Sunday, November 11, 2007
Islamic Army of Iraq attacks Al-Qaeda base
Security, Insurgency, Tribal
(BBC) - A Sunni faction has killed 18 al-Qaeda militants in an attack on a compound near the Iraqi city of Samarra, police have said. Another 16 al-Qaeda members were said to have been captured in the attack. The Sunni Islamic Army of Iraq - once part of the insurgency against US-led forces - said its fighters attacked the compound east of the city.
The faction is one of several Sunni former insurgent groups that have now turned against al-Qaeda. On Friday, five Sunni Arab tribal leaders had been killed in a suicide attack in Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad. The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the Islamic Army of Iraq is apparently planning to use those captured in an exchange of prisoners.
A total of 15 fighters from the Islamic Army were also killed in the attack, police sources told Reuters news agency. Analysts say that while the Islamic Army shares with the US military a common enemy in al-Qaeda, it does not support the coalition forces or their continued presence in Iraq. No US or Iraqi security forces are thought to have been involved in the fighting.
Our correspondent says many of the Sunni tribes that used to provide safe havens for the militants are actively combating al-Qaeda. Much of the violence in the troubled areas north of Baghdad reflect that struggle within the Sunni community, he says. On Friday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in the house of Sunni anti-al-Qaeda tribal leader Sheikh Faez al-Obeidi, killing him and four of his relatives. Those killed were members of the Diyala Salvation Council.
Sheikh Abu Risha, a key US ally in Anbar, was killed in September. Ten others were wounded in the blast, which happened near the town of Khalis. Diyala province, home to a mixture of Sunnis and Shias, has become a key battleground in the struggle to drive al-Qaeda from Iraq. The battle has spread there from Anbar province, once a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. Many in the Sunni community say they dislike the austere form of Islam that al-Qaeda practises.
The faction is one of several Sunni former insurgent groups that have now turned against al-Qaeda. On Friday, five Sunni Arab tribal leaders had been killed in a suicide attack in Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad. The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the Islamic Army of Iraq is apparently planning to use those captured in an exchange of prisoners.
A total of 15 fighters from the Islamic Army were also killed in the attack, police sources told Reuters news agency. Analysts say that while the Islamic Army shares with the US military a common enemy in al-Qaeda, it does not support the coalition forces or their continued presence in Iraq. No US or Iraqi security forces are thought to have been involved in the fighting.
Our correspondent says many of the Sunni tribes that used to provide safe havens for the militants are actively combating al-Qaeda. Much of the violence in the troubled areas north of Baghdad reflect that struggle within the Sunni community, he says. On Friday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in the house of Sunni anti-al-Qaeda tribal leader Sheikh Faez al-Obeidi, killing him and four of his relatives. Those killed were members of the Diyala Salvation Council.
Sheikh Abu Risha, a key US ally in Anbar, was killed in September. Ten others were wounded in the blast, which happened near the town of Khalis. Diyala province, home to a mixture of Sunnis and Shias, has become a key battleground in the struggle to drive al-Qaeda from Iraq. The battle has spread there from Anbar province, once a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. Many in the Sunni community say they dislike the austere form of Islam that al-Qaeda practises.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, Diyala Salvation Council, Islamic Army of Iraq, Samarra, Sheikh Faez al-Obeidi, tribal leaders
Friday, October 12, 2007
Major insurgent groups announce formation of political council
Insurgency, Politics
(AP) -- Six main Iraqi insurgent groups announced the formation of a "political council" aimed at "liberating" Iraq from U.S. occupation in a video aired Thursday on Al-Jazeera television. The council appeared to be a new attempt to assert the leadership of the groups, which have moved to distance themselves from another coalition of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq. In the video aired on Al-Jazeera, a man identified as the council's spokesman - wearing traditional Iraqi garb, with his face blacked out - announced the council's formation and a "political program to liberate Iraq."
He said the program was based on two principles. "First, the occupation is an oppression and aggression, rejected by Islamic Sharia law and tradition. Resistance of occupation is a right guaranteed by all religions and laws," he said. "Second, the armed resistance ... is the legitimate representative of Iraq. It is the one that bears responsibility for the leadership of the people to achieve its legitimate hope."
The groups forming the council include the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Sunna, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (Jami) and the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq. The step could be a bid by the insurgents for a more cohesive political voice at a time of considerable rearrangement among Sunni insurgent groups and Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.
Splinter factions of two insurgent groups, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Mujahideen Army, have cooperated with U.S. forces in fighting insurgents allied to al-Qaida in Iraq. Earlier this year, other groups - the Islamic Army of Iraq, the main faction of the Mujahideen Army, a branch of Ansar al-Sunna and the Fatiheen Army - formed a coalition called the Jihad and Reform Front opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq, though they have continued attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.
He said the program was based on two principles. "First, the occupation is an oppression and aggression, rejected by Islamic Sharia law and tradition. Resistance of occupation is a right guaranteed by all religions and laws," he said. "Second, the armed resistance ... is the legitimate representative of Iraq. It is the one that bears responsibility for the leadership of the people to achieve its legitimate hope."
The groups forming the council include the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Sunna, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (Jami) and the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq. The step could be a bid by the insurgents for a more cohesive political voice at a time of considerable rearrangement among Sunni insurgent groups and Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.
Splinter factions of two insurgent groups, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Mujahideen Army, have cooperated with U.S. forces in fighting insurgents allied to al-Qaida in Iraq. Earlier this year, other groups - the Islamic Army of Iraq, the main faction of the Mujahideen Army, a branch of Ansar al-Sunna and the Fatiheen Army - formed a coalition called the Jihad and Reform Front opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq, though they have continued attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Labels: Ansar al-Sunna, Islamic Army of Iraq, JAMI, Jihad and Reform Front, politics, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance, the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq, the Mujahideen Army
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Head of Islamic Army of Iraq offers to open peace talks with U.S. forces
Insurgency
(Al Jazeera) - The head of the Islamic Army of Iraq has for the first time offered to open peace talks with US forces in the country, his spokesman has told Al Jazeera. Ibrahim al Shimary, the lead spokesman for one of the most significant Sunni armed groups, said the talks could take place if the US commits to a timetable for the withdrawal of its soldiers.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, al Shimary also said that although Sunni groups are turning away from al-Qaeda, it is not because of any deal with the US as claimed in Washington. He said: "Al-Qaeda's agenda started to reveal itself clearly in October last year... they started to consider themselves as a state and started to target other Iraqi resistance factions including prominent Sunni personnel in our community and this affected our relations with them. "These killings started the media war between them and us so we decided to break away quickly in order not to give our enemies the chance to benefit from it."
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, al Shimary also said that although Sunni groups are turning away from al-Qaeda, it is not because of any deal with the US as claimed in Washington. He said: "Al-Qaeda's agenda started to reveal itself clearly in October last year... they started to consider themselves as a state and started to target other Iraqi resistance factions including prominent Sunni personnel in our community and this affected our relations with them. "These killings started the media war between them and us so we decided to break away quickly in order not to give our enemies the chance to benefit from it."
The Islamic Army in Iraq is thought to be the largest armed group and was established during the summer of 2003 to fight coalition forces. When first formed, the group appeared to have the same ideologies as al-Qaeda the group has said its primary focus was the expulsion of foreign troops from Iraq. The group claims it is composed primarily of Iraqis (Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds) as well as Arabs.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ibrahim al Shimary, Islamic Army of Iraq
