Wednesday, September 19, 2007
AQI militants seize village in Diyala
Insurgency
(AFP) - Al-Qaeda in Iraq militants have seized control of an village in the restive province of Diyala after a two-day battle with a rival Sunni insurgent group, police said on Wednesday. Dozens of fighters from the Islamist extremist group arrived in boats on Monday and launched an attack on Al-Shuan village on the banks of the Diyala river, police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim al-Obeidi said
Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the Sunni Arab village eventually fell to the Al-Qaeda militants. Obeidi said the village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with Al-Qaeda in its fight against Iraqi and US security forces. "Al-Qaeda militants attacked the village two days ago and took control of it (Tuesday)," said Obeidi.
Quoting villagers who escaped the assault, Obeidi said seven of the 30 houses in the village had been destroyed but he gave no casualty figures. Many Sunni militants of the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution, an insurgent group formed to fight US forces in Iraq, have now joined with US and Iraqi troops to fight Al-Qaeda in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq. They also offer protection to vulnerable Sunni Arab villages under threat from Al-Qaeda as it seeks recruits for its anti-American insurgency.
Diyala, the second most dangerous region in Iraq after Baghdad, has been the focus in the past few months of a concerted military crackdown by US and Iraqi troops. According to US military commanders, dozens of fighters linked to Al-Qaeda have been killed or captured in the operation.
Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the Sunni Arab village eventually fell to the Al-Qaeda militants. Obeidi said the village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with Al-Qaeda in its fight against Iraqi and US security forces. "Al-Qaeda militants attacked the village two days ago and took control of it (Tuesday)," said Obeidi.
Quoting villagers who escaped the assault, Obeidi said seven of the 30 houses in the village had been destroyed but he gave no casualty figures. Many Sunni militants of the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution, an insurgent group formed to fight US forces in Iraq, have now joined with US and Iraqi troops to fight Al-Qaeda in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq. They also offer protection to vulnerable Sunni Arab villages under threat from Al-Qaeda as it seeks recruits for its anti-American insurgency.
Diyala, the second most dangerous region in Iraq after Baghdad, has been the focus in the past few months of a concerted military crackdown by US and Iraqi troops. According to US military commanders, dozens of fighters linked to Al-Qaeda have been killed or captured in the operation.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al-Shuan, Diyala, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Friday, August 24, 2007
Al Qaeda kidnaps women and children in attack on villages
Security
(Gulf News) - Al Qaida fighters kidnapped 15 Iraqi women and children after rival Sunni militants repelled their attack on two villages in a fierce battle yesterday in which 32 people were killed, police said. The fighting, rare on such a large scale, underscored the growing split between Sunni militant groups and Al Qaida that US forces have sought to exploit as they try to quell sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands.
About 200 Al Qaida fighters raided the villages of Shaikh Tamim and Ebrahim Yehia in restive Diyala province, north of Baghdad, early yesterday after launching a mortar attack on the area, police said. The attack came despite a US offensive in Diyala targeting Al Qaida. The US troops launched an operation in June to oust fighters who had taken over large parts of the provincial capital, Baquba. Many escaped to fight on.
Brigadier-General Ali Delayan, police chief of Baquba, told Reuters that 22 residents had been killed in the fighting along with 10 Al Qaida fighters. Several wounded residents said villagers were loyal to the Sunni insurgent group, the 1920 Revolution Brigade. Delayan said the attackers had escaped with eight women and seven children as hostages.
A mosque that served the two villages was destroyed in the fighting and its imam was among those killed, he added. Delayan said Al Qaida attackers mortared the villages before storming into them. Rocket-propelled grenades were used in the fighting, in which three houses were destroyed. He said the gun battle with fighters loyal to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, which has recently distanced itself from Al Qaida, was triggered by the execution of four men, including the mosque imam.
Police said they arrested 22 of the attackers. The Shiite-led government and the US military still view Al Qaida as the main threat to peace in Iraq, despite the fact that is fighters make up only a small percentage of Sunni militants and many of its leaders have been killed or captured.
About 200 Al Qaida fighters raided the villages of Shaikh Tamim and Ebrahim Yehia in restive Diyala province, north of Baghdad, early yesterday after launching a mortar attack on the area, police said. The attack came despite a US offensive in Diyala targeting Al Qaida. The US troops launched an operation in June to oust fighters who had taken over large parts of the provincial capital, Baquba. Many escaped to fight on.
Brigadier-General Ali Delayan, police chief of Baquba, told Reuters that 22 residents had been killed in the fighting along with 10 Al Qaida fighters. Several wounded residents said villagers were loyal to the Sunni insurgent group, the 1920 Revolution Brigade. Delayan said the attackers had escaped with eight women and seven children as hostages.
A mosque that served the two villages was destroyed in the fighting and its imam was among those killed, he added. Delayan said Al Qaida attackers mortared the villages before storming into them. Rocket-propelled grenades were used in the fighting, in which three houses were destroyed. He said the gun battle with fighters loyal to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, which has recently distanced itself from Al Qaida, was triggered by the execution of four men, including the mosque imam.
