Iraq

[Casey]

A list of Iraq's most-wanted

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Associated Press
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The 29 most-wanted supporters of insurgent groups in Iraq, their alleged roles, and the rewards offered for them, as released by U.S. Central Command:


Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida affiliate and terrorist leader, $25 million.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, member of Saddam's inner circle and leader of New Regional Command and New Baath Party, $10 million.
Muhammad Yunis al-Ahmad. Al-Douri's second-in-command. $1 million.
Rashid Ta'an Kazim. Saddam-era leader and insurgent commander in Diyala province. $1 million.
Abd-al-Baqi Abd al-Karim al-Abdallah al-Sa'adun. Saddam-era leader and insurgent commander in eastern and central Iraq. $1 million.
Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti (aka Thafir Alsemak). Saddam's half-brother, insurgent financier from Syria. $1 million.
Fadhil Ibrahim Mahmud Mashadani (aka Abu Huda). Operational leader in al-Douri's New Baath Party. $200,000.
Ahmad Hasan Kaka al-Ubaydi. Saddam-era intelligence officer, associated with Ansar al-Islam and insurgent network. $200,000.
Abu Abd-al-Aziz (aka Hamza). Foreign terrorist cell leader. $200,000.
Hamin Bani Shari. Zarqawi associate. $200,000.
Nuhad Naji al-Adhari al-Dulaymi. Saddam-era intelligence chief and insurgent financier. Fled Iraq. $200,000.
Mahir al-Shami (aka Milad al-Lubnani). Al-Zarqawi associate. $200,000.
Sayf al-Din al-Rawi. Associate of the sons of al-Douri and "Chemical Ali." Believed to be in Syria. $100,000.
Muhammad Rajab al-Hadushi. Saddam-era commander and insurgent leader. $50,000.
Najim Abdullah Zahwan Khalifah Ujayli. Republican Guard officer and insurgent leader. $50,000.
Muhammad Khalaf Shakara (aka Abu Talha). Former commander for Ansar al-Islam, wanted in beheadings and other attacks. $50,000.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri. Al-Zarqawi associate. $50,000.
Abu Anas al-Iraqi. Explosives expert. $50,000.
Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. Foreign terrorist in Iraq. $50,000.
Sheikh Abdalluh Abu Azzam (aka Amir of Anbar). Zarqawi lieutenant. $50,000.
Muhammed Hardan Hashim, (aka Abu Said). Zarqawi lieutenant. $50,000.
Mailk al-Tunisi. Zarqawi facilitator. $50,000.
Abd al-Latif Humaym (aka Abu Tamuz). Former religious adviser to Saddam and insurgent financier. Fled Iraq. $50,000.
Lu'ay Ben Mohammed Saka. Zarqawi facilitator. $50,000.
Umar Husayn Hadid Salman al-Khalifawi (aka Abu Khattab, Abu Abdallah). Zarqawi associate. $50,000.
Shaykh Mahmud al-Hasani al-Sharqi. Shiite wanted in several attacks who may disguise himself by dressing as a woman. $50,000.
Shaykh Ahmad Husayn al-Dabash. Insurgent leader in Abu Ghraib area, tied to foreign terrorist network. $50,000.
Abdullah al-Janabi. Insurgent leader formerly in Fallujah. $50,000.
Ibrahim Yusif Turki al-Jabburi. Insurgent leader in the Mosul area. $50,000.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/10963134.htm

[Snakeyes]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military death toll is nearing 1,500 in the 23-month Iraq (news - web sites) war, with casualties easing in the weeks since the historic Jan. 30 elections but with little evidence the insurgency has been crippled.

The Pentagon (news - web sites) tally of military fatalities in Iraq released on Friday listed 1,480 U.S. deaths, including 1,130 killed in combat and 350 in nonhostile incidents such as vehicle and aircraft crashes. A further 11,069 U.S. troops have been wounded in combat.


U.S. military leaders said rebel attacks had declined since the parliamentary election, touted by the United States as a milestone of progress in Iraq. U.S. deaths have since slipped to about 60 percent of the rate for the three previous months.


February, with at least 51 troops killed so far, is on track for the lightest monthly U.S. death toll since last July. But experts said it was premature to say the situation had improved unalterably for the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.


"The war is basically stalemated as a military contest," said retired Army Col. Andrew Bacevich, a Boston University international relations professor.


Bacevich said the Pentagon still had not figured out the composition and organization of the insurgency, much less how to defeat it. The rebels cannot beat U.S. forces militarily although they can undermine their strength and cohesion, he added.


SOVIET COMPARISON


Cato Institute defense analyst Ted Carpenter said the recent level of U.S. casualties in Iraq resembled Soviet losses in Afghanistan (news - web sites) in the 1980s. Both wars pitted forces of an invading superpower against tenacious Muslim insurgents.


The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan began in December 1979 and ended when the last Soviet troops were withdrawn in February 1989 after more than nine costly years fighting rebels aided by the CIA (news - web sites). The Soviet occupation force numbered roughly 115,000.


About 15,000 Soviet troops were killed in the war, with a monthly average of about 135 deaths and a yearly average of 1,622 deaths. A further 37,000 were wounded.


In the Iraq war, the U.S. military has suffered about 65 deaths per month -- about half the Soviet rate in Afghanistan -- with a yearly average of 774 deaths. Carpenter noted improvements in medical treatment and body armor had suppressed the number of U.S. deaths in Iraq, with many troops surviving wounds that may have been fatal in previous wars.


In November and January, the death toll for U.S. forces and coalition partners in Iraq spiked to rates rivaling Soviet losses in Afghanistan.


"Unless the U.S. either can crush the insurgency or negotiate an end to the insurgency, then we're going to see casualty rates similar to those that the Soviets suffered in Afghanistan," Carpenter said. "Though it's not like the Battle of Verdun in World War One (260,000 dead, 450,000 wounded), it's a slow bleed of the occupation army."


Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said, "I don't find that there's a lot of value in trying to make those kinds of comparisons" between the Afghan and Iraq wars. Of the U.S. dead, Whitman said, "We mourn each and every loss and honor their courageous service."


November, which included the Falluja offensive, was the deadliest month of the Iraq war for U.S. forces, with 137 troops killed. Four British deaths raised the coalition toll to 141.


In January, 107 American troops were killed in a month spent securing the election -- the war's third-highest monthly U.S. death toll. Thirty-one troops died in one helicopter crash. The deaths of 20 soldiers from Britain and three other nations put the January coalition death toll at 127.


