Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq signs ceasefire with Al Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
(The Times) - The Islamic Army is one of Iraq’s best known resistance groups, made up largely of former members of Saddam Hussein’s army and security forces. In a turnaround that heartened proponents of the US troop surge, it has lately been firing its weapons at Al-Qaeda in Iraq instead of American soldiers. The US military has been discreetly putting out feelers to the Islamic Army in the hope of winning it over permanently.
But Ibrahim al-Shammari, a representative of the Islamic Army, had an uncompromising message for the Americans. The Islamic Army and other armed factions would agree to talks only if they accepted that the “Islamic resistance” was the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and agreed to set a clear timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, was finished, he boasted. “The final countdown has started. It has lost the support of Iraqis and the American people.”
It was hard to disagree when Senator Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, had just joined a chorus of US politicians demanding Maliki’s removal. She said she hoped the Iraqi parliament would replace him with a “less divisive and more unifying figure”. Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, told Time magazine, “the fall of the Maliki government, when it happens, might be a good thing”.
Yet many opponents of the US troop build-up, including Clinton, are coming round to the view that the surge is partially working – at least to the west of Baghdad in Anbar province, where Sunni tribesmen have been aiding Iraqi security forces and the Americans.
According to Shammari, however, the gains in Anbar will be shortlived. He said the Islamic Army had signed a ceasefire with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The country was to be carved into spheres of influence where the Islamic Army and Al-Qaeda in Iraq could operate independently of each other. It would represent an enormous setback for the surge. Shammari admitted Al-Qaeda in Iraq was unpopular. “Local people consider them enemy number one. They tyrannised people and killed and assaulted tribal leaders. They lost their bases and supporters and provoked the clans into rising up against them,” he said.
But the Islamic Army resents the way the Americans have tried to turn the infighting in Anbar to their advantage. “We’ve had big problems with Al-Qaeda ever since they began targeting and killing our men,” he said. “Eventually we had to fight back, but we found American troops were exploiting the situation by spreading rumours that exacerbated the conflict.”
The Islamic Army has also noted President George Bush’s comments about the success of the surge. “Bush foolishly announced to the world that all the Sunnis in Iraq were fighting Al-Qaeda so he could claim to have achieved a great victory,” Shammari said. “It’s nonsense.”
The Islamic Army is considering resuming the kidnapping of foreigners as a sign of renewed militancy, Shammari said. In the past, it was responsible for murdering Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist, and a number of foreign workers. It also kidnapped two French journalists who were later released. “Every foreigner in Iraq is a potential target for us no matter what his nationality or religion,” Shammari said. “If he is proven to be a spy, he will be punished and an Islamic court will determine his fate.” The purpose of taking hostages would not be to kill them, he added. “We want western governments to listen to the Iraqi people and stop supporting the occupation by sending their citizens to Iraq.”
The Islamic Army’s defiance sharpens the dilemma for American forces. Could progress in Anbar quickly unravel? If the US draws down its forces, will the Sunnis take the fight, not to Al-Qaeda, but to the Shi’ite government in Baghdad? And if so, will the US military have helped to build up a brutal sectarian force?
In Baghdad, Colonel Rick Welch, head of reconciliation for the US military command, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Sunni groups had recently provided 5,000 fighters for policing efforts in the capital. But he admitted that Maliki’s government was “worried that the Sunni tribes may be using mechanisms to build their strength and power and eventually to challenge this government. This is a risk for us all”.
The National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up by US intelligence agencies and published last week, spelt out similar dangers. “Sunni Arab resistance to Al-Qaeda in Iraq has expanded in the last six to nine months but has not yet translated into broad Sunni Arab support for the Iraqi government or widespread willingness to work with the Shia,” it noted.
Back in the villa, Shammari said Maliki’s government would soon be gone. “The daily contradictions in the statements by American leaders about Iraq prove that the Iraqi resistance is going in the right direction.”
He added: “The next president should take prompt action to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.” And Gordon Brown should follow suit, he said, though he could hardly fail to be aware that plans for British withdrawal in the coming months are already advanced. “The new prime minister should save Britain from the humiliating stupidity of Tony Blair and Bush and start withdrawing troops from Iraq now,” he said.