Police said they arrested 22 of the attackers. The Shiite-led government and the US military still view Al Qaida as the main threat to peace in Iraq, despite the fact that is fighters make up only a small percentage of Sunni militants and many of its leaders have been killed or captured.
COMMENT: This act will only heighten violence between Sunni militants, tribes and Al Qaeda and is likely to turn more people against them. Al Qaeda have nor previously kidnapped such a large number of women and children only. The fate of the kidnapped women and children will also affect the outcome. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: abduction, Al Qaeda, Brigadier-General Ali Delayan, Diyala, Ebrahim Yehia, RPGs, Shaikh Tamim, Sunni militants, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sunni insurgent groups to form a political alliance
Politics
(The Guardian) - Seven of the most important Sunni-led insurgent organisations fighting the US occupation in Iraq have agreed to form a public political alliance with the aim of preparing for negotiations in advance of an American withdrawal, their leaders have told the Guardian.
In their first interview with the western media since the US-British invasion of 2003, leaders of three of the insurgent groups - responsible for thousands of attacks against US and Iraqi armed forces and police - said they would continue their armed resistance until all foreign troops were withdrawn from Iraq, and denounced al-Qaida for sectarian killings and suicide bombings against civilians.
Speaking in Damascus, the spokesmen for the three groups - the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Ansar al-Sunna and Iraqi Hamas - said they planned to hold a congress to launch a united front and appealed to Arab governments, other governments and the UN to help them establish a permanent political presence outside Iraq.
Abu Ahmad, spokesman for Iraqi Hamas said: "Peaceful resistance will not end the occupation. The US made clear it intended to stay for many decades. Now it is a common view in the resistance that they will start to withdraw within a year. "
The move represents a dramatic change of strategy for the mainstream Iraqi insurgency, whose leadership has remained shadowy and has largely restricted communication with the world to brief statements on the internet and Arabic media. The last three months have been the bloodiest for US forces, with 331 deaths and 2,029 wounded, as the 28,000-strong "surge" in troop numbers exposes them to more attacks.
Leaders of the three groups, who did not use their real names in the interview, said the new front, which brings together the main Sunni-based armed organisations except al-Qaida and the Ba'athists, had agreed the main planks of a joint political programme, including a commitment to free Iraq from foreign troops, rejection of cooperation with parties involved in political institutions set up under the occupation and a declaration that decisions and agreements made by the US occupation and Iraqi government are null and void.
The aim of the alliance - which includes a range of Islamist and nationalist-leaning groups and is planned to be called the Political Office for the Iraqi Resistance - is to link up with other anti-occupation groups in Iraq to negotiate with the Americans in anticipation of an early US withdrawal. The programme envisages a temporary technocratic government to run the country during a transition period until free elections can be held.
The insurgent groups deny support from any foreign government, including Syria, but claim they have been offered and rejected funding and arms from Iran. They say they have been under pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to unite. "We are the only resistance movement in modern history which has received no help or support from any other country," Abdallah Suleiman Omary, head of the political department of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, told the Guardian. "The reason is we are fighting America."
All three Sunni-based resistance leaders say they are acutely aware of the threat posed by sectarian division to the future of Iraq and emphasised the importance of working with Shia groups - but rejected any link with the Shia militia and parties because of their participation in the political institutions set up by the Americans and their role in sectarian killings.
Abd al-Rahman al-Zubeidy, political spokesman of Ansar al-Sunna, a salafist (purist Islamic) group with a particularly violent reputation in Iraq, said his organisation had split over relations with al-Qaida, whose members were mostly Iraqi, but its leaders largely foreigners.
"Resistance isn't just about killing Americans without aims or goals. Our people have come to hate al-Qaida, which gives the impression to the outside world that the resistance in Iraq are terrorists. We are against indiscriminate killing, fighting should be concentrated only on the enemy," he said. He added: "A great gap has opened up between Sunni and Shia under the occupation and al-Qaida has contributed to that."
Wayne White, of Washington's Middle East Institute and a former expert adviser to the Iraq Study Group, said it was unclear, given the diversity within the Sunni Arab insurgency, what influence the new grouping would have on the ground.
He added: "This does reveal that despite the widening cooperation on the part of some Sunni Arab insurgent groups with US forces against al-Qaida in recent months, such cooperation could prove very shortlived if the US does not make clear that it has a credible exit strategy.
"With the very real potential for a more full-blown civil war breaking out in the wake of a substantial reduction of the US military presence in Iraq, Shia and Kurds appreciate that the increased ability of Sunni Arabs to organise politically and assemble in larger armed formations as a result of such cooperation could confront them with a considerably more formidable challenge as time goes on."
In their first interview with the western media since the US-British invasion of 2003, leaders of three of the insurgent groups - responsible for thousands of attacks against US and Iraqi armed forces and police - said they would continue their armed resistance until all foreign troops were withdrawn from Iraq, and denounced al-Qaida for sectarian killings and suicide bombings against civilians.
