Islamic Army of Iraq denounces Al-Qaeda in Iraq

NEW INSURGENT GROUP "IRAQI HAMAS" EMERGES ON VIDEO

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The first video attributed to a new Iraqi insurgent group was posted to radical Islamist internet forums on Wednesday. The three-minute film, entitled "The First Operation of Iraqi Hamas" showed the explosion of a roadside bomb in the Baghdad suburbs, as a truck supplying the US military bases passes by. The group is believed to have been formed at the end of March from a split within the 1920s Brigades, a group responsible for numerous kidnapping and suicide bombs. Some analysts believe "Iraqi Hamas" comprises militiamen linked to the Islamic party in parliament and to the local chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

A man described as the group's representative in Jordan, Muhammad Ayash al-Kubeisi, told Al Jazeera "we fight the infidels and want the withdrawal of the Americans, but we do not consider the other Iraqis as apostates. For us, they are citizens, just as we are, and we want a dialogue with them.

"We do not have any organisational link with Hamas [the militant group in the Palestinian territories] but we follow its doctrine and we take our inspiration from them" he said. "We share their vision of carrying out armed resistance and at the same time standing as candidates and being involved in politics."

Regarding the al-Qaeda network, Iraqi Hamas considers its action to be limited to the country and is not interested in taking part in a global battle against the West. In radical Islamist web forums many al-Qaeda supporters have strongly criticisied the birth of this new formation They consider it a provocation; particularly given the recent criticism by al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, who blasted Hamas for joining a national unity government with the PA president Mahmoud Abbas, of the more moderate Fatah faction.

In recent weeks, most Iraqi Sunni guerilla groups have sided with the tribes of the restive al-Anbar province against the terrorists of al-Qaeda and the government of Nouri al-Maliki has begun negotiations to try to involve them in the political process.

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http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_En...01832698&par=0

That's an interesting development. I am having a hard time keeping track of all the players there.

From the Counterterrorism blog.

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Yet, dropping all pretenses towards brotherly unity, the IAI has suddenly fired off a volley of sullen contempt for Al-Qaida, its Islamic State, and its leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi--accusing the ISI of spreading "unfair, false accusations" about its would-be connections to the Baath party, threatening other insurgents with death if they refuse to swear allegiance to the ISI, and the fratricide of at least thirty fellow Sunni militants from other groups (such as the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Mujahideen Army, and Ansar al-Sunnah). The IAI took particular exception to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi's challenge to other insurgents to justify their existence by attacking American military bases: "Oh, forgive us Allah, does this era need further evidence? ...the Islamic Army has executed dozens of raids on bases and military barracks...[including] in the year 2003 before the Al-Qaida network in Iraq was even founded." The IAI even directed an appeal straight to Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, urging him to personally look into these allegations and "correct the path" of Al-Qaida's leaders in Iraq.

What does this mean? While it is tempting to think that Al-Qaida may be dramatically losing appeal among Sunni insurgents, one must also be mindful that this new letter may, more precisely, be a sign of a major split within the IAI itself, similar to what has just happened in the 1920 Revolution Brigades. As I discussed in my report State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: 2006, there have long been rumors of such a division within the Islamic Army over the group's relationship with the ISI, particularly in the western Anbar province. Meanwhile, this situation continues to develop, as it is almost certain that the Islamic State of Iraq will soon issue its own stinging digital retort.

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To me this is much more significant than the whole Anbar Salvation Council narrative. The Islamic Army in Iraq is one of the major Sunni insurgent groups with a long string of gory videos online to its credit (they're the ones with the black flag mounted on an AK, IIRC). Unlike the ASC, their feud with AQI is untainted in Iraqi eyes by a rush to embrace American military might in Anbar (that the head of the ASC feels the need to have his house protected by an Abrams tank says a lot, IMO). If the split is genuine and not a sign of weakness on the part of IAI, then al-Qaeda's days in Iraq could be numbered.

if you look into this like splitting of Iraqi Resistance and they demise, you can be wrong… This is nothing then ideological/religious look on the way how war should be waged and who is enemy. Resistance continues even today and with even new group/s (remember that “Hamas in Iraq” group?).