There is no official count of the number of deaths among Iraq's military, civilians and insurgents.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1896&u=/nm/20050225/us_nm/iraq_usa_casualties_dc_3&printer=1

[Casey]

Iraq Archives

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THE CHAOS IN IRAQ
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Translations & News
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Iraq Election
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Election Results
http://www.afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?t=82664

[Casey]

A SURVEY OF ARMED GROUPS IN IRAQ

Compiled by Kathleen Ridolfo


Ansar Al-Islam (http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3411) (Supporters of Islam). This is an extremist Kurdish group purportedly linked to Al-Qaeda. It is an offshoot of Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam, a.k.a. Islamic Brigade) and has been engaged in fighting with the PUK since September 2001. Led by Mullah Krekar (a.k.a. Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad), the military commander of Ansar al-Islam who is under house arrest in Norway. Krekar is the former military commander for the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan; he trained in Afghanistan. Krekar has denied any links to Osama bin Laden (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 29 August 2003) but bin Laden sent his greeting to the group in an audiotaped message in October 2003 (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 20 October 2003).
The group has been linked to the 19 August bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad. Reports began surfacing in September 2003 that the group had split (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 4 and 15 September 2003). There were widespread reports that the leadership changed in late 2003 and is now headed by Abu Abdallah al-Shafi'i (a.k.a. Warba Holiri al-Kurdi) who reportedly said in September that the group would change its name -- but declined to announce the name, London's "Al-Hayat" reported on 5 September 2003 (see Ansar Al-Sunnah below).
Reportedly linked to the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), led by Mullah Ali Bapir. Al-Shafi'i criticized the KIG in September 2003 for aiding U.S. forces in their attempt to crack down on Ansar militiamen. Al-Shafi'i added that other mujahedin groups inside Iraq had agreed to join up with Ansar Al-Islam.
The group claimed responsibility for the 1 February 2004 simultaneous attacks on Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) offices in Irbil, and the 17 March 2004 bombing of the Mount Lebanon Hotel in Baghdad. The group also claims to have participated in the April 2004 clashes against coalition forces in Al-Fallujah. The U.S. State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in March (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 26 March 2004).

Ansar Al-Sunnah Army. (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?t=48799&highlight=Ansar) Group formed in autumn 2003 by members of Ansar Al-Islam and other radical elements. Described itself in a statement to London-based "Al-Quds al-Arabi" published on 4 November 2003 as: "A group of mujahedin, people with knowledge, political shrewdness, and military expertise as well as those who have long experience and history in administering the Islamic ideological conflict against the infidels, brought several groups and various jihadist factions together." In a 21 February statement published in London's "Al-Quds al-Arabi," the group claims members from the ranks of clerics, tribal sheikhs, and the former Iraqi military. It claims to have fighters throughout Iraq "implementing a practical nonimported program, based on a clear view of the arena and the instructions of the true shari'a [Islamic law]." Claimed responsibility for the February 2004 simultaneous bombings of PUK and KDP headquarters in Irbil, the 14 October 2003 bombing of the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, the 20 November 2003 bombing of the PUK office in Kirkuk, as well as numerous mortar attacks on coalition forces. Reportedly headed by Abu Abdallah al-Hasan bin Mahmud. Posts monthly lists of its attacks on coalition forces at http://www.ansar-sonnah.8m.com (http://www.ansar-sonnah.8m.com/)
Ansar Al-Sunnah purportedly posted a statement to the Global Islamic Media Center website on 22 March 2004 denying any link to the National Front for the Liberation of Iraq. The latter claimed that a number of groups had joined its umbrella organization for armed groups. Ansar Al-Sunnah said in its statement that it also doubted other Islamist groups in Iraq, namely Ansar Al-Islam and Muhammad's Army support the National Front for the Liberation of Iraq, because it has made statements that appear contradictory to Islamic law.
Other groups that fall under the Ansar Al-Sunnah umbrella include the Al-Shahid Aziz Taha Squad, Al-Tawhid Batallion, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas Group, Asad Al-Islam Brigade, the Hanifah Al-Nu'man Brigades, the Abdallah bin al-Zubayr Squad, the Mu'ad ibn Jabal Unit, and the Yasin al-Bahr regiment.

Faylaq Badr (Badr Corps). The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)'s armed wing. Hadi al-Amiri is the Faylaq Badr's secretary-general. The corps was reportedly founded in 1983, just one year after Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim established SCIRI. The corps was organized into units that included an infantry, armored, artillery, antiaircraft, and commando units, according to the SCIRI website (http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk) (http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk)/). SCIRI, supported and funded by Iran, used former Iraqi military officers and commanders to train its fighters and claimed to have some 10,000 militiamen inside Iraq on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) ordered all militias, except for the Kurdish peshmerga, to disband in spring 2003, but the militia remains armed by all accounts. SCIRI head and Iraqi Governing Council member Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, who took over the leadership following al-Hakim's assassination in August 2003, said that the Faylaq Badr would disarm and change its focus (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 21 September 2003). However, al-Hakim insisted that Badr could play a contributing role to the security of Iraq in November (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 20 November 2003). Media reports have since indicated that the Faylaq Badr is actively working with the Iraqi Interior Ministry to "track down terrorist elements" attempting to enter the country (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 27 March 2004). Meanwhile, U.S. military and civilian leaders in Iraq continue to call for the group to disband and join the regular Iraqi army (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 13 March 20004).

Shahid Al-Sadr Force. The armed wing of the Al-Da'wah party, this group is highly secretive and its membership is unknown. It is not thought to be currently militarily active. The force was established in 1979. Many militiamen were based in the southern Iraqi marshes, as well as in Iraqi Kurdistan and neighboring Iran, after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein declared in March 1980 that membership in Al-Da'wah was punishable by death. Hussein led a massive crackdown on Al-Da'wah activists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Al-Da'wah claims to have lost 77,000 members in fighting against the Hussein regime. Some 40,000 Shi'ites were deported by the Ba'athist regime beginning in the 1970s after being labeled "Iranians."

Islamic Movement of Kurdistan. Established in the mid-1980s and now led by Mullah Ali Abd al-Aziz Halabji, this group set up a governing body in the Halabja region of northern Iraq in 1998, but reportedly does not impose strict Islamic law. Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Rahim, a member of the group's consultative council, told London-based "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" in an interview published on 5 August 2003 that the movement's leader was unjustly arrested by U.S. forces in Halabjah. He claimed that Mullah Abd al-Aziz is a member of the former Iraqi opposition who has since called for "means other than weapons" to further the movement's agenda. Asked about reports of links to Ansar Al-Islam, Abd al-Rahim said, "The Ansar Al-Islam group members were not happy with our new [nonviolent] policy. They are vehemently opposed to the stand of [Abd al-Aziz] on cooperation with the provincial [Kurdistan] government and the movement's participation in municipal elections." Asked whether the movement will disarm its fighters, he said, "Every party in the world should reconsider its stands and policies every now and then, and this applies to us.... We believe that our priorities at this current stage are limited to preaching and guidance. And I assure you that we have no training or other camps. All our activities are now confined to party organizational affairs." Has received aid from Iran, the United States (after 1998), and possibly Saudi Arabia.

Kurdistan Islamic Group. Established by Ali Bapir in May 2001. Bapir is a former member of the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan. The group reportedly receives funding from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. It has been linked to Ansar Al-Islam but released a statement on 11 October 2003 in "Komal" denying that any such links existed. Bapir was interviewed in "Komal" in January 2003. He said: "Our policy is that we enter into fraternity and cooperation with all Islamic groups. We seek such fraternal relations with Islamic parties and organizations, Islamist figures, and groups that follow a Salafi tradition or a Sufi or a scientific tradition. In the Islamic Group, we believe that the group must be open-minded and seek fraternity with all those who call or act for Islam. If we see a mistake, we will try to correct it through dialogue and by creating a fraternal atmosphere."

Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas. A group affiliated with Ansar Al-Sunnah. It tends to attack coalition vehicles in Baghdad.