Speaking in Damascus, the spokesmen for the three groups - the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Ansar al-Sunna and Iraqi Hamas - said they planned to hold a congress to launch a united front and appealed to Arab governments, other governments and the UN to help them establish a permanent political presence outside Iraq.
Abu Ahmad, spokesman for Iraqi Hamas said: "Peaceful resistance will not end the occupation. The US made clear it intended to stay for many decades. Now it is a common view in the resistance that they will start to withdraw within a year. "
The move represents a dramatic change of strategy for the mainstream Iraqi insurgency, whose leadership has remained shadowy and has largely restricted communication with the world to brief statements on the internet and Arabic media. The last three months have been the bloodiest for US forces, with 331 deaths and 2,029 wounded, as the 28,000-strong "surge" in troop numbers exposes them to more attacks.
Leaders of the three groups, who did not use their real names in the interview, said the new front, which brings together the main Sunni-based armed organisations except al-Qaida and the Ba'athists, had agreed the main planks of a joint political programme, including a commitment to free Iraq from foreign troops, rejection of cooperation with parties involved in political institutions set up under the occupation and a declaration that decisions and agreements made by the US occupation and Iraqi government are null and void.
The aim of the alliance - which includes a range of Islamist and nationalist-leaning groups and is planned to be called the Political Office for the Iraqi Resistance - is to link up with other anti-occupation groups in Iraq to negotiate with the Americans in anticipation of an early US withdrawal. The programme envisages a temporary technocratic government to run the country during a transition period until free elections can be held.
The insurgent groups deny support from any foreign government, including Syria, but claim they have been offered and rejected funding and arms from Iran. They say they have been under pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to unite. "We are the only resistance movement in modern history which has received no help or support from any other country," Abdallah Suleiman Omary, head of the political department of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, told the Guardian. "The reason is we are fighting America."
All three Sunni-based resistance leaders say they are acutely aware of the threat posed by sectarian division to the future of Iraq and emphasised the importance of working with Shia groups - but rejected any link with the Shia militia and parties because of their participation in the political institutions set up by the Americans and their role in sectarian killings.
Abd al-Rahman al-Zubeidy, political spokesman of Ansar al-Sunna, a salafist (purist Islamic) group with a particularly violent reputation in Iraq, said his organisation had split over relations with al-Qaida, whose members were mostly Iraqi, but its leaders largely foreigners.
"Resistance isn't just about killing Americans without aims or goals. Our people have come to hate al-Qaida, which gives the impression to the outside world that the resistance in Iraq are terrorists. We are against indiscriminate killing, fighting should be concentrated only on the enemy," he said. He added: "A great gap has opened up between Sunni and Shia under the occupation and al-Qaida has contributed to that."
Wayne White, of Washington's Middle East Institute and a former expert adviser to the Iraq Study Group, said it was unclear, given the diversity within the Sunni Arab insurgency, what influence the new grouping would have on the ground.
He added: "This does reveal that despite the widening cooperation on the part of some Sunni Arab insurgent groups with US forces against al-Qaida in recent months, such cooperation could prove very shortlived if the US does not make clear that it has a credible exit strategy.
"With the very real potential for a more full-blown civil war breaking out in the wake of a substantial reduction of the US military presence in Iraq, Shia and Kurds appreciate that the increased ability of Sunni Arabs to organise politically and assemble in larger armed formations as a result of such cooperation could confront them with a considerably more formidable challenge as time goes on."
Labels: Abd al-Rahman al-Zubeidy, Abdallah Suleiman Omary, Al Qaeda, Ansar Al Sunna, Iraqi Hamas, Political Office for the Iraqi Resistance, Sunni insurgents, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Dora Under Cordon…Conflicts Between Insurgent Groups Are Increasing
Security
(Al Mada Newspaper) - 4 JUN - While joint forces cordon the Dora area (the Tuma, Mualamin, Iskan, Abu Dcshir, Athorin and Zahour areas). These areas are witnessing a tense quiet from new conflicts between Al Qaida and the joint forces. Conflicts between Al Qaida and other killer groups such as the 1920 Revolutionary Battalions and the Islamic Army have increased. Three days ago, Al Qaida killed two young Sunni men in the Iskan area because the two victims criticized Al Qaida’s behavior.
Also, a few weeks ago Al Qaida stole the houses and family cars of Sunni families who rejected to work with Al Qaida. On another side, artillery is still being fired at the Buaitha and Abu Dcshir areas from unknown locations. Most of Dora’s families hope that the security forces succeed in eliminating all the terrorist groups. They also demand the government fix the electricity problem and clean the trash from the area. Dora residents said that the current cordon by the security forces has helped to decrease the violence but there is still some violence there.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Dora, Islamic Army, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Insurgents fight each other in western Baghdad
Security
(Voices of Iraq) - Wide-scale clashes broke out on Thursday in al-Aameriya neighborhood in western Baghdad between gunmen believed to be members of al-Ashreen (1920) Revolution Brigades and the Islamic army on the one hand and elements of al-Qaeda on the other, eyewitnesses said. "The clashes covered most of the main streets, like al-Amal al-Shaabi, al-Munathama and al-Markaz in al-Aameriya neighborhood in western Baghdad," an eyewitness told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) over the phone.