This split is long time coming. Brewing in Resistance started year ago but issue was postponed since war is still going so they didn’t wanted to split groups or to risk people calling them traitors. The fact that this came public so sudden catch many by surprise (jihadi forums are so divided now in they opinions or just silent waiting for official statements and response, which don’t coming yet!?).

Seams, IAI rebelling against AQI but NOT against ISI. IAI statement going only against AQI. Also, AQI is single out like cause in inner fights with 1920 Revolution Brigades, current confrontations between the two in Abu Gharib, the murder of one of their field commander (Harith Dhahir al-Dhari), killing of some members of the Army of the Mujaheddin and the Ansar al-Sunnah, killings of the sheikhs and unarmed Sunnis; and threatening to the Islamic Front…

Same thing and inner fraction/sect fights and divides happened in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya… It is “normal” maturing process when Resistance seams to think that solution (end) is relative close and they trying they best bid for power share and influence. AQI already posting statements and messages to Iraqi people where accusing IAI of inner fights and lies.

To me, this is more like IAI power challenge to AQI and wish to exercise better and greater influence on ISI then AQI. Considering that most Iraqis do not like AQI and they Salafi (“kill them all”) method, that Iraqi Resistance is based on NATIONAL Resistance, I can see IAI coming stronger from this. Matter of fact, if AQI change they views and adapt to Iraqi theater, attacks can sharply rise and Resistance get even bigger wind then before!


But, that’s just MHO.

The Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Focus, 10 Apr 07:

Leader of 1920 Revolution Brigades Killed by al-Qaeda

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The 1920 Revolution Brigades recently announced the death of its leader, Harith Dhahir Khamis al-Dari, nephew and namesake of Harith al-Dari, the exiled head of the Muslim Scholars Association. The 1920 Revolution Brigades is one of the largest indigenous Iraqi insurgent groups, but after al-Dari's death, the Brigades announced its split into two factions (the 1920 Revolution Brigades and Hamas-Iraq). The break was the result of differing viewpoints on working with the al-Anbar Salvation Council, negotiating with coalition forces and the relationship vis-à-vis al-Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Al-Dari was reportedly long targeted by al-Qaeda for his refusal to pledge allegiance to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, amir of the ISI, and was finally killed by an al-Qaeda ambush on March 27....

...Aggressive al-Qaeda tactics to take control of the Iraqi insurgency are placing indigenous Iraqi insurgent groups in an increasingly difficult position. Members of indigenous militant groups have complained that al-Qaeda has distorted the resistance and fomented sectarian conflict. Abu Hudhayfah, a commander within the 1920 Revolution Brigades, complained, "al-Qaeda's assassination of Harith Zahir al-Dari…has left resistance groups with two options: either to fight al-Qaeda and negotiate with the Americans, or fight the Americans and join the Islamic State of Iraq, which divides Iraq. Both options are bitter"....

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Here's a very informative blog that I came across last week. The author is at times stretching at his conclusions IMO, but he provides a wealth of information that makes it good reading, even if you don't buy into all his conclusions.

From this post (the whole post, not just the excerpt), I get the very specific impression that the IAI does not subscribe to the ISI, and they do this through omission in their statement rather than commission.

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Islamic Army of Iraq Lambasts Al-Qaeda, Al-Baghdadi

The Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) issued a lengthy statement today on its affiliated websites (see IAI's official website and Al-Buraq Forum, both in Arabic) under the title ‘The Islamic Army of Iraq’s Response to the Speeches of Brother Abu Omar al-Baghdadi’ that amounts to a vicious rhetorical counterattack against Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and its recent statements and actions.