Al-Mujahidin Brigades. Al-Taff is a reference to the battle in which Imam al-Husayn was killed. The group reportedly sent a videotape to Al-Jazeera television, broadcast on 10 May 2004, claiming that all those working for Arab and foreign companies in Al-Basrah, and specifically for Kuwaiti companies, would be targeted for kidnappings and killings.

Hizballah (Party of God). Shi'ite group not related to Lebanese Hizbollah. Appears to have only a few hundred followers.

Imam Al-Mahdi Army. Armed group of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Jama'ah al-Sadr al-Thani (Al-Sadr Group II). The size of his "army" is estimated to range between 6,000 and 10,000 men, and the cleric claims that both Sunnis and Shi'a have joined his movement from all over Iraq. Most are young, disenfranchised Shi'ites who have no previous experience and are simply attracted by the cleric's charisma and firebrand style of preaching. Al-Sadr is the son of the late Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was gunned down, presumably by Saddam Hussein's men, along with Muqtada's two brothers, in 1999. It was recently reported in the Arab press that criminal elements and pro-regime fighters have joined al-Sadr's militia. The "army" is named after the 12th Shi'ite imam, Mahdi. Shi'ites await his return on judgment day.

Usbat Al-Huda The daughter of Guidance). This group also issued a statement in the above-mentioned Usbat Al-Huda videotape. The group of women fighters pledges loyalty to Muqtada al-Sadr and threatens suicide attacks against the U.S. forces in Iraq.

Resistance Front. This group is opposed to the U.S.-led occupation and all laws, agreements, decisions, treaties, flags, and slogans resulting from it, according to a 9 May 2004 statement read on the Voice of Mujahedin Radio. The group also reportedly objects to the role of UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but does not object to a role by the United Nations in preparing for general nationwide elections in Iraq. Claims the U.S. killed hundreds of Iraqis detained in the country.

Iraqi Organization of Liberation. London's "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" reported on 4 May 2004 that this is a phony group. The report says the group had offered $2 million to whoever kills or arrests an Iraqi Governing Council member or a member of the interim government. The group also reportedly offered $5 million to anyone who kills high-profile Iraqi leaders Mas'ud Barzani, Ahmad Chalabi, Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, Jalal Talabani, or Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum. The group also reportedly promised to send the perpetrator of the above-mentioned acts abroad with his family.

Kata'ib Al-Zilzal Al-Mujahidah (Jihadist Earthquake Brigades). No information available.

Kata'ib Salah Al-Din (Salah Al-Din Brigades). This group has claimed responsibility for attacks on at least seven Iraqi policemen in late January and early February 2004. Operates in the Al-Ramadi area.

Kata'ib Al-Mujahidin (Mujahidin Brigades). Operating in Kirkuk, this group held its first conference in late February. Threatened Iraqi police, Iraqi Civil Defense Forces, the Iraqi Army, and Kurdish parties of the dire consequences of hunting down the mujahedin and impeding their actions. Group has also threatened to target security checkpoints and to kill collaborators.

Jama'at Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad (Unification and Jihad Group). Reportedly led by fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi. Often posts statements by al-Zarqawi on jihadist websites.

Jaysh Al-Mahdi (Imam Al-Mahdi Army). Armed wing of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's "Al-Sadr II Group." Estimated to have at least 6,000 members.

Jund Al-Sham. (God's Wrath). An anticoalition Shi'ite group based in Al-Basrah. Fought British troops in late March 2004.

Tha'r Allah (Vengeance Detachments). An armed group operating in Baghdad and Tikrit. Claimed in a 1 November 2003 statement that it was hunting down and killing supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime, specifically those who worked in the security and intelligence services "who are still free and who are doing as they like in all areas of Iraq." Membership reportedly comes from "all the factions" of Iraqi people and the "sons of the mass graves." Criticized the coalition and Iraqi Governing Council for not bringing former regime members to justice. "Everybody was busy with the spoils and forgot that there are thousands of criminals and killers who were behind the assassination of Ayatollah al-Hakim...and Aqilah al-Hashimi, member of the Governing Council."

Mafariz Al-Intiqam (Martyrs Brigades of the Hamas Movement). Reportedly not active in Iraq, though at least one leaflet attributed to the group circulated in the Iraqi capital in April and May 2004. The leaflet sent greetings to the Iraqis from "your faithful mujahedin brothers" in Palestine, London's "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" reported on 1 May. The leaflet said in part: "Be informed that our martyrdom-seeking brigades will return the favors [unspecified] to the sons of this dear country and that, God willing, victory is our ally."

Sarkhi Hassani. A Shi'ite cleric who claims to have an armed group. The number of members is unknown.

Mujahedin Allahu Akbar (God is Great Fighters). This group distributed leaflets in Al-Fallujah in early March 2004 claiming that suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi was killed in the northern Iraqi mountains near Al-Sulaymaniyah during a U.S. raid in the area last year, AP reported on 4 March. While the leaflet did not provide the specific date for the alleged U.S. raid or for al-Zarqawi's purported death, it is presumably referring to the March bombings of an Ansar Al-Islam stronghold in northern Iraq just days into Operation Iraqi Freedom (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 25 March 2003). The leaflets further claimed that a letter held by coalition officials in Iraq and purportedly written by al-Zarqawi (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 12 February 2004) is a fake.

Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party. This group supports former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The Political and Publishing Information Organ of the party Issued a statement published in Amman's "Al-Majd" on 3 May 2004 warning the coalition against adopting regional and tribal security formulas based on assimilating and employing military commanders from the "disbanded" Iraqi Army to lead segments of the "new army." The statement warns that any former Iraqi officer that works with the coalition places himself on the list of legitimate targets for the Iraqi resistance. Also claims to have issued a death sentence on Iraqi Governing Council members to be carried out even if they resign after 30 June 2004 for being "traitors of the nation and the people."

Fedayeen Saddam (Saddam's Martyrs). A paramilitary group founded by Saddam Hussein's son Uday in 1995. Uday briefly lost control of the organization to his younger brother, Qusay, after he transferred vast amounts of weapons to the Fedayeen without the knowledge of their father. The punishment did not last long, however, and control was soon passed back to Uday. The Fedayeen operated completely outside the law under Hussein's regime. A prewar estimate by globalsecurity.org set its membership at 18,000-40,000 troops, including a notorious death squad known to have publicly beheaded female family members of those opposed to the regime. The Fedayeen vowed to avenge the deaths of Uday and Qusay at the hands of coalition forces and are suspected of joining up with a number of Iraqi militant groups to launch attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces in recent months. French journalist Alexandre Jordanov said that he was taken hostage by Fedayeen Saddam militiamen (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 April 2004).

Al-Qiyadah Al-Amah li Jaysh Al-Iraq (General Command of the Iraqi Army). This group is led by Major General "Qaysar Jasim Hamid Ajjaj al-Qaysi," who hails from Al-Miqdadiyah and is a 1963 graduate of the Military College. He is also reportedly a leader in the National Salvation Movement.
London-based "Al-Zaman" reported on 16 February 2004 that the group has declared itself the nucleus of an Iraqi army. The group claims to have reorganized the Iraqi army that served under Saddam Hussein and works to defend the Iraqi peoples' rights and the country's unity. It supports human rights, democracy, and free elections, and calls for strong relations with the Arab states.