But Ibrahim al-Shammari, a representative of the Islamic Army, had an uncompromising message for the Americans. The Islamic Army and other armed factions would agree to talks only if they accepted that the “Islamic resistance” was the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and agreed to set a clear timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, was finished, he boasted. “The final countdown has started. It has lost the support of Iraqis and the American people.”
It was hard to disagree when Senator Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, had just joined a chorus of US politicians demanding Maliki’s removal. She said she hoped the Iraqi parliament would replace him with a “less divisive and more unifying figure”. Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, told Time magazine, “the fall of the Maliki government, when it happens, might be a good thing”.
Yet many opponents of the US troop build-up, including Clinton, are coming round to the view that the surge is partially working – at least to the west of Baghdad in Anbar province, where Sunni tribesmen have been aiding Iraqi security forces and the Americans.
According to Shammari, however, the gains in Anbar will be shortlived. He said the Islamic Army had signed a ceasefire with Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The country was to be carved into spheres of influence where the Islamic Army and Al-Qaeda in Iraq could operate independently of each other. It would represent an enormous setback for the surge. Shammari admitted Al-Qaeda in Iraq was unpopular. “Local people consider them enemy number one. They tyrannised people and killed and assaulted tribal leaders. They lost their bases and supporters and provoked the clans into rising up against them,” he said.
But the Islamic Army resents the way the Americans have tried to turn the infighting in Anbar to their advantage. “We’ve had big problems with Al-Qaeda ever since they began targeting and killing our men,” he said. “Eventually we had to fight back, but we found American troops were exploiting the situation by spreading rumours that exacerbated the conflict.”
The Islamic Army has also noted President George Bush’s comments about the success of the surge. “Bush foolishly announced to the world that all the Sunnis in Iraq were fighting Al-Qaeda so he could claim to have achieved a great victory,” Shammari said. “It’s nonsense.”
The Islamic Army is considering resuming the kidnapping of foreigners as a sign of renewed militancy, Shammari said. In the past, it was responsible for murdering Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist, and a number of foreign workers. It also kidnapped two French journalists who were later released. “Every foreigner in Iraq is a potential target for us no matter what his nationality or religion,” Shammari said. “If he is proven to be a spy, he will be punished and an Islamic court will determine his fate.” The purpose of taking hostages would not be to kill them, he added. “We want western governments to listen to the Iraqi people and stop supporting the occupation by sending their citizens to Iraq.”
The Islamic Army’s defiance sharpens the dilemma for American forces. Could progress in Anbar quickly unravel? If the US draws down its forces, will the Sunnis take the fight, not to Al-Qaeda, but to the Shi’ite government in Baghdad? And if so, will the US military have helped to build up a brutal sectarian force?
In Baghdad, Colonel Rick Welch, head of reconciliation for the US military command, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Sunni groups had recently provided 5,000 fighters for policing efforts in the capital. But he admitted that Maliki’s government was “worried that the Sunni tribes may be using mechanisms to build their strength and power and eventually to challenge this government. This is a risk for us all”.
The National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up by US intelligence agencies and published last week, spelt out similar dangers. “Sunni Arab resistance to Al-Qaeda in Iraq has expanded in the last six to nine months but has not yet translated into broad Sunni Arab support for the Iraqi government or widespread willingness to work with the Shia,” it noted.
Back in the villa, Shammari said Maliki’s government would soon be gone. “The daily contradictions in the statements by American leaders about Iraq prove that the Iraqi resistance is going in the right direction.”
He added: “The next president should take prompt action to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.” And Gordon Brown should follow suit, he said, though he could hardly fail to be aware that plans for British withdrawal in the coming months are already advanced. “The new prime minister should save Britain from the humiliating stupidity of Tony Blair and Bush and start withdrawing troops from Iraq now,” he said.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Hillary Clinton, Ibrahim al-Shammari, Islamic Army in Iraq, kidnapping, Ryan Crocker
Monday, August 13, 2007
Security officers arrested carrying explosive belts
Security
(Azzaman) - Two security officers have been arrested in the religious city of Karbala as they were trying to smuggle into the city explosive belts to target holy shrines, Karbala governor said. Aqeel al-Khazaali said preliminary investigations have shown that the two arrested officers were members of the Islamic Army, an armed group fighting U.S. occupation troops as well as the country’s U.S.-sponsored government.