This communiqué came a day after Sheikh Hamid al-Ali issued a fatwa (Arabic) casting doubts over the validity of giving allegiance to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq (ISI); this religious edict has sent jihadist forums abuzz with recriminations between supporters of Al-Qaeda and its detractors. Al-Ali is one of the more influential jihadist theologians, and he’s based in Kuwait. He goes as far as saying that Al-Qaeda should retract its declaration of the ISI and that it is unprecedented in Islam to give allegiance to an anonymous ‘Imam’ who holds no sway over territory.

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Read more here, http://talismangate.blogspot.com/200...-al-qaeda.html

I can't read this but maybe someone else can. And if someone decides to share info with me, I would appreciate that.

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Hussein bin Mahmoud Comments on the Furor Created by the Islamic Army in Iraq’s Response to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and al-Qaeda in Iraq
By SITE Institute
April 10, 2007

A translation of the article is provided to our Intel Service members.

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http://siteinstitute.org/bin/article...&Subcategory=0

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The Iraqi journalist Amir al-Kabisi writes on al-Jazeera Talk that the Islamic Army of Iraq's denunciation of al-Qaeda may be the most dangerous document since America occupied Iraq. He argues that the IAI denunciation of the Iraqi Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Iraq represents a new consensus among the rest of the insurgency's factions: not only the IAI, but HAMAS Iraq (the 1920 Revolution Brigade) and the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance and Jaysh al-Fatahayn and Jaysh al-Mujahideen and others. All of these factions, he argues are fed up with AQI and are serious in their calls to bin Laden to rein it in. And, he argues, the IAI statement may soon have a snowball effect, as factions which have thus far remained silent now speak up about their concerns. He sees the formation of the new Council for Iraqi Ulema as another sign of this, since that Council justifies itself on the basis of the need to establish a legitimate source of authoritative fatwas - implicitly rejecting the fatwas issued by al-Qaeda in Iraq. If bin Laden does not respond quickly, writes Kabisi, then al-Qaeda in Iraq could be the biggest loser and the United States the biggest beneficiary in the short term.

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More here:

http://abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaa...e_most_da.html

Thanks for giving the full article tag line, which when I read it tells us that US long term interests are not well served by all this. These guys are trying to streamline and consolidate to then be more directly effective as the enemy or nemisis of the US and our allies in Iraq.

George Singleton, Colonel, USAF (Ret.)

You are welcome, sir. That’s exactly point I was trying to make in post above. Re-organize and re-group. Some of those groups will came out even stronger then now. And point made, there are all ready some Shura organizing to consolidate and clean this mess.

Prof Marc Lynch at Abu Aardvark has an update. Al-Jazeera apparently got an interview with an Islamic Army spokesman and more details are supplied:

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Meanwhile, al-Jazeera has an important interview up with Ibrahim Shamri, spokesman of the Islamic Army of Iraq. This interview confirms most of the points in my article about the IAI's direction. Shamri explains that the IAI's jihad is exclusively focused on resisting the occupation of Iraq, and declines to offer any substantive vision of how a future Iraq might be governed. He denies having any relations whatsover with al-Qaeda, but expresses respect for the Association of Muslim Scholars and Harith al-Dhari. He is dismissive of the surge and the new security plan, assuring that it will fail as have all the others. Finally, Shamri states clearly that the IAI does not reject in principle negotiating with Americans, under two conditions: that Congress issue a binding resolution committing the United States to a complete withdrawal from Iraq in a specified time frame, and that "the resistance" be recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Iraqi people.