Islamic Jihad Brigades of Muhammad's Army. An apparent umbrella organization for the following groups: The Abdallah bin Iyad Brigade; the Al-Husayn Brigade; the Al-Abbas Brigade, the Bani-Hashim Moon; the Abdallah bin Jahsh bin Rikab Al-Asadi Brigade; the Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Brigade; the Umar Al-Faruq Brigade; the Al-Mahdi Al-Muntazar Brigade; and the Ja'far Al-Tayyar Brigade.
This group claimed responsibility for the 19 August bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad and for shelling coalition positions, including the Republican Palace compound where the CPA is headquartered. Wants the coalition to withdraw from Iraq and leave the fate of the country to Iraqis. Has accused the coalition of trying to drive a wedge between Sunnis and Shi'a.
It also issued a videotaped message in late August to Beirut's LBC satellite television warning all Islamic and neighboring countries against interfering in Iraq's internal affairs. "The Islamic Jihad Brigades of Muhammad's Army has decided to send you a warning through the destruction of your embassies in Iraq [if] you send any military or civilian forces to loot the resources of our great country," the speaker in the videotape said. The group also vowed to avenge for the 29 August 2003 assassination of Shi'ite Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim. The speaker in the videotape also outlined "instructions" of the group's higher command, led by a person identified only as Abu Islam (father of Islam). The instructions assigned responsibilities to two Islamic militant groups: The Al-Husayn Brigade was assigned the task of protecting the Al-Hawzah Shi'ite seminary in Al-Najaf as well as the holy shrines in that city and in Karbala. The Al-Walid bin Mughirah Brigade was assigned "the honor" of destroying embassies of coalition forces in Iraq. The statement refers to the U.S. as the "Disunited States of America" and the "enemy of God and humanity."
It also claimed in a February 2004 leaflet that it will set up governing councils and hold elections once the coalition withdraws from Iraq. Also threatened to kill any looters in Al-Fallujah and said Iraqis cooperating with the coalition should leave Iraq or face arrest by the group.
Eighteen resistance groups signed a joint statement published in London's "Quds Press" on 2 May 2004 calling on U.S. forces to withdraw from Al-Fallujah within 48 hours or face attack by force. The statement claimed to have killed 3,000 occupation forces in April and to have destroyed 30 planes, dozens of tanks, and other military vehicles. The statement also claimed that the coalition is attempting to hide its losses from the media, contending that some 25,000 coalition troops have been killed since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The statement also criticized the Iraqi Governing Council and threatened to punish its members, singling out Ahmad Chalabi and Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i. The signatories to the statement were: The Patriotic Army for the Liberation of Iraq; The God is Great Forces; The forces of Muhammad, Messenger of God (Sunni Arab fighters); the Asad Allah Forces; the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Battalions; The Salafi Mujahedin Group Battalions; the Battalions of the Clans of the Iraqi People; the Iraqi Islamic Army; the Ajnad Al-Islam Group Battalions; the Victorious Sect Army; the Ansar Al-Sunnah Army; Al-Qari'ah Organization Battalions; the Free Men of Iraq Army; the Abd Al-Qadir Al-Kilani Army; the Victor Salah Al-Din Battalions; the Black Banners Army; the Ababil Army; and the Martyr Ahmad Yasin Brigades.
On 28 February 2004, London's "Al-Hayat" reported that the Salah Al-Din Brigades and the Jihadist Earthquake Brigades had issued leaflets in Al-Ramadi and pasted the leaflets to the city's mosque claiming responsibility for killing two Iraqi informers and threatening to kill anyone who provided U.S. forces with information on resistance groups way out of the current situation," "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 29 May.
http://www.rferl.org/specials/IraqCrisis/specials-armedgroups.asp

[The 801]

Official: Zarqawi Eludes Capture; Computer Discovered


April 25, 2005 — Jordanian rebel Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — Iraq's most wanted fugitive — recently eluded capture by American troops, but left behind a treasure trove of information, a senior military official told ABC News.

On Feb. 20, the alleged terror mastermind was heading to a secret meeting in Ramadi, just west of Fallujah, where he used to base his operations, the official said.

Task Force 626 — the covert American military unit charged with finding Zarqawi — had troops in place to grab the fugitive, and mobile vehicle checkpoints had been established around the city's perimeter. Another U.S. official said predator drones were also in flight, tracking movements in and around the city.

A source who had been inside the Zarqawi network alerted the task force to the meeting. Officials deem the source "extremely credible."

The senior military official said that just before the meeting was scheduled, a car was pulled over as it approached a checkpoint.

"Zarqawi always has someone check the waters," said the official.

A pickup truck about a half-mile behind the car then quickly turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Officials now believe Zarqawi was in the fleeing truck. U.S. teams began a chase, but when the truck was pulled over several miles later, Zarqawi was not inside.


Zarqawi's Computer Discovered

What the task force did find in the vehicle confirmed suspicions that Zarqawi had just escaped. The official said Zarqawi's computer and 80,000 euros (about $104,000 U.S.) were discovered in the truck.

Finding the computer, said the official, "was a seminal event." It had "a very big hard drive," the official said, and recent pictures of Zarqawi. The official said Zarqawi's driver and a bodyguard were taken into custody.

The senior military official said that they have since learned Zarqawi jumped out of the vehicle when it passed beneath an overpass, presumably to avoid detection from the air, and hid there before running to a safe house in Ramadi.

Lt. Gen. John Vines — the commander responsible for daily military operations in Iraq — would not provide any detail about the apparent escape in a recent interview in Baghdad, but he did say the Zarqawi network has been damaged.


"We believe he is resilient," Vines said. "He is incredibly evil and we can't forget that. So he is dangerous still, but he is on the run."

The official told ABC News they have since figured out which house Zarqawi ran to after his escape, and the owner has been arrested. But, the official said, every time they capture one of his supporters, Zarqawi recruits someone new.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz filed this report for "World News Tonight."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=701049&page=1

[Casey]

Four Kurd Members of Al Qaeda Linked Group Arrested

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) -- Four suspected members of Ansar al-Sunna, a group linked to the Al Qaeda terror network, have been arrested in in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, security officials said Sunday.
"Kurdish security officials were informed about one of the most dangerous cells of Ansar al-Sunna and busted it in one of the mosques north of Kirkuk," the the local Joint Coordination Centre, an Iraqi-US security coordination unit, said in a statement.

The four Kurdish men were arrested at the main mosque in Rahimao, a predominantly Kurdish neighbourhood on Kirkuk's northern side, said the statement adding that the group was using the mosque for "propaganda and terror purposes".

It said the men confessed to carrying out recent attacks in Kirkuk including one on a convoy of foreign contractors.

