoulah duly informed the late Habib Mohammed Karim (the Secretary of KDP & Deputy of the leader – Mustafa Barzani). Mr Habib Karim then informed Mustafa Barzani of this plot and they came up with a plan to save Idris Barzani. Therefore they decided to return Idris Barzani urgently from Baghdad to Gulala in Kurdistan.

After the arrival of Idris Barzani, we brought him to Mr Aziz Mohammed Rahim Ketuly’s house and changed his Kurdish clothing to a suit and got him a car with a Faili Kurd driver and sent him back to Kurdistan while his driver and assistant Mr Barwari stayed behind.

The plan was successful in getting the late Idris out of Baghdad safely early evening of the same day. The next day the late Mr Berwari who had a close resemblance to Idris Berwari and another person, with their driver, who all wore Kurdish costumes, went to the assigned meeting place for Idris Barzani, before they reached the place of the meeting, they were attacked by bullets that led to serious injury of Berwari and his driver.

They were taken to the hospital. Then immediately after this event the Iraqi National Radio & Television for the Iraqi Ba’ath Government announced the assassination of Idris Barzani by stating that some criminal and cowardly hands had committed this crime and that Idris Barzani was dead. But later on, they identified the injured and they didn’t find Idris Barzani amongst them and their conspiracy had failed.

By them announcing the news of the assassination and the killing of Idris Barzani before they checked the identity of the injured this exposed their plot and proved that they were behind it.

Therefore, the failure of this attempted assassination is accredited to the Faili Kurds and those who speak about this event fail to mention the vital role of the late Aziz (Abou Sami) whether intentional or unintentional.

This is an example of the faithfulness and loyalty of this man for the cause of his nation.

On 7th April 1980, the late Aziz, (Abou Sami) along with other businessmen were deported to Iran. This took place after all these businessmen were invited to Baghdad House of Commerce as a trap by the Iraqi Ba’athist Regime, which led to their deportation the same day, after this meeting.

That same week, their families were also deported alongside thousands of Faili Kurds and other citizens. The Ba’athist authorities confiscated all their properties, money, Iraqi National Identity Documents and took thousands of their sons and daughters as hostages and detained them mostly in Abou Ghraib prison. Among those detained were Aziz (Abou Sami’s) son, Jamal and eleven of his nephews.

These detainees then disappeared at the hands of Saddam’s regime and until now there is no trace of any of them including Jamal.

Mr Aziz (Abou Sami) had to apply for political asylum in Sweden and after 6 months of staying in Iran as a refugee with his family, they were granted asylum in Sweden. The late Idris Barzani contacted the late Aziz (Abou Sami) and asked him to apply for asylum for the late Hamid Berwari who was hit during the assassination attempt of Idris Barzani.

Abou Sami was successful in obtaining asylum for Hamid Berwari and his family and in bringing them to stay in the same city, Linkoping in Sweden, alongside him. Mr Aziz (Abou Sami) lived in Sweden until his death there in 1996.[1]