"Residents are besieged inside their houses and the clashes still underway," he added. "Many masked gunmen arrived to the area seemingly as reinforcements and are engaged in the clashes," he also said, noting that most likely they are from al-Qaeda, backing up their elements. Another eyewitness said that al-Aameriya preparatory school, where many gunmen hide, was mortared.
A third eyewitness told VOI by telephone that he can see through his house window scores of bodies in the main street near the police station in al-Aameriya. "The Iraqi army and police forces have not intervened so far, but U.S. helicopters were seen hovering over the area," the third eyewitness said. No word was available from Iraqi police or Multi-National Forces on the clashes.
Al-Aameriya, a Sunni neighborhood, is in the western part of Baghdad where many armed groups that linked to Qaeda in Iraq organization. Media reports have recently indicated a divorce between al-Qaeda and other armed factions like al-Ashreen (1920) Revolution Brigades and The Islamic Army after accusing Qaeda of being behind the killing of militants belonging to some Iraqi armed groups including the al-Ashreen Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army.
"Residents are besieged inside their houses and the clashes still underway," he added. "Many masked gunmen arrived to the area seemingly as reinforcements and are engaged in the clashes," he also said, noting that most likely they are from al-Qaeda, backing up their elements. Another eyewitness said that al-Aameriya preparatory school, where many gunmen hide, was mortared.
A third eyewitness told VOI by telephone that he can see through his house window scores of bodies in the main street near the police station in al-Aameriya. "The Iraqi army and police forces have not intervened so far, but U.S. helicopters were seen hovering over the area," the third eyewitness said. No word was available from Iraqi police or Multi-National Forces on the clashes.
Al-Aameriya, a Sunni neighborhood, is in the western part of Baghdad where many armed groups that linked to Qaeda in Iraq organization. Media reports have recently indicated a divorce between al-Qaeda and other armed factions like al-Ashreen (1920) Revolution Brigades and The Islamic Army after accusing Qaeda of being behind the killing of militants belonging to some Iraqi armed groups including the al-Ashreen Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army.
Labels: Al Qaeda, al-Aameriya, Islamic Army, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Al-sadr in talks with Sunni tribal leaders, Sunni militants
Security, Politics, Tribal
(IPS) - Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bid to unite Sunnis and Shiites on the basis of a common demand for withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces, reported last weekend by the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan, seems likely to get a positive response from Sunni armed resistance. An account given Pentagon officials by a military officer recently returned from Iraq suggests that Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province, who have generally reflected the views of the Sunni armed resistance there, are open to working with Sadr.
According to Raghavan's report on May 20, talks between Sadr's representatives and Sunni leaders, including leaders of Sunni armed resistance factions, first began in April. A commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Abu Aja Naemi, confirmed to Raghavan that his organisation had been in discussions with Sadr's representatives. Sadr's aides say he was encouraged to launch the new cross-sectarian initiative by the increasingly violent opposition from nationalist Sunni insurgents to the jihadists aligned with al Qaeda. One of his top aides, Ahmed Shaibani, recalled that the George W. Bush administration was arguing that a timetable was unacceptable because of the danger of al Qaeda taking advantage of a withdrawal.
Shaibani told Raghavan that sectarian peace could be advanced if both Sadr's Mahdi Army and Sunni insurgent groups could unite to weaken al Qaeda. Raghavan reports that the cross-sectarian united front strategy was facilitated by the fact that Shaibani had befriended members of Sunni nationalist insurgent groups while he was held in U.S. detention centres from 2004 through 2006. Now Shaibani, who heads a "reconciliation committee" for Sadr, is well positioned to gain the trust of those Sunni organisations. The talks with Sunni resistance leaders have been coordinated with a series of other moves by Sadr since early February.
Although many members of Sadr's Mahdi Army have been involved in sectarian killings and intimidation of Sunnis in Baghdad, Sadr has taken what appears to be a decisive step to break with those in his movement who have been linked to sectarian violence. Over the past three months, he has expelled at least 600 men from the Mahdi Army who were accused of murder and other violations of Sadr's policy, according to Raghavan.
The massive demonstration against the occupation mounted in Najaf by Sadr's organisation on Apr. 9, which Iraqi and foreign observers estimated at tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, was apparently timed to coincide with his initiative in opening talks with the Sunnis. The demonstration not only showed that Sadr could mobilise crowds comparable to the largest ever seen in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, but also made clear Sadr's commitment to transcending sectarian interests.
The demonstrators carried Iraqi flags instead of pictures of Sadr or other Shiite symbols. It also included a small contingent of members of the Sunni-based Islamic Party of Iraq. Sadr's decision in mid-April to pull his representatives out of the al-Maliki government also appears to have been aimed in part at clearing the way for an agreement with the Sunni insurgents. Leaders of those organisations have said they would not accept the U.S.-sponsored government in any peace negotiations with the United States.