Khazaali said the two, whose have not been identified, have admitted to committing “horrendous crimes” in the province. The arrest was made as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites began flocking to religious shrines to commemorate the death of one of their saints buried in Baghdad. Security was tight in Baghdad in the few days before the event on Thursday as multitudes of Shiites poured to the shrine of Imam Kadhem, a revered Shiite holy man buried in Baghdad. Iraqi security forces and army blocked the entrances and roads to the shrine and placed bomb and explosive detectors on all major roads leading to it.
Meantime, Brigadier Qassem Atta, a spokesman for the current campaign to secure Baghdad, said the authorities have discovered “a huge weapons depot” at a major Sunni mosque in the city. He said the arms cache include mortars, artillery projectiles, missiles and rocket launchers. Atta said 86 gunmen were killed and 143 captured in the past two weeks in Adhamiya, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. He said 37 kidnapped Iraqis were freed, 914 bombs defused and 13 car bombs dismantled in the same area.
Khazaali said the two, whose have not been identified, have admitted to committing “horrendous crimes” in the province. The arrest was made as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites began flocking to religious shrines to commemorate the death of one of their saints buried in Baghdad. Security was tight in Baghdad in the few days before the event on Thursday as multitudes of Shiites poured to the shrine of Imam Kadhem, a revered Shiite holy man buried in Baghdad. Iraqi security forces and army blocked the entrances and roads to the shrine and placed bomb and explosive detectors on all major roads leading to it.
Meantime, Brigadier Qassem Atta, a spokesman for the current campaign to secure Baghdad, said the authorities have discovered “a huge weapons depot” at a major Sunni mosque in the city. He said the arms cache include mortars, artillery projectiles, missiles and rocket launchers. Atta said 86 gunmen were killed and 143 captured in the past two weeks in Adhamiya, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. He said 37 kidnapped Iraqis were freed, 914 bombs defused and 13 car bombs dismantled in the same area.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Aqeel al-Khazaali, Brigadier Qassem Atta, explosive belts, Islamic Army in Iraq, Karbala, Sunni mosque, weapons cache
Friday, July 20, 2007
Group splits from Islamic Army in Iraq which highlights importance of working with tribes
Insurgency, Tribal
(RFE/RL) - A group calling itself the Al-Furqan Army has announced its decision to split from the Islamic Army in Iraq, claiming that the Islamic Army has engaged in the political process through talks with the U.S. military, Al-Jazeera television reported on July 18. Islamic Army in Iraq spokesman Ibrahim al-Shammari told Al-Jazeera in an interview that the Al-Furqan Army is "a very small group," adding that the split came after the Al-Furqan Army adopted "policies that go against the Islamic Army's" stance.
Despite the apparent tensions, al-Shammari expressed disappointment over the split, saying: "We wish that the number of mujahedin increase, but not under pseudonyms. Separation is not the character of Islamic action." Al-Shammari also denied that the Islamic Army in Iraq engaged in any talks with the U.S. military. He said the army's position that the Iraqi people are free to choose whether or not to participate in the political process through the Iraqi Accordance Front is well-known. That position, he maintained, does not conflict with the group's determination to fight U.S. and Iraqi forces.
The Islamic Army in Iraq's online bimonthly magazine, "Al-Fursan" (The Knights), noted in its July issue, posted on the Internet on July 17, that the Jihad and Reform Front will work to establish better relations with tribal leaders. The front was formed in May by brigades from the Islamic Army in Iraq, the Mujahedin Army, and the Ansar Al-Sunnah Army.
An unidentified editor wrote in the magazine that establishing better relations with the tribes is a "key priority" of the front, and should be handled carefully. The writer stressed the importance of the tribes in sheltering insurgents. He criticized the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq for harming relations between insurgents and tribes, saying the Islamic State's reckless behavior has prompted some tribes to begin working with U.S. and Iraqi forces to fight the insurgency.
Labels: Al-Furqan Army, Al-Fursan, Ansar al-Sunnah, Ibrahim al-Shammari, Iraqi Accordance Front, Islamic Army in Iraq, Jihad and Reform Front, Mujahideen Army, tribal leaders, U.S. military
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq says cease-fire reached with al-Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
A Sunni insurgent group said Wednesday it has reached a cease-fire with al-Qaida in Iraq. The claim comes as the conflict between the Islamic Army in Iraq and al-Qaida in Iraq, which is also Sunni, has intensified in recent months. Last week, the two groups were believed to have clashed in the Baghdad neighborhood of Amariyah.