The Iraqi government announced on Monday a 50,000-dollar (40,700-euro) reward for the capture of the group's presumed chief Abu Abdallah al-Chaffei, but a statement posted on the Internet a day later and signed by its "emir", Abu Abdallah al-Hassan ben Mahmud, said the government has put a bounty on the wrong head.

http://www.aina.org/news/20050612133721.htm

[Casey]

Our beloved Islamic Nation, tonight and at these very moments, we
bring you good news. Just a little while ago, the battles of glory,
victory, and control, have begun across Iraq. The Abu Anas Al-Shami
(may Allah have mercy on him and accept him as a martyr) Expedition
has been activated all over Iraq. Today is a day for joy and
happiness; it is a day of victory, it is a day from the hereafter and
not from this world because your Mujahideen brothers in the Al-Qaida
organization in the Land of the Two Rivers have sworn fidelity to
Allah that they will fight for this deen (Islam) and its people
(Muslims

[Petronas]

US strategy in Iraq: Is it working?
June 21, 2005

The US military strategy in Iraq has been consistent for months now: Use aggressive military operations to disrupt the flow of foreign fighters entering the country and the insurgent support lines that run along the Euphrates River west to the Syrian border. Simultaneously, the US is training Iraqi troops to fill the security vacuum that persists in the center and north of the country. By any metric of tactical military success, it's working, say analysts. US forces have strung together victory after victory. Marine and Army operations from Najaf in the south to Fallujah in the heart of the Sunni triangle and on to Mosul in the north have ended with thousands of insurgents killed and captured and tons of enemy munitions destroyed with minimal US casualties. This is what Vice President Dick Cheney probably had in mind when he told "Larry King Live" last week that the insurgency is in its "last throes."

But if another measure of success is used - a reduction in the number and lethality of insurgent attacks - the US and the new Iraqi government are failing. In the past two days, for example, US Marines and Army soldiers carried out Operations Spear and Dagger (designed to disrupt insurgent capabilities between Baghdad and Syria). At the same time, separate suicide attacks killed 20 policemen in the Kurdish city of Arbil and 23 people in a Baghdad restaurant popular with policemen, while insurgents overran a police station in southern Baghdad, killing eight officers.

The gap between tactical victories on the one hand, and few tangible improvements in the overall Iraqi security situation on the other, is creating a widening disagreement over whether the US is winning or losing the war in Iraq. The Bush administration and its supporters insist the current course is the right one and, given enough time, will succeed. Administration officials say there's anecdotal evidence that more and more Iraqis are turning from the insurgency, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Fox News on Sunday. The insurgents "are losing the Iraqi people," the US and its allies are "making steady progress," and political developments inside Iraq point to "a strategic breakthrough," she said.

Retired Marine Col. Mackubin Owens, now a professor at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., wrote in a commentary for the New York Post earlier this month that US offensive operations are yielding more gains than many in the press are crediting, and points especially to US efforts in the province of Anbar along the Euphrates River towns that serve as support lines for foreign fighters entering the country for Syria, and for domestic insurgents within the country. He argues that capture of key insurgent leaders, including up to two dozen lieutenants for the Jordanian Al Qaeda affiliate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is yielding intelligence that has had "a cascading effect, permitting the Coalition to maintain pressure on the insurgency."

But the doubters - who anecdotally seem to include a growing number of US forces on the ground - say that Iraq's war is beyond the point where it can be won by force of arms and that "staying the course" is a recipe for a deeper Iraqi quagmire. They see few signs that the conditions for a political settlement, between the country's newly empowered Shiites and its now disenfranchised Sunni Arabs, are emerging. They point to the evidence of mounting attacks, and the increasingly sectarian nature of the violence, to back up their views. "It's indisputable that the insurgents are enormously more popular among the Sunni Arab community today than they were two years ago,'' says Juan Cole, a professor of Middle Eastern History at the University of Michigan. "Every time you hear a suicide bomb has gone off ... I guarantee you that means there are 3,000 Iraqis who saw the preparations and decided that this would be a good thing."

The situation is creating increasing restlessness within President Bush's own party. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) of Nebraska told US News & World Report magazine last week, "Things aren't getting better, they're getting worse.... The White House is completely disconnected from reality." On NBC's "Meet the Press" over the weekend, Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona said: "Too often we've been told ... that we're at a turning point. What the American people should have been told and should be told ... [is] it's long; it's hard; it's tough."

Professor Cole says that Secretary Rice was correct to point out over the weekend that the key goal is to drain popular support for the insurgency within the Sunni Arab communities in the center of the country, but he disagrees that there's evidence this is happening. "If people decide ... that these guys are dirty rotten rats, and they start turning them in, then the insurgents are toast,'' he says. "But their support is not only deeper now, it's wider, too, and there's opinion polling to back this up."

The attacks of the past few days maintain the insurgent trend of the past half-year or so of targeting lightly armed and less well-protected Iraqi security officers instead of Americans. Through Sunday, 1,095 Iraqi soldiers and police have been killed this year, and that compares with 1,300 Iraqi military and police casualties in the previous 21 months, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (www.icasualties.org/oif/), a nongovernmental organization that tracks civilian and military casualties. Car bombings surged from 65 in February to 135 in April, and major attacks per day rose from around 40 in February and March to 70 in April and May.

US commanders and soldiers in Iraq frequently complain they don't have the manpower to deal anything resembling a decisive blow. Soldiers operating in tough Iraqi provinces like Anbar say they feel as if they're watering the desert: They can win any neighborhood or mid-sized city they care to and make it "bloom" for as long as they're present in strength, but their efforts wither when they inevitably leave and move on to the next engagement. "We've won every fight they've given us, but there always seem to be just as many people fighting us as when we got here,'' says one career Marine officer, who recently finished a tour in Iraq.

Anthony Cordesman, a former director of intelligence for the Office of the Secretary of Defense who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, and has produced a series of detailed studies on the war in Iraq, quotes a Marine counterinsurgency expert in Iraq in a recent paper as saying "seizing the components of suicide bombs [is] like making drug seizures: comforting, but ultimately pointless.... Both sides are still escalating to nowhere."

In cities like Fallujah, once thought to be decisively won by the US, engagements are on the rise, with three firefights on Sunday ending with 15 insurgents killed. In the city of Tal Afar in the north, violence still rages, despite three major US offensives there in the past two years; and while the once notorious Haifa Street in central Baghdad was pacified by joint US and Iraqi military efforts this spring, suicide attacks continue in other parts of the city. "The Iraqi Government and US can scarcely claim that they are clearly moving towards victory,'' Mr. Cordesman wrote at the end of May in "Iraq's Evolving Insurgency,'' a 70-page analysis of the situation (www.csis.org/ features/050512_IraqInsurg.pdf). While Cordesman acknowledges large weapons seizures made by "tireless" US operations in the country, he doubts the supply of weapons and bombmaking materials is going to dry up soon. "Few experts - if any - feel that the insurgents face any near-term supply problems given the numbers of weapons looted from Iraq's vast arms depots during and after the fighting that brought down Saddam,'' he writes.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0621/p01s01-woiq.html?s=t5

[Casey]

Press Releases: IP CAPTURES 3 AL QAEDA IN IRAQ TERRORISTS...

NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

Title:
IP CAPTURES 3 AL QAEDA IN IRAQ TERRORISTS SOUTHWEST OF MOSUL
Release Date:
12/31/2006
Release Number:
07-01-01P
Description:
BAGHDAD - Special Iraqi Police Forces, with Coalition advisers, captured three suspected members of an al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist cell during operations Dec. 31 southwest of Mosul, who are allegedly responsible for carrying out kidnapping and murder attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces.
The suspected cell members are also believed to be involved in conducting car bombing attacks in and around Mosul. They are reportedly linked to foreign fighters and facilitate their violent, criminal operations in the area.
There was minimal damage done to the objective. There were no Iraqi civilian, Iraqi forces or Coalition forces casualties.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS - IRAQ, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT MNCI-PAO-VictoryMainJOC@iraq.centcom.mil
Attachments:


Created at 1/1/2007 6:03 AM by Matthew Hasson
Last modified at 1/1/2007 6:03 AM by Matthew Hasson

http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=4373

[Casey]

So what exactly is going on in the Green Zone....???

[Chaos]

So what exactly is going on in the Green Zone....???

They've been calling it the "international zone" for a long time now. Don't want to give the false impression that it's secure...which it isnt.

What's going on there? Yoga classes, line dancing, muscle-building competitions.... same as back home. It's kinda surreal...

[Casey]

Al Qaeda-linked group says will widen Iraq attacks
03 Feb 2007 13:35:15 GMT
Source: Reuters

DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuter) - An Iraqi militant group linked to al Qaeda vowed on Saturday to widen its attacks to all parts of Iraq instead of just focusing on Baghdad, after Washington announced plans to beef up its forces in the capital.

The leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, a body set up by al Qaeda's Iraq wing and other Sunni militant groups in October, said in a Web recording the campaign would stop only "when (U.S. President George W.) Bush signs a surrender accord".

"We today announce a strategy ... which is wider and wiser with God's power. It does not involve Baghdad alone but all parts of the Islamic state," said the speaker, identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the group.

In January Bush said he would send 21,500 additional U.S. soldiers to Iraq in an effort to crack down on sectarian killings and insurgent attacks, especially in Baghdad.

Baghdadi said Bush was giving Muslim fighters a chance "to slaughter the wounded crusader giant and take advantage of the collapsing morale of its soldiers and commanders".

The authenticity of the tape could not be verified, but it was posted on Web sites used by al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.

Baghdadi called on other Sunni Muslim militant groups to join his "state" to unify insurgent ranks.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03216756.htm

Iraq: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (leader of the Islamic State) Opening of God and Victory Soon

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The name of God the Merciful
A watershed for media production
Progress

Opening of God and victory soon

Word of the prince of believers / Abu Omar al-Baghdady - Aiz

Emir of the State of Iraq

الفرقان تقدم: كلمة أمير المؤمنين أبي عمر البغدادي بعنوان/فتح من الله ونصر قريب

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

مؤسسة الفرقان للإنتاج الإعلامي


تــقــدم


فتح من الله ونصر قريب



كلمة لأمير المؤمنين / أبي عمر البغدادي - حفظه الله

أمير دولة العراق الإسلامية





للتحميل


جودة عالية 10 ميجا - mp3
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جودة منخفضة 5 ميجا - wma


http://www.sendspace.com/file/va0d3y
http://www.up-f.org/x/nsr-men-allah3.WMA
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http://rapidshare.com/files/14675141/nsr-men-allah3.WMA
http://www.archive.org/download/Shai...men-allah3.WMA


جودة جوال 2.5 ميجا


http://www.sendspace.com/file/pu6vtn
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http://www.archive.org/download/Shai...men-allah3.3GP


والله أكبر
{وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ}

وزارة الإعلام/ المتحدث الرسمي لدولة العراق الإسلامية

المصدر : (مركز الفجر للإعلام)

[Ono]

Report: Four Sunni Jihad Groups Plan to Unite Under Sheikh Abdullah Al-Janabi On January 29, 2007, Islamist websites cited a January 18, 2007 report by the Iraqi Al-Malaf news agency (http://www.almalafpress.com (http://www.almalafpress.com/) ), which stated that Sheikh Abdullah Al-Janabi - the former head of the Shura Council of the Mujahideen in Fallujah and one of the U.S.'s and the Iraqi government's most wanted- is planning to return to the jihad front. According to the report, Al-Janabi plans to head a new Iraqi jihad group called "Jaysh Al-Muslimin" (The Muslim Army) which will incorporate four organizations that have decided to unite: Kata'ib Thawrat Al-'Ishrin, Liwa Al-Islam, Jaysh Al-Mujahideen, and Jaysh Al-Rashidin. The message also mentions that five other jihad groups, whose names are not given, have recently united.

[Casey]

New Sufi Group Joins the Iraqi Insurgency
By Lydia Khalil - The Jamestown Foundation - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Volume 4, Issue 2 (February 20, 2007)

Late last year, The Jamestown Foundation reported on a new insurgent group comprised of Qadiri Sufi insurgents calling themselves the Battalions of Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (Terrorism Focus, September 19, 2006). In September 2006, it was somewhat of an anomaly.

In the early years of the Iraq conflict, Sufi orders refused to participate in the violence, causing militant Salafi groups to attack them in retaliation for not participating or as a means to spark greater sectarian violence. Adherents of Sufi orders were perceived as victims, not perpetrators of violence in Iraq. Many cooperated with coalition troops.

The ranks of Sufi insurgents, however, now appear to be growing. Early this month, another Sufi insurgent group "The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order" declared itself by posting a video on January 17 of what it claimed to be operations against coalition troops.

(...)

Sufi fighters have similar motivations for joining the insurgency as other components of Iraq's conflict—discrimination, loss of power, status and unemployment, as well as revenge and the suffering of various indecencies such as detentions. In fact, the imam of the Naqshbandi al-Rabat Mosque in Samarra, Sheikh Abaas Fadil, was detained by U.S. forces in March of last year. He was later released, but it was a humiliation for their leader.

Nevertheless, while Sufis may share similar political motivations for joining the insurgency, they do not have the same ideological or religious opposition to the presence of foreign troops and rule by a Shiite majority as do Sunnis. They oppose such circumstances only in so far as they lead to political troubles for their followers. They do not share the same ideological and religious aversion to Shiite rule in Iraq as more religiously motivated Sunnis.

Many Salafi-Jihadis who make up the global Islamist resistance have the same aversion to Sufi strains in Islam as they do Shiism.

The precursor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, Ansar al-Islam, had attacked Sufi shrines and tombs of Naqshbandi orders in Kurdistan. It seems, however, that this may be changing.

This is certainly the case in Iraq where accomplishing military and political victory over the struggling Iraqi government trumps all else. Abu Musab al-Suri, a top al-Qaeda strategist now in custody, has Sufi family origins and has displayed no anti-Sufi sentiments. Other militant Islamic thinkers, such as Abu Azzam al-Ansari, in his work "Al-Qaeda is Moving Towards Africa," published in the no. 7 issue of Sada al-Jihad, writes that "working with Sufis is easier than working with any other trend, such as Shiite or communist."

There could also be circumstantial reasons for why Sufis have joined in with Sunni and Salafi groups in insurgent cooperation. Former Iraqi Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, widely regarded as one of the principal organizers behind the insurgency, is himself a practicing member of a Sufi order.

A militant branch of the Kasnazani order was involved with al-Duri. It is possible that these connections had something to do with bringing certain Sufi orders into the fold. Even without this personal factor, members of Sufi orders are participating in the Iraq insurgency in increasing numbers.