The officer also reported that Sunni tribal sheiks have explicitly disavowed the notion that Sadr is a pawn of the Iranians, insisting instead that he doesn't like either Iran or the newly-renamed Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, which was created in Iran and supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The sheiks have warned their U.S. military contacts against aggressive military actions against Sadr's followers in Sadr City during the troop surge, according to the account given by the special ops officer.
They said Sadr hopes such provocative United States actions will ultimately result in a new Shiite resistance war against U.S. forces, and they urge swift withdrawal to avoid that outcome. Sadr's project for a Sunni-Shiite united front against both al Qaeda and U.S. occupation offers a potential basis for an eventual settlement of the sectarian civil war in Iraq as well as for U.S. withdrawal. But it could also be the basis for a new and more deadly phase of fighting if Sadr returns once more to military resistance.
Labels: Abu Aja Naemi, Al Qaeda, Iraqi Islamic Party, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sunni militants, Sunni tribal leaders, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Association of Muslim Scholars turns against Al Qaeda
Insurgency
(TIME) - Al-Qaeda has lost its most powerful friend in Iraq: Harith al-Dari, the country's most influential Sunni cleric and a prominent anti-American figure, has rejected al-Qaeda's vision of an Islamic state, telling TIME that Iraqis "will not accept such a system." In a sharp departure from his long-standing view of the terror group, al-Dari now says al-Qaeda has "gone too far." He also repudiates recent statements on Iraq by Osama bin Laden's deputy, saying: "Ayman al-Zawahiri doesn't represent Iraqis."
But al-Dari's change of heart on al-Qaeda is not necessarily good news for the Bush administration. The Sunni cleric remains an implacable foe of the U.S. occupation, and of the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He is dismissive of the "surge" in Baghdad, insisting that no solution to Iraq's problems is possible while American troops remain -- and rejects as "insincere and meaningless" al-Maliki's efforts to reach out to the Sunnis.
As leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the largest Sunni clerical body, al-Dari is the sect's most prominent figure in Iraq. Many U.S. military commanders and Iraqi government officials believe he is the spiritual head of the insurgency, and accuse his son Muthanna of personally commanding a deadly terror group known as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution (named after an anti-British uprising led by Harith al-Dari's grandfather). Both al-Daris deny direct connection with the Brigades, but say Sunni insurgent groups are part of a legitimate, nationalist resistance to occupation. He has given religious sanction to some of the insurgency's more controversial tactics, such as kidnapping and killing foreigners, citing precedents from Islamic history.
In the past, Harith al-Dari and other AMS figures have given at least tacit backing -- and occasionally open support -- to al-Qaeda, believing the terror group would help the Sunni insurgency achieve its goal of driving American forces from Iraq. But in recent months, many Sunni leaders have grown uncomfortable with al-Qaeda's indiscriminate bombing campaign, which targets Iraqi civilians more often than U.S. forces. Now, al-Dari says, insurgent groups "have changed their view of Al-Qaeda."
Al-Dari says the "harsh actions" -- suicide bombings and attacks on civilian targets -- of al-Qaeda's foreign fighters in Iraq are "unacceptable." He also accuses the group of trying to take over sole command of the fight against the Americans, pushing aside home-grown insurgent groups. But there may also be a personal reason for al-Dari's change of heart: his nephew, also known as Harith and a top commander of the Brigades, was murdered by al-Qaeda in March.
But al-Dari's change of heart on al-Qaeda is not necessarily good news for the Bush administration. The Sunni cleric remains an implacable foe of the U.S. occupation, and of the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He is dismissive of the "surge" in Baghdad, insisting that no solution to Iraq's problems is possible while American troops remain -- and rejects as "insincere and meaningless" al-Maliki's efforts to reach out to the Sunnis.
As leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the largest Sunni clerical body, al-Dari is the sect's most prominent figure in Iraq. Many U.S. military commanders and Iraqi government officials believe he is the spiritual head of the insurgency, and accuse his son Muthanna of personally commanding a deadly terror group known as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution (named after an anti-British uprising led by Harith al-Dari's grandfather). Both al-Daris deny direct connection with the Brigades, but say Sunni insurgent groups are part of a legitimate, nationalist resistance to occupation. He has given religious sanction to some of the insurgency's more controversial tactics, such as kidnapping and killing foreigners, citing precedents from Islamic history.
In the past, Harith al-Dari and other AMS figures have given at least tacit backing -- and occasionally open support -- to al-Qaeda, believing the terror group would help the Sunni insurgency achieve its goal of driving American forces from Iraq. But in recent months, many Sunni leaders have grown uncomfortable with al-Qaeda's indiscriminate bombing campaign, which targets Iraqi civilians more often than U.S. forces. Now, al-Dari says, insurgent groups "have changed their view of Al-Qaeda."