"This agreement is based on a cease-fire between the two parties that bans all armed acts and all other activities that could cause attrition," Ibrahim al-Shimmari, spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, told Al-Jazeera television in a telephone interview. "The armistice started at dawn Wednesday."
Al-Jazeera showed a copy of the cease-fire, which stipulated "halting all escalation, including media" and "establishing a judicial committee on pending issues between the two parties." Al-Shimmari said the cease-fire "aims to safeguard Islamic blood and not give a chance to Iraq's enemies from America and Iran." "We hope that relations between the Islamic Army and al-Qaida return to the early days of jihad (holy struggle) when we were very close to those brothers," al-Shimmari added.
Divisions among Iraq's extremists became more apparent two months ago when Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaida front group Islamic State in Iraq, urged militants in an audiotape to stop fighting one another and unite against American forces. He told rival groups he wanted to end their disagreements and vowed to punish any of his fighters who kill other militants.
The Islamic State in Iraq announced a 10-member shadow government "Cabinet" in April as an alternative to the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The conflict came to a head when al-Shimmari said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to a state. He told Al-Jazeera television in an April interview that there could be no state "under crusader occupation." In an interview with Al-Jazeera in April, al-Shimmari accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army.
"This agreement is based on a cease-fire between the two parties that bans all armed acts and all other activities that could cause attrition," Ibrahim al-Shimmari, spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, told Al-Jazeera television in a telephone interview. "The armistice started at dawn Wednesday."
Al-Jazeera showed a copy of the cease-fire, which stipulated "halting all escalation, including media" and "establishing a judicial committee on pending issues between the two parties." Al-Shimmari said the cease-fire "aims to safeguard Islamic blood and not give a chance to Iraq's enemies from America and Iran." "We hope that relations between the Islamic Army and al-Qaida return to the early days of jihad (holy struggle) when we were very close to those brothers," al-Shimmari added.
Divisions among Iraq's extremists became more apparent two months ago when Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaida front group Islamic State in Iraq, urged militants in an audiotape to stop fighting one another and unite against American forces. He told rival groups he wanted to end their disagreements and vowed to punish any of his fighters who kill other militants.
The Islamic State in Iraq announced a 10-member shadow government "Cabinet" in April as an alternative to the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The conflict came to a head when al-Shimmari said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to a state. He told Al-Jazeera television in an April interview that there could be no state "under crusader occupation." In an interview with Al-Jazeera in April, al-Shimmari accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Ibrahim al-Shimmari, Islamic Army in Iraq
Friday, April 13, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq says Iran is a bigger enemy than the U.S.
Insurgency, Politics
(AP) - An Iraqi militant group has highlighted the split in the ranks of the Iraqi insurgency by having its spokesman give a television interview in which he accuses al-Qaida and its umbrella organization of killing its members and pursuing the wrong policies. "The gap has widened and the injustices committed by some brothers in al-Qaida have increased," Ibrahim al-Shimmari told Al-Jazeera television in an interview broadcast Wednesday and repeated Thursday.
Al-Shimmari was filmed sitting with Al-Jazeera's interviewer in an undisclosed location. He was wearing a red-and-white checkered keffiyeh but his face was blurred by video engineering. Al-Shimmari is the spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, a Sunni militant group that first aired its grievances against al-Qaida and umbrella Islamic State of Iraq on its Web site last week. He took the division further in the TV interview, putting his name to the charges and giving specifics in answer to questions. He accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army, and said the Islamic State of Iraq's claim to constitute a state was both inaccurate and incorrect policy.
"We don't recognize (the Islamic State of Iraq). It is void. There is no state under crusader occupation. There is resistance," al-Shimmari said. He was more critical of Iranian influence in Iraq than American, apparently out of opposition to the growing power of Iraq's Shiite majority, a trend that Shiite-dominant Iran supports. "Our goal is to free Iraq from the American and Iranian occupation. There is a bigger Iranian occupation than the American one," he said. "The United States does not claim that Iraq is part of America. It came for its own interests, and that includes its imperialist project ... But Iran regards Iraq as a part of itself."
Al-Shimmari's comments provoked a series of postings on Islamic Web sites by militant sympathizers, who said they were saddened by the split. He said the Islamic Army used to be very close to al-Qaida in Iraq, but the two groups had increasingly diverged since al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike last June. "They killed 30 members of the Islamic Army," he said of al-Qaida.