Finally, the Islamic State of Iraq has issued a communique expressing its current stance (available on all the forums where the ISI's communiques regularly appear). While it does not directly refer to the IAI or its other Sunni critics, its overview of the last four years defends its vision of the jihad, claiming the Iraqi jihad as part of the global jihad rather than as an Iraqi national campaign (as in the IAI's recent discourse). The ISI highlights the role of the foreign jihadists, rather than of the Iraqis (as in the IAI's statements) - and claims more than 1000 'martyrdom operations' carried out under its banner. It brags about the number of Rafidhayn (Shia) killed for their collaboration with the Americans, citing Mohamed Ibn Abd al-Wahhab as the authority on the evils of the Shia. And it justifies its controversial attacks on Sunnis as a response to the ill-considered decision of the "Sunni traitors" to join in the American project and the "political game." Expect this debate to continue, and to heat up over the coming weeks.

Bonus! The rifts over the Islamic State of Iraq are not only inside of Iraq, they extend throughout the jihadi milieu. According to a post on the al-Tajdeed forum, the Saudi dissident Mohammed al-Mas'ari (who runs the forum) plans to issue a statement in support of Hamed al-Ali's critique of the Islamic State of Iraq. One outraged commenter said that if he does, he will stop reading al-Tajdeed and urge others to do the same. No such statement has yet been issued, but I'll be following it.

LAST UPDATE: to get a sense of what and who I'm arguing against, here, click through the first link in my Guardian piece and read Kimberly Kagan's 15 page report for the Weekly Standard on developments in Anbar. The entire piece is constructed around the assumption that the only players are the Coalition, the tribal shaykhs, and "Al-Qaeda" (which is conflated with the whole Sunni insurgency). The turn against "Al-Qaeda" therefore can only be read as a turn in the Coalition's favor. But add in the reality of intra-insurgency politics, and you can immediately see the problem: to the extent that the new insurgency coalition is - as very much appears to be the case - equally dedicated to fighting the Americans as it is to resisting the Islamic State of Iraq (al-Qaeda)'s hegemony, then the whole narrative falls apart. Intentional conflation or ignorance of these intricacies, I do not know... though neither speaks well for the quality of analysis on the part of the Standard's featured expert analysis. At any rate, this is one of the several reasons why close attention to these developments - which, by the way, do not fit well in any easy partisan package - is so important.

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The fuzzy part of all this is whether or not these developments are a result of AQI's rising strength with IAI reacting defensively, or if IAI is acting from a position of strength to attack a falling, more brutal AQI.

GlobalTerrorAlert.com has an English translation of IAI's response to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the supposed emir of the Islamic State in Iraq (AQI's irhabi coalition).

Formed out of the Islamic Army in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, and the Mujahideen Army (though, interestingly, not the 1920 Revolution Brigades yet despite an open invitation), and seems to be largely opposed to al-Qaeda in Iraq's opposing alliance, the Islamic State in Iraq.

Conflicts Forum account of the formation of the RJF, involving a reach-out to Iraqi Baathists in Syria.

Evans Kohlmann on the RJF's potential impact on AQI.

Abu Aardvark notes an interview of Abdullah al-Janabi on al-Jazeera. This is the same mullah who helped lead the Mujahideen Shura Council which was kicked out of Falluja in 2004 and who features prominently in Bing West's No True Valor. He too denounces AQI and the ISI.

The RJF's website is here for those who can read Arabic.

Harith al-Dhari, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, comes out definitively against AQI and the Islamic State in Iraq in TIME. Rumint says that his son is head of the 1920s Revolution Brigade, which went to war with AQI in Baquba in 2006 and lost. He also has had close dealings with the Islamic Army in Iraq.

It's notable that the recent split and the declaration of the ISI have all occurred under the leadership of Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Hamza al-Muhajir. The death of al-Zarqawi probably cleared the decks for this recent break.

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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 Nouri 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.

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But if the senior cleric's attitude toward al-Qaeda has changed, al-Dari says he has not softened his view of the U.S. presence in Iraq. "The occupation cannot continue," he says. "As long as the Americans are in Iraq, there will be violence." Like other Sunni leaders — and some Shi'ite ones — he wants the Bush Administration to set a timetable for a withdrawal.
Al-Dari also remains inflexible in his hatred of the al-Maliki government, which he accuses of "serving foreign masters" — a reference to the close ties of leading Shi'ite politicians to Iran ...