Al-Dari says the "harsh actions" -- suicide bombings and attacks on civilian targets -- of al-Qaeda's foreign fighters in Iraq are "unacceptable." He also accuses the group of trying to take over sole command of the fight against the Americans, pushing aside home-grown insurgent groups. But there may also be a personal reason for al-Dari's change of heart: his nephew, also known as Harith and a top commander of the Brigades, was murdered by al-Qaeda in March.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Harith al-Dari, Muslim Scholars Association, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Insurgent groups fighting against al-Qaeda in Iraq
Security, Tribal
(AP) - At least two major insurgent groups are battling al-Qaida in provinces outside Baghdad, American military commanders said Friday, an indication of a deepening rift between Sunni guerrilla groups in Iraq. U.S. officers say a growing number of Sunni tribes are turning against al-Qaida, repelled by the terror group's sheer brutality and austere religious extremism. The tribes are competing with al-Qaida for influence and control over diminishing territory in the face of U.S. assaults, the officers say. The influx of Sunni fighters to areas outside the capital in advance of the security crackdown in Baghdad may have further unsettled the region.
Even Sunnis who want to cooperate with the Shiite-led government are becoming more emboldened to speak out against al-Qaida. In Anbar province, more than 200 Sunni sheiks have decided to form a political party to oppose the terror group, participants said Friday. The clashes have erupted over the last two to three months, pitting al-Qaida in Iraq against the nationalist 1920 Revolution Brigades in Diyala and Salahuddin provinces north of Baghdad as well as Anbar to the west, U.S. officers said. In Diyala, another hard-line militant Sunni group, the Ansar al-Sunna Army, is also fighting al-Qaida, they said.
"It's happening daily," Lt. Col. Keith Gogas said Thursday in an interview at an Army base in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. "Our read on it is that that the more moderate, if you will, Sunni insurgents, are finding that their goals and al-Qaida's goals are at odds." American commanders cite al-Qaida's severe brand of Islam, which is so extreme that in Baqouba, al-Qaida has warned street vendors not to place tomatoes beside cucumbers because the vegetables are different genders, Col. David Sutherland said.
Such radicalism has fueled sectarian violence in Iraq and redrawn the demographics of many mixed Sunni-Shiite towns in Diyala, where tens of thousands of Shiites have been forced to flee large population centers. Previously 55 percent Sunni, 45 percent Shiite, Baqouba, where rival insurgents also have clashed, is today 80 percent Sunni and 20 percent Shiite, Sutherland said. The rift among insurgents has also been sparked by reports that some militants have been negotiating with the government and U.S. officials, who are trying to draw Sunni groups away from al-Qaida. Iraqi police and security forces, not Americans, have been negotiating with 1920 Revolution Brigades fighters, who have said "they want some help against al-Qaida," Baker said.
In a recent interview on Al-Jazeera TV, Ibrahim al-Shimmari, a spokesman for a rival group, Islamic Army in Iraq, said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to constitute a state. He said there could be no state "under crusader occupation" and vowed resistance against both American forces and Iran, which has close ties to the Shiite majority in Iraq.
The Islamic Army accuses al-Qaida of killing 30 of its members. Al-Shimmari also accuses al-Qaida of assassinating the leader of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, who died March 27 when gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades on his car outside Baghdad. The Islamic State in Iraq groups eight Sunni insurgent factions, including al-Qaida. Key Sunni insurgent groups are not part of the coalition, including the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Ansar al-Sunna Army and the 1920 Revolution Brigades.
"As tribe after tribe begins to reject al-Qaida, we are witnessing an escalation in violence by AQI (al-Qaida in Iraq) against the tribes," said Maj. Jeff Pool, military spokesman for Anbar. "East of Fallujah in the Zaidon and Zoba'a districts ... 1920 Revolution Brigades are fighting large-scale battles with AQI across their tribal areas."
Speaking in Baqouba, Mixon said that "less and less of the population, by way of the tribes, is willing to be dominated by these groups because if they are, then the tribe loses its influence in the area." And, "because of pressure we have put on them in certain areas, they have begun vying for control of space and the population," he said.
Even Sunnis who want to cooperate with the Shiite-led government are becoming more emboldened to speak out against al-Qaida. In Anbar province, more than 200 Sunni sheiks have decided to form a political party to oppose the terror group, participants said Friday. The clashes have erupted over the last two to three months, pitting al-Qaida in Iraq against the nationalist 1920 Revolution Brigades in Diyala and Salahuddin provinces north of Baghdad as well as Anbar to the west, U.S. officers said. In Diyala, another hard-line militant Sunni group, the Ansar al-Sunna Army, is also fighting al-Qaida, they said.
"It's happening daily," Lt. Col. Keith Gogas said Thursday in an interview at an Army base in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. "Our read on it is that that the more moderate, if you will, Sunni insurgents, are finding that their goals and al-Qaida's goals are at odds." American commanders cite al-Qaida's severe brand of Islam, which is so extreme that in Baqouba, al-Qaida has warned street vendors not to place tomatoes beside cucumbers because the vegetables are different genders, Col. David Sutherland said.