He attacked Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, accusing him of violating Islamic law as well as sanctioning the "assassination" of fighters and forcing others to surrender their weapons to the umbrella group. The Islamic State of Iraq groups eight Sunni insurgent factions, of whom al-Qaida is deemed the most important. "The dream of every Muslim is to live in an Islamic nation. But an Islamic nation cannot be created in this way. It cannot be created under occupation," al-Shimmari said.
"We have sent our advice to the brothers in al-Qaida, and we sent messages to Sheik Osama bin Laden, the other jihad groups and all the religious scholars," he added, naming the founding leader of the al-Qaida network. He seemed eager to indicate that the division was not irreconcilable. He said the Islamic Army had refrained from turning its guns on al-Qaida.
An Islamic Web site on Thursday carried a message by a person who gave his name as Nabil al-Athari. "It is sad to see what is happening among the fighters in Iraq," he wrote. "The Islamic Army is Sunni and it has been fighting the enemies of religion for a while, just like the Islamic State of Iraq. Both did a lot. We need to bring the two groups together."
Al-Shimmari was filmed sitting with Al-Jazeera's interviewer in an undisclosed location. He was wearing a red-and-white checkered keffiyeh but his face was blurred by video engineering. Al-Shimmari is the spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, a Sunni militant group that first aired its grievances against al-Qaida and umbrella Islamic State of Iraq on its Web site last week. He took the division further in the TV interview, putting his name to the charges and giving specifics in answer to questions. He accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army, and said the Islamic State of Iraq's claim to constitute a state was both inaccurate and incorrect policy.
"We don't recognize (the Islamic State of Iraq). It is void. There is no state under crusader occupation. There is resistance," al-Shimmari said. He was more critical of Iranian influence in Iraq than American, apparently out of opposition to the growing power of Iraq's Shiite majority, a trend that Shiite-dominant Iran supports. "Our goal is to free Iraq from the American and Iranian occupation. There is a bigger Iranian occupation than the American one," he said. "The United States does not claim that Iraq is part of America. It came for its own interests, and that includes its imperialist project ... But Iran regards Iraq as a part of itself."
Al-Shimmari's comments provoked a series of postings on Islamic Web sites by militant sympathizers, who said they were saddened by the split. He said the Islamic Army used to be very close to al-Qaida in Iraq, but the two groups had increasingly diverged since al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike last June. "They killed 30 members of the Islamic Army," he said of al-Qaida.
He attacked Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, accusing him of violating Islamic law as well as sanctioning the "assassination" of fighters and forcing others to surrender their weapons to the umbrella group. The Islamic State of Iraq groups eight Sunni insurgent factions, of whom al-Qaida is deemed the most important. "The dream of every Muslim is to live in an Islamic nation. But an Islamic nation cannot be created in this way. It cannot be created under occupation," al-Shimmari said.
"We have sent our advice to the brothers in al-Qaida, and we sent messages to Sheik Osama bin Laden, the other jihad groups and all the religious scholars," he added, naming the founding leader of the al-Qaida network. He seemed eager to indicate that the division was not irreconcilable. He said the Islamic Army had refrained from turning its guns on al-Qaida.
An Islamic Web site on Thursday carried a message by a person who gave his name as Nabil al-Athari. "It is sad to see what is happening among the fighters in Iraq," he wrote. "The Islamic Army is Sunni and it has been fighting the enemies of religion for a while, just like the Islamic State of Iraq. Both did a lot. We need to bring the two groups together."
Labels: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Al Qaeda, Ibrahim al-Shemmari, Iran, Islamic Army in Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq criticises Al Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
(Al Jazeera) - An influential Iraqi Sunni armed group has called on al-Qaeda in Iraq to "review" its behaviour in the country. The Islamic Army in Iraq, believed to be the largest group of former Baathists and army officers fighting Iraqi and US forces, called on Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, to take more responsibility for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"Killing Sunnis has become a legitimate target for them, especially rich ones. Either they pay them what they want or they kill them," a statement from the group said. "They would kill any critic or whoever tries to show them their mistakes." The group said it had dealt with al-Qaeda with "patience and wisdom" to keep a united "resistance front. But this was not fruitful," the group said.