This is problematic for the country, but it does not mean that Sufis are participating on a significant scale in the worldwide militant Islamic movement, despite the current thinking of some al-Qaeda members on the subject. Even in Iraq, members of Sufi orders have not signed up wholesale. The very group that was associated with al-Duri, the Kasnazani order, is mostly pro-Iraqi government.

The mainstream of the Kasnazani order (which is itself part of the larger Qadiri order) and its leadership is involved in legitimate political activity, such as running a political party and a national newspaper.

The Iraqi government and coalition troops must take steps to ensure that more Sufi orders participate politically rather than violently, since the latter increasingly seems to be the case.

http://sufinews.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-sufi-group-joins-iraqi-insurgency.html

[Casey]

Iraqi group 'splits' from al-Qaeda

Al-Shammari: Al-Qaeda has a different agenda from that of the Islamic Army in Iraq [Al Jazeera]

One of Iraq's main armed groups has confirmed a split with al-Qaeda, according to a spokesman for the dissenting organisation.

Ibrahim al-Shammari told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the Islamic Army in Iraq had decided to disunite from al-Qaeda in Iraq after its members were threatened.

"In the beginning, we were dealing with Tawhid and Jihad organisation, which turned into al-Qaeda in Iraq," he said, his identity obscured for security reasons.

"Specifically after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died, the gap between us [and al-Qaeda] widened, because [they] started to target our members."


Different goals

Al-Shammari said al-Qaeda in Iraq was in pursuit of a different agenda to that of the Islamic Army in Iraq.

"They killed about 30 of our people, and we definitely don't recognise their establishment of an Islamic state - we consider it invalid."

Your Views
"The chances of success [in Iraq] are essentially zero because the Iraqi people have no voice"

Non Sequitur, Cadiz, Spain

Send us your views

The Islamic Army in Iraq is one of several nationalist groups which opposes hitting Iraqi civilians, but it has carried out high-profile attacks against multinational forces.

Al-Shammari said they would be willing to deal with the Americans if certain conditions are met.

"We, the Islamic Army in Iraq, are ready to negotiate, but only with the US congress.

"They are the representatives of the American people, and the Iraqi resistance represents the Iraqi people. We are ready to establish a dialogue with them, not with the arrogant US administration."

Al-Shammari said no talks have taken place so far with US officials and that Washington must recognise Iraqi armed groups as the only genuine representatives of the Iraqi people before such a meeting can be considered.

Main danger

Al-Shammari said that his group didn't consider US forces to be the main danger in Iraq.

"There are two occupations: Iranian and American, and the Iranian one is more dangerous than American because Iran considers Iraq as a part of their country."

The Islamic Army in Iraq's statement comes after Iraq's president said the presidential office was in contact with five insurgent groups.

Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday that the contacts mark an attempt to bring the groups into the mainstream political process.

Talabani did not reveal their identity, but said they had initially developed contacts with the "British, then the Iraqi government and then the presidency."

Talabani's statement coincided with an announcement by the US defence secretary that troop rotations in Iraq would be extended by three months.

On Wednesday, Robert Gates, highlighting an increase from the current one-year deployments, said: "Effective immediately, active army units now in the central command area [Iraq and Afghanistan] and those headed there will deploy for not more than 15 months."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/37A1B44F-F804-40C5-BF5E-9699FD1B67E3.htm

[kotzi]

Good. Let them kill themselves.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0169719520070501

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed on Tuesday in an internal fight between militants north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Brigadier-General Abdul Kareem Khalaf told Reuters "we have definite intelligence reports that al Masri was killed today".

Another source in the ministry also said Masri had been killed. Khalaf said Iraqi and U.S. forces were not involved.

The U.S. military said it could not confirm the reports.

There has been increasing friction between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups in Iraq, particularly over al Qaeda's indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Masri, an Egyptian, assumed the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq after Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike in June 2006.

Iraqi officials have blamed al Qaeda in Iraq for destroying a holy Shi'ite shrine in Samarra a year ago, an act that unleashed a surge in sectarian bloodletting that has driven Iraq closer to all-out civil war.

The U.S. military has described Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, as a close Zarqawi associate. Washington has a $5 million bounty on Masri's head.

P.S.: Oops. keith was first: http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1052782#post1052782

[rectar]

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:50:24 -0000Subject: ministry of the Islamic State in Iraq: Shaykh Masri Alive......:add09:

[kotzi]

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:50:24 -0000Subject: ministry of the Islamic State in Iraq: Shaykh Masri Alive......:add09:

Still they are killing themselves. I fully expect nothing else.

http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/default.asp

Cracks in the wall of jihad?

by Laura Mansfield

While the political tug of war over Iraq continues, the carpet of jihad woven by the various groups with that country is beginning to fray around the edges. And no one in Washington seems to have noticed.

I’m not talking about the open warfare between the Sunni and Shi’ite militias – in a sense that is old news.

What I’m referring to is the cracks that are becoming more and more evident among the Sunni jihadist groups.

Back in the fall, there was a big hoopla when the Al Qaeda-sanctioned Mujahideen Shura Council began to forge alliances with tribal leaders, culminating with the announcement of the establishment of the “Islamic State of Iraq”.

The Islamic State of Iraq, existing half in reality and half in fantasyland, seemed to be an attempt by the group to be first in line for the restoration of the Caliphate in Baghdad. They set up a skeleton infrastructure of a nation-state, and appointed an Emir.

Now, six months later, they have announced the establishment of the Cabinet, making a wide range of Ministerial appointments. Yet it remains apparent that the most important ministries within the “State” are those controlling the “security forces”, those managing the “Shari’a Court” that tries those arrested by the “security force, and those in charge of telling the world about what the first two did, In other words, the Ministries of Interior, Justice, and Information.

Let’s face it – when is the last time you’ve heard anything from the Islamic State of Iraq about any other “Ministries”? Where are the Ministry of Health and Human Services, the Ministry of Education, and other ministries providing services to their constituents?

These glaring omissions have not gone unnoticed among the Iraqi populace, and the rival Iraqi insurgent groups

Then a couple of weeks ago the Islamic Army of Iraq took their dispute with the Islamic State of Iraq public, complaining that the ISI had killed some of its members.

Kuwaiti cleric Hamid al Ali, who seems to wield a considerable amount of influence among the jihadis, jumped into the fray with a fatwa suggesting that the Islamic State of Iraq should undo its creation. He went so far as to question the motives of the founders of the State, saying that the mujahideen are only human and have faults of which they are not cognizant, including a love of power and control.

Al Ali questioned the legitimacy of ISI Emir Abu-Umar al-Baghdadi, pointing out that under Islamic law, people cannot swear allegiance to a "hidden, weak, anonymous ruler, who is lacking in empowerment." He went on to say that the establishment of the state under illegitimate leadership, and forcing it upon the citizens “with the sword” will backfire.

Louis Attiyattallah even hopped on board calling for Al Ali to retract his fatwa.

The jihadist message boards have been arguing over this for a couple of weeks now.

Then last week, the Sharia’ Commission of the Ansar al Sunnah group served notice on a jihadist board that they are resigning from the group. In their statement, the members of the Commission criticized the amir of the group for ignoring the religious advice provided by the Commission.

In the statement, they alleged that “deviations in the concepts and practices that contradict the teachings of the prophet spread, and corruption grew” within the group.