Such radicalism has fueled sectarian violence in Iraq and redrawn the demographics of many mixed Sunni-Shiite towns in Diyala, where tens of thousands of Shiites have been forced to flee large population centers. Previously 55 percent Sunni, 45 percent Shiite, Baqouba, where rival insurgents also have clashed, is today 80 percent Sunni and 20 percent Shiite, Sutherland said. The rift among insurgents has also been sparked by reports that some militants have been negotiating with the government and U.S. officials, who are trying to draw Sunni groups away from al-Qaida. Iraqi police and security forces, not Americans, have been negotiating with 1920 Revolution Brigades fighters, who have said "they want some help against al-Qaida," Baker said.
In a recent interview on Al-Jazeera TV, Ibrahim al-Shimmari, a spokesman for a rival group, Islamic Army in Iraq, said he did not recognize al-Qaida's claim to constitute a state. He said there could be no state "under crusader occupation" and vowed resistance against both American forces and Iran, which has close ties to the Shiite majority in Iraq.
The Islamic Army accuses al-Qaida of killing 30 of its members. Al-Shimmari also accuses al-Qaida of assassinating the leader of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, who died March 27 when gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades on his car outside Baghdad. The Islamic State in Iraq groups eight Sunni insurgent factions, including al-Qaida. Key Sunni insurgent groups are not part of the coalition, including the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Ansar al-Sunna Army and the 1920 Revolution Brigades.
"As tribe after tribe begins to reject al-Qaida, we are witnessing an escalation in violence by AQI (al-Qaida in Iraq) against the tribes," said Maj. Jeff Pool, military spokesman for Anbar. "East of Fallujah in the Zaidon and Zoba'a districts ... 1920 Revolution Brigades are fighting large-scale battles with AQI across their tribal areas."
Speaking in Baqouba, Mixon said that "less and less of the population, by way of the tribes, is willing to be dominated by these groups because if they are, then the tribe loses its influence in the area." And, "because of pressure we have put on them in certain areas, they have begun vying for control of space and the population," he said.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, Baqouba, Diyala, Salahuddin, Sunni guerillas, Sunni tribes, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Offshoot of 1920 Revoltion Brigades changes name
Insurgency
(RFE/RL) - The Islamic Conquest Corps, an offshoot of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, has reportedly announced it will change its name to the Islamic Conquest Brigades, Al-Jazeera television reported on March 27. In addition to its name change, the group said it wants to be known as the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) of Iraq.
The group called on fellow fighters to work towards better coordination and cooperation, Al-Jazeera reported. The insurgent website mohajroon.com carried a statement by the 1920 Revolution Brigades on March 18 that announced the establishment of two brigades, Fatah Al-Islam and Jihad Al-Islam. The group said the two brigades are authorized to cooperate and integrate with other groups.
Jihad Al-Islam will be responsible for insurgent activities in northern Iraq, including Mosul, Kirkuk, and Tikrit, as well as areas of southern Baghdad and its environs and Abu Ghraib. Fatah Al-Islam will be responsible for activities in Diyala, Samarra, areas of northern and central Baghdad, Al-Fallujah, Al-Ramadi, and the western regions. The Diyala branch of the 1920 Revolution Brigades is reportedly distancing itself from Al-Qaeda because of the latter's tactics, including its targeting of civilians, the "Los Angeles Times" reported on March 27.
Labels: Fatah Al-Islam, HAMAS, Islamic Conquest Brigades, Islamic Conquest Corps, Islamic Resistance Movement, Jihad Al-Islam, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Leader of 1920 Revolution Brigades killed
Insurgency
(AP) - A military leader of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, a major Sunni Arab insurgent group, was killed Tuesday west of Baghdad, the group announced in an Internet statement. A local official confirmed the death of Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, saying he died when rocket-propelled grenades hit his car and an accompanying vehicle in the Abu Ghraib district. Two associates also died, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
The U.S. military, however, said al-Dhari was killed when two suicide car bombers targeted a house in the Abu Ghraib area. Three bodies were found by U.S. troops, it said. The district official also blamed the attack on al-The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government-backed opponents of al-Qaida and supporters of the terror group in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad. Government-backed tribal militias have been trying to chase al-Qaida fighters out of the vast province, and al-Qaida has responded with bomb attacks on leaders and key supporters of the tribes allied against them.
The 1920 Revolution Brigades has consistently been rumored to have taken part in talks with American and Iraqi officials, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents lay down their arms and join the political process.
Al-Dhari's father is the sheik of al-Zuba'a tribe in Abu Ghraib. Also a member of this tribe is Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was seriously wounded Friday when a suicide bomber blew up his vest of explosives at the prayer room of his Baghdad home. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Zubaie, which killed nine people.
In separate statements, al-Dhari was mourned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab party, and by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a radical Sunni group led by the slain leader's uncle, Harith al-Dhari.
Both groups have long been suspected of maintaining links to Sunni Arab insurgent groups. The Islamic Party, however, is widely viewed as a force of moderation within the Sunni Arab minority, which is deeply embittered by the loss of its domination under Saddam Hussein. The association, by contrast, has grown increasingly militant.
The U.S. military, however, said al-Dhari was killed when two suicide car bombers targeted a house in the Abu Ghraib area. Three bodies were found by U.S. troops, it said. The district official also blamed the attack on al-The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government-backed opponents of al-Qaida and supporters of the terror group in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad. Government-backed tribal militias have been trying to chase al-Qaida fighters out of the vast province, and al-Qaida has responded with bomb attacks on leaders and key supporters of the tribes allied against them.