The growing tension highlights a struggle for power involving Sunni tribal leaders who are angered by al-Qaeda in Iraq's indiscriminate killing of civilians. Sunni Arab officials have also urged what they call "the real resistance" to disown al-Qaeda and engage in talks with the government to end violence which has driven the country closer to an all-out civil war.
"We also call ... on every Qaeda member in the Land of Mesopotamia to review themselves and their positions ... and for those who committed wrongful acts to repent quickly," the statement said. Also on Friday, Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered that jobs and pensions be offered to former officers, many of whom had joined armed Sunni groups such as the Islamic Army of Iraq.
The Islamic Army in Iraq's appeal to al-Qaeda comes against a backdrop of continued violence in Sunni Arab areas. On Friday, at least 27 people were killed by a chlorine truck bomb in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
"Killing Sunnis has become a legitimate target for them, especially rich ones. Either they pay them what they want or they kill them," a statement from the group said. "They would kill any critic or whoever tries to show them their mistakes." The group said it had dealt with al-Qaeda with "patience and wisdom" to keep a united "resistance front. But this was not fruitful," the group said.
The growing tension highlights a struggle for power involving Sunni tribal leaders who are angered by al-Qaeda in Iraq's indiscriminate killing of civilians. Sunni Arab officials have also urged what they call "the real resistance" to disown al-Qaeda and engage in talks with the government to end violence which has driven the country closer to an all-out civil war.
"We also call ... on every Qaeda member in the Land of Mesopotamia to review themselves and their positions ... and for those who committed wrongful acts to repent quickly," the statement said. Also on Friday, Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered that jobs and pensions be offered to former officers, many of whom had joined armed Sunni groups such as the Islamic Army of Iraq.
The Islamic Army in Iraq's appeal to al-Qaeda comes against a backdrop of continued violence in Sunni Arab areas. On Friday, at least 27 people were killed by a chlorine truck bomb in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
COMMENT: The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) is an inclusive Islamic organisation with Iraqi nationalist tendencies. IAI has carried out a brutal campaign against the U.S.-led coalition as well as the Iraqi security forces. The group has been implicated in several kidnappings and beheadings.The group’s leader claims that the group is predominantly Iraqi, not foreign-born. Although it carries an Islamic title, the group is thought to be the largest militant group that consists of former Baathists and has been labelled as "resistance" by Iraq's Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi despite regular attacks against Iraqi soldiers and policemen and Shi'ite militias such as the Mahdi Army and Badr Corps.
Their criticism of Al Qaeda in Iraq coincides with al-Maliki announcing jobs and pensions for Baathists and former Iraqi armed forces. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baathists, Islamic Army in Iraq, Sunni tribal leaders
Monday, March 26, 2007
U.S., Iraqi officials in talks with Sunni insurgent groups
Security, Politics
(Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials are in contact with representatives of some Sunni Arab insurgent groups to build an alliance against al Qaeda in Iraq, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said on Monday. At his final news conference in Baghdad, he confirmed reports that U.S. embassy and military staff as well as Iraqi government officials had met representatives of insurgent-linked groups on several occasions.
"That process is continuing," he said. "One of the main challenges is how to separate more and more groups away from al Qaeda, how to turn them to cooperate with the Iraqi government against al Qaeda," he said. "That is the strategic objective."
Earlier The New York Times reported that Khalilzad himself had met Sunni insurgent groups, which include nationalists and former Saddam Hussein sympathizers, such as the Islamic Army in Iraq, a large group of former Baathists and ex-army officers once loyal to the former president, Saddam Hussein. Iraqi government officials are known to have had contact with insurgent groups in the past but these have never really amounted to much as the groups' main demand has been for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Khalilzad said their key concern had shifted toward how to fight al Qaeda during recent talks. He said he did not want to give too many details about who was involved in the talks given "al Qaeda's efforts to derail such efforts." Al Qaeda militants have launched of a string of attacks on a group of tribes in western Anbar province that have formed an alliance against the hardline Sunni Islamist group. U.S. commanders in Anbar have been promoting the tribal alliance against al Qaeda as crucial to ending the violence.
"We have had discussions with various groups," Khalilzad said. "They have taken place, they are continuing to take place. I did not say we've talked to terrorists, we've talked to groups who have not participated in the political process who have ties to some insurgents who are reconcilable."