They said that after they failed in their serious efforts to keep the group to the right path, that the Commission is resigning from Ansar al Sunnah.

Ansar al Sunnah responded with a statement that any postings not released by their Media arm, Al Fajr, should not be considered legitimate. At the same time they acknowledged that two of their leaders had left the group.

The likely result of all of these fractures is that Muslim-on-Muslim violence is likely to continue to increase in Iraq. Ultimately these groups will most likely end up battling each other for control. We will likely see an increase in bombings, especially in Sunni-controlled areas.

In the meantime, just as patience for the presence of the US in Iraq wore thin fairly quickly, we are starting to see the beginnings of a backlash against the jihadist groups. Unfortunately, the people of Iraq are not in any position to defend itself against these groups, and the death toll among innocent civilians is likely to spike.

A US withdrawal from Iraq, which is one of the stated goals of the jihadist groups, would have catastrophic results for the civilian population of that country. The Iraqi government does not have the power, and has not earned enough legitimacy among the people of Iraq, to effectively combat the jihadist groups. Instead, what is likely to happen is that the rival Sunni groups would unite long enough to force the predominantly Shi’ite Iraqi government from power in what would probably be a very bloody coup d’etat.

Once the Iraqi government was dispatched, then open warfare would probably break out in relatively short order between the groups as they fight for control of the country.

At the same time, the US will continue to face serious difficulties against an enemy that is largely utilizing guerilla tactics. In some ways the situation is not all that different from that which the Soviet Union faced in Afghanistan.

In other words, we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t when it comes to a withdrawal from Iraq. Our presence there continues to inflame the situation, yet our withdrawal would leave the Iraqi people largely unprotected.

At some point, some sort of political and humanitarian solution is going to have to be implemented. And although military support is necessary, it’s time we considered whether or not the US should be the country providing that military support.

The big question is who? It’s unlikely NATO or even the UN could do any better since both of those organizations are largely seen by the mujahideen as agents of US foreign policy.

Perhaps forces from Muslim nations could take over security with better success. But what Muslim countries? Do you import Shi’ite or Sunni forces? What about the risk of members of those forces defecting and joining the jihadist movements, or ever worse, taking back elements of the jihadist movement to their own countries.

There's no easy solution to the situation in Iraq.

But one has to be found.

[Casey]

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/889/sc3.htm

Resisting the invasion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is a review of the resistance and armed groups in Iraq:

First, the main Sunni resistance groups that primarily target the US occupation:

1. The Iraqi National Islamic Resistance (the 1920 Revolution Brigades) : It emerged for the first time on 16 July 2003. Its declared aim is to liberate Iraqi territory from foreign military and political occupation and to establish a liberated and independent Iraqi state on Islamic bases. It launches armed attacks against the US forces. The attacks primarily are concentrated in the area west of Baghdad, in the regions of Abu Ghraib, Khan Dari and Falluja. It has other activities in the governorates of Ninwi, Diyali, and Al-Anbar. The group usually takes into consideration the opinions of a number of Sunni authorities in Iraq.

The group's statements, in which it claims responsibility for its operations against the US occupation, are usually distributed at the gates of the mosques after the Friday prayers.

The most prominent operations of the group during that period were the shooting down of a helicopter in the Abu Ghraib region by the Al-Zubayr Bin Al-Awwam Brigade on 1 August 2004, and the shooting down of a Chinook helicopter in the Al-Nuaymiyah region, near Falluja, by the Martyr Nur Al-Din Brigade on 9 August 2004.

Hamas Iraq is a Sunni militia group which broke off from the 1920 Revolution Brigade in March 2007. The group has claimed to have released videos of its attack on US troops.

2. The National Front for the Liberation of Iraq : The front includes 10 resistance groups. It was formed days after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003. It consists of nationalists and Islamists. Its activities are concentrated in Irbil and Kirkuk in northern Iraq; in Falluja, Samaraa, and Tikrit in central Iraq, and in Basra and Babil governorates in the south, in addition to Diyali governorate in the east and is much weaker than the 1920 Revolution Brigades.

3. The Iraqi Resistance Islamic Front (JAMI) : The front is the newest Sunni resistance group to fight the US occupation. It includes a number of small resistance factions that formed a coalition. Its political and jihad programme is based on the illegality of the occupation. Its activities against the occupation forces are concentrated in the two governorates of Ninwi and Diyali. It announced its existence for the first time on 30 May 2004.

In its statements, JAMI warns against Jewish-Zionist conspiracies in Iraq. According to statements issued by the front, JAMI's military wing, the Salah-Al-Din and Sayf-Allah Al-Maslul Brigades, has carried out dozens of operations against the US occupation forces. The most prominent of these operations were in Ninwi Governorate. These operations included the shelling of the occupation command headquarters and the semi-daily shelling of the Mosul airport. Furthermore, JAMI targets the members of US intelligence and kills them in the Al-Faysaliyah area in Mosul and also in the Governorate of Diyali.

4. Other factions : There are other factions that claim responsibility for limited military operations against the US forces. However, some of these factions have joined larger brigades that are more active and more experienced in fighting. These factions include:

Hamzah Faction : A Sunni group that appeared for the first time on 10 October 2003 in Falluja and called for the release of a local sheikh known as Sheikh Jamal Nidal, who was arrested by the US forces.

Iraqi Liberation Army : The first appearance of this group was on 15 July 2003. It warned foreign countries against sending troops to Iraq and pledged to attack those troops if they were sent.

Awakening and Holy War : A group of Arab Sunni mujahideen active in Falluja. It filmed an operation on videotape and sent the tape to Iranian television on 7 July 2003. On the tape the group said that Saddam Hussein and the United States were two sides of the same coin. The group said that it carried out operations against the US occupation in Falluja and other cities.

The White Banners : A group of local Arab Sunni mujahideen active in the Sunni triangle and probably in other areas. Originally, they were opposed to Saddam Hussein, and in alliance with the Muslim Youths and Mohamed's Army. The group criticised the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. So far, there is no information about their operations.

Al-Haqq Army : There is not much information about this group, which consists of Arab Sunni Muslims, it has some nationalistic tendencies, and it is not loyal to Saddam Hussein.

5. Baathist factions : These factions are loyal to the Baath Party and the previous regime. They do not constitute a significant proportion of the actual resistance in Iraq. Their activities are more or less restricted to financing resistance operations. The factions that still exist secretly in the Iraqi arena include:

Al-Awdah (The Return) : This faction is concentrated in northern Iraq -- Samaraa, Tikrit, Al-Dur, and Mosul. It consists of members of the former intelligence apparatus.

Saddam's Fedayeen : The faction was formed by the Saddam Hussein regime before the US invasion. Now, it is rumoured that many of its members have abandoned their loyalty to Saddam and have joined Islamic and national groups on the side of the 11 September Revolutionary Group and The Serpent's Head Movement.

Second, Shia resistance against the occupation:

Al-Sadr group : The Mahdi Army is considered the only militia experiment to emerge after the occupation. In July 2003, Shia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr announced the formation of the Mahdi Army, but not as a force directed against the occupation. Within a short period, Al-Sadr gathered between 10,000 and 15,000 well-trained youths, the majority of whom were from the poor of the Al-Sadr City, Al-Shulah and