The 1920 Revolution Brigades has consistently been rumored to have taken part in talks with American and Iraqi officials, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents lay down their arms and join the political process.
Al-Dhari's father is the sheik of al-Zuba'a tribe in Abu Ghraib. Also a member of this tribe is Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was seriously wounded Friday when a suicide bomber blew up his vest of explosives at the prayer room of his Baghdad home. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Zubaie, which killed nine people.
In separate statements, al-Dhari was mourned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab party, and by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a radical Sunni group led by the slain leader's uncle, Harith al-Dhari.
Both groups have long been suspected of maintaining links to Sunni Arab insurgent groups. The Islamic Party, however, is widely viewed as a force of moderation within the Sunni Arab minority, which is deeply embittered by the loss of its domination under Saddam Hussein. The association, by contrast, has grown increasingly militant.
Labels: Al Qaeda, al-Zobaie tribe, Harith Dhaher al-Dhari, Iraqi Islamic Party, Muslim Scholars Association, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Reported split between al-Qaeda and Sunni Arab insurgents
Insurgency, Politics
(LA Times) - Insurgent leaders and Sunni Arab politicians say divisions between insurgent groups and Al Qaeda in Iraq have widened and have led to combat in some areas of the country, a schism that U.S. officials hope to exploit. The Sunni Arab insurgent leaders said they disagreed with the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq over tactics, including attacks on civilians, as well as over command of the movement.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, on his last day in Iraq, said Monday that American officials were actively pursuing negotiations with the Sunni factions in an effort to further isolate Al Qaeda."Iraqis are uniting against Al Qaeda," Khalilzad said. "Coalition commanders have been able to engage some insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists."
Insurgent leaders from two of the prominent groups fighting U.S. troops said the divisions between their forces and Al Qaeda were serious. They have led to skirmishes in Al Anbar province and have stopped short of combat in Diyala, east of Baghdad, they said in interviews with the Los Angeles Times. Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has taken responsibility for many of the most brutal attacks on civilians here, is made up primarily of foreign fighters. Although it shares a name with Osama bin Laden's group, it is unclear how much the two coordinate their activities.
The General Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces, a small Baath Party insurgent faction, told the Los Angeles Times it had split with Al Qaeda in Iraq in September, after the assassination of two of its members in Al Anbar. In Diyala, the 1920 Revolution Brigade, a coalition of Islamists and former Baath Party military officers, is on the verge of cutting ties with Al Qaeda.
Shiite Muslim government officials said the Iraqi government was talking to insurgents both about fighting the radical movement and reaching a truce. The government has proposed a trial cease-fire period to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, the Islamic Army in Iraq and other factions in western Baghdad. In return, the Iraqi government would mount a major reconstruction drive in battle-scarred Sunni areas, a senior member of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party said.
A rupture between Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents could prove a significant break for the Iraqi government and the Americans. But there are many potential drawbacks. Sunni politicians describe the fighting against Al Qaeda in Iraq as localized and emphasize that in some areas the various movements exist in harmony. The Iraqi factions are also believed to engage in turf wars that could sabotage any concerted effort against Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni politicians said.
The insurgents prefer to negotiate with the Americans and to bypass the Shiite-led government, which Sunni Arabs deeply distrust. Three Sunni politicians, most of them with contacts in the Sunni insurgency, said insurgent groups were struggling over domestic issues, even as Al Qaeda in Iraq pursued an international agenda.
Khalaf Ayan, a member of the Sunni Tawafiq bloc in parliament, said, "what happened is that Al Qaeda had targeted leaders of many Iraqi groups. That is why the resistance is in big conflict with Al Qaeda and is fighting against it." In October, Al Qaeda and its Iraqi affiliates announced the establishment of an Islamic State of Iraq, but insurgents have spurned it, saying it was a ploy to take over the insurgency.
Iyad Samarrai, a Sunni member of parliament from the Iraqi Islamic Party, confirmed clashes in the last three months in the Abu Ghraib area and also in Taji, north of Baghdad. But he said the Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigade were coexisting with Al Qaeda in Iraq in other areas. Samarrai explained that the spate of violence stemmed from the refusal by the 1920 Revolution Brigade and the Islamic Army to rule out negotiations with the Americans after Sunni politicians were elected to parliament in December 2005.
Shiite government officials, meanwhile, said their talks on fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq, which were taking place as part of larger discussions on a peace deal, were facing difficulties, including the fragmentation of some insurgent organizations. Another hurdle is the insistence by insurgent groups to go back to "square one, to rewrite the constitution from the beginning, to have elections from the beginning," said Shiite Haider Abadi, a member of parliament from Maliki's Dawa Party. He confirmed that the talks included the 1920 Revolution Brigade, the Islamic Army and at least five other groups.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al-Qaeda, Diyala, insurgents, Islamic State of Iraq, politicians, Sunni Arab insurgents, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
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