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More details on the fighting in Amiriyah.

Sunni insurgents battle in Baghdad - Washington Post, 1 June.

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Problems arose on Tuesday when the Islamic Army, a powerful Sunni insurgent group, posted a statement at a local mosque criticizing al-Qaeda in Iraq for killing dozens of other Sunnis in Fallujah and Baghdad "on suspicion only," without sufficient evidence that they had done something wrong, according to a copy sent to The Washington Post. The message warned al-Qaeda in Iraq to stop the practice, which it said could lead to clashes between them.

Late Wednesday afternoon, according to residents reached by phone who would not be quoted by name for security reasons, an armed group scrawled graffiti on a school wall reading: "Down with al-Qaeda, long live the honest resistance." When al-Qaeda in Iraq members came to wipe away the writing, a roadside bomb exploded nearby, killing three of them, residents said.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq then attacked a mosque associated with the Islamic Army, killing the group's leader, Razi al-Zobai, and four other fighters, complaining in a statement that the Islamic Army had become involved in the political process in Iraq, residents said. In retaliation, the Islamic Army attacked a mosque associated with al-Qaeda in Iraq, killing one of the group's leaders, known as Sheik Hamid, and four other members, including Waleed Saber Tikriti, a doctor who treated al-Qaeda in Iraq's wounded, residents said.

On Thursday, al-Qaeda in Iraq reinforcements arrived from other Baghdad neighborhoods, residents said, and furious fighting erupted between the groups, lasting about four hours. Nine fighters from al-Qaeda in Iraq and six from the Islamic Army were killed, according to Abu Ahmed al-Baghdadi, an Islamic Army leader reached by telephone. He said six civilians were injured by a mortar round fired by al-Qaeda in Iraq "criminals."

Baghdadi said about 40 members of al-Qaeda in Iraq fought a force of 30 fighters from the Islamic Army and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, another Sunni insurgent group. The latter two groups were aided by local residents who oppose al-Qaeda in Iraq, he said.

Despite being outnumbered, the Sunni insurgent leaders asserted, they had a significant advantage over al-Qaeda in Iraq because its members were staying in abandoned Shiite houses that were well known, while the Sunni insurgents were blended among the population ...

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Samarra's graffiti war - AFP.

Interesting details on how coalition forces in Samarra see the IAI vs AQI battle.

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"... Al Qaeda is based on Islamic extremism, while the others only focus on the occupiers," said Colonel Jalil Al Dulaimi, who was police chief of the town north of Baghdad until he was killed in a coordinated attack on police headquarters this week. "But from our perspective, anyone who carries weapons is a terrorist. It doesn't matter what faction they are a part of," he added.

The commander of the US Army's 82nd Airborne, 3rd Brigade, Charlie Company, based in Samarra, agrees that both groups pose a threat to security in the town but says that there are important differences.

The Islamic Army "is against coalition forces and ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] that work with the coalition," says Captain Eugene "Buddy" Ferris. "Al Qaeda will blow up bombs in markets. Al Jaish Al Islami [the Islamic Army] won't," Ferris adds. "If reconciliation is ever going to occur then the Islamic Army is a group you could work with."

Both insurgent groups tag the walls with slogans, threats, and boasts.

Al Qaeda's street artists write: "The Samarra police are infidels, so we will bring you young men who love martyrdom," and "We will destroy all those who cooperate with the Americans."

The Islamic Army scribes write much the same thing, but threaten "the occupiers" instead of the local security forces and collaborators.

Matthew's job is to redirect the artistic impulses of each group against the other. "It's a way to destabilize their unification efforts," says First Lieutenant Charlie Hodges, who leads one of the graffiti patrols.

