According to several Mosul residents, three armed brigades took control of the city militarily, administratively, and socially. They are ISIS, the Revolutionaries Military Council, and the Naqshbandiyya movement.
The heavily armed ISIS, which includes Arab and foreign fighters, quickly took control of the city. It confiscated all medium and heavy arms, smuggling them towards Syria through the city of al-Sharkat in Salah ad-Din, close to Tikrit. Being the stronger side, ISIS imposed its decisions and type of administration on Mosul, applying "sharia" like it did previously in Syria. Its strongholds are in al-Anbar, Diyala, Salah ad-Din, and the belt around Baghdad.
The Military Council, based in Baghdad, al-Anbar, and Salah ad-Din, involves a large segment of former officers of the disbanded army. The majority had joined al-Qaeda in Mosul, al-Anbar, and other regions in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Later, several turned against al-Qaeda, joining the uprisings (al-Sahawat) against the organization. However, the most serious threat they imposed was in 2012, when they joined the protests in the Sunni regions. The Military Council hopes to establish a Sunni federation and several of its leaders are calling to break up Iraq into several small states.
On the other hand, al-Naqshbandiyya movement, headed by Saddam Hussein's former deputy, Izzat al-Douri, is the weakest of the three. It promotes the principles of the disbanded Baath party, although several of its members had joined successive Iraqi governments. Failing to rally real support in Anbar, Diyala, and Salah ad-Din, it found its base in Mosul and Arab areas of Kirkuk. The group calls for the overthrow of the new regime by any means and the return to the rule of the disbanded Baath party.
The three organizations agreed that the Mosul coup was a "Sunni revolution" to legitimize the occupation of other cities by ISIS. However, they disagreed on the management of resources and wealth, as well as the type of administration in the city.
In this regard, an informed source from Mosul who refused to disclose his name, said the three organizations disagreed at the beginning. ISIS wanted control of all state property, weapons, and equipment. The Military Council refused to empty the coffers of the state, in addition to a dispute over ISIS taking control of the banks and stealing US$ 340 million
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