"That process is continuing," he said. "One of the main challenges is how to separate more and more groups away from al Qaeda, how to turn them to cooperate with the Iraqi government against al Qaeda," he said. "That is the strategic objective."
Earlier The New York Times reported that Khalilzad himself had met Sunni insurgent groups, which include nationalists and former Saddam Hussein sympathizers, such as the Islamic Army in Iraq, a large group of former Baathists and ex-army officers once loyal to the former president, Saddam Hussein. Iraqi government officials are known to have had contact with insurgent groups in the past but these have never really amounted to much as the groups' main demand has been for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Khalilzad said their key concern had shifted toward how to fight al Qaeda during recent talks. He said he did not want to give too many details about who was involved in the talks given "al Qaeda's efforts to derail such efforts." Al Qaeda militants have launched of a string of attacks on a group of tribes in western Anbar province that have formed an alliance against the hardline Sunni Islamist group. U.S. commanders in Anbar have been promoting the tribal alliance against al Qaeda as crucial to ending the violence.
"We have had discussions with various groups," Khalilzad said. "They have taken place, they are continuing to take place. I did not say we've talked to terrorists, we've talked to groups who have not participated in the political process who have ties to some insurgents who are reconcilable."
Labels: Al Qaeda, Baathists, Fomer Regime Elements, insurgents, Islamic Army in Iraq
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Five major insurgent groups to unite
Insurgency
(Quds Press) Five Resistance groups reportedly form unified command and common organization, in opposition to call to join al-Qa'idah. In a dispatch posted on Thursday, Quds Press reported that a source close to the Resistance organization the Islamic Army in Iraq, one of the largest Resistance groups, said that five major Resistance groups had agreed to unite their armed efforts and political positions.
The source told Quds Press that leaders of the Islamic Army, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Army of the Rashideen, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, and the Islamic Resistance Front (Jami') held meetings over three consecutive days to reach agreement on uniting their efforts in resisting the occupation and its stooges and uniting their political positions. The groups will also take one common name and chose a general commander, according to the source.
The source told Quds Press that the organizations will announce the conclusion of their discussions, the new name for the group and the name of their commander in a joint communiqué. He said that all the groups had agreed to set up a united front organization and a united Shura (Consultative) Council.
The move comes two days after a voice message issued by the Amir of the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq – a prominent member in which is the al-Qa'idah organization – in which he called on all the Iraqi Resistance groups to join the "Islamic State of Iraq and take oaths of allegiance to him.
The source told Quds Press that leaders of the Islamic Army, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Army of the Rashideen, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, and the Islamic Resistance Front (Jami') held meetings over three consecutive days to reach agreement on uniting their efforts in resisting the occupation and its stooges and uniting their political positions. The groups will also take one common name and chose a general commander, according to the source.
The source told Quds Press that the organizations will announce the conclusion of their discussions, the new name for the group and the name of their commander in a joint communiqué. He said that all the groups had agreed to set up a united front organization and a united Shura (Consultative) Council.
The move comes two days after a voice message issued by the Amir of the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq – a prominent member in which is the al-Qa'idah organization – in which he called on all the Iraqi Resistance groups to join the "Islamic State of Iraq and take oaths of allegiance to him.
Labels: Islamic Army in Iraq, Islamic Resistance Front, JAMI, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Army of the Rashideen
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Muslim Scholars Association criticises Baghdad security plan
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) The Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association has criticized the Baghdad security plan, claiming in statements posted on its website on February 24 that U.S. forces have killed scores of civilians in security sweeps in Sunni Arab neighborhoods. The association pointed to one such operation in the Al-Mashahidah district, calling the bombing of a house there a "barbaric massacre" of civilians; Iraqi Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Khalaf said the operation targeted members of the insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq.
The association also claimed that Iraqi security forces, in collaboration with militiamen from Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Imam Al-Mahdi Army, are carrying out what it called sectarian displacement operations. One statement implied that the Iraqi government is aware of such operations, but chooses to remain silent. The association also claimed that Interior Ministry forces targeted the Al-Amil neighborhood in a series of raids, pointing out that the neighborhood is the home of a Sunni Arab woman who claimed she was raped by Interior Ministry forces.
Labels: Al-Amil, Al-Mashahidah, Interior Ministry forces, Islamic Army in Iraq, Mahdi Army, Muslim Scholars Association