Abu Tiba, the alleged leader of Al Qaeda in Samarra, is a frequent subject.
Hodges tells Matthew to write something really terrible about Abu Tiba, something that the Islamic Army of Iraq might say about him, something that will start a fight.

Matthew nods. Then in bright red paint he writes "Abu Tiba is a terrorist and those who work with him are terrorists."

It seems somehow less menacing than the crossed out "USA" daubed next to it on the dusty brown wall.

Hodges does not read Arabic, so he asks a reporter traveling with the platoon to translate. Hodges is clearly disappointed. The black propaganda effort needs a lot more street cred than Matthew is giving him.

They climb back into the Humvees, drive around the corner, and try again ...

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Jane Arraf reports directly from Amiriya for Iraqslogger on the fighting between Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda, with the former inviting in American forces to help. Photos taken by Arraf of medics from 1-23 INF treating Iraqi civilians and fighters.

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Abu Tiba, the alleged leader of Al Qaeda in Samarra, is a frequent subject.
Hodges tells Matthew to write something really terrible about Abu Tiba, something that the Islamic Army of Iraq might say about him, something that will start a fight.

Matthew nods. Then in bright red paint he writes "Abu Tiba is a terrorist and those who work with him are terrorists."

Hodges does not read Arabic, so he asks a reporter traveling with the platoon to translate. Hodges is clearly disappointed. The black propaganda effort needs a lot more street cred than Matthew is giving him.

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Worst. IO. Ever.

Buckwheat, I agree 100% all they are doing is showing that the gangs control the neighborhood not the government. They would do better to remove it or cover it up until they can remove it and display some sense of law and order in the area. LE gang units learned this a long time ago.

7 June Washington Post - Insurgent Group Announces Truce With Al-Qaeda in Iraq by John Ward Anderson.

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A Sunni insurgent group that waged a deadly street battle last week against the rival group al-Qaeda in Iraq in a Sunni neighborhood of west Baghdad announced Wednesday that the two forces had declared a cease-fire.

The Islamic Army of Iraq, a more moderate and secular Sunni group, said it had reached the cease-fire with al-Qaeda in Iraq because the groups did not want to spill Muslim blood or damage "the project of jihad."

Last week, the two groups fought for several days in the Sunni neighborhood of Amiriyah, leaving about 30 of their fighters dead...

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Hmm, I wonder if the newfound IAI truce has anything to do with this new development with the Anbar Salvation Council?

Tribal Coalition in Anbar Said to Be Crumbling. Joshua Partlow and John Ward Anderson, Washington Post. 11 June.

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A tribal coalition formed to oppose the extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, a development that U.S. officials say has reduced violence in Iraq's troubled Anbar province, is beginning to splinter, according to an Anbar tribal leader and a U.S. military official familiar with tribal politics.

In an interview in his Baghdad office, Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, 35, a leader of the Dulaim confederation, the largest tribal organization in Anbar, said that the Anbar Salvation Council would be dissolved because of growing internal dissatisfaction over its cooperation with U.S. soldiers and the behavior of the council's most prominent member, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. Suleiman called Abu Risha a "traitor" who "sells his beliefs, his religion and his people for money."

Abu Risha, who enjoys the support of U.S. military commanders, denied the allegations and said the council is not at risk of breaking apart. "There is no such thing going on," he said in a telephone interview from Jordan.
Lt. Col. Richard D. Welch, a U.S. military official who works closely with the tribal leaders in Iraq, said that relations inside the group were strained and that he expected a complete overhaul of the coalition in coming days ...

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Originally Posted by tequila

Hmm, I wonder if the newfound IAI truce has anything to do with this new development with the Anbar Salvation Council?

Tribal Coalition in Anbar Said to Be Crumbling. Joshua Partlow and John Ward Anderson, Washington Post. 11 June.

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As I said in my other post ... this was going to happen. I am amazed that the council chiefs are still alive. The insurgency is flexible in its targetting if not uncanny in hitting the right victims at the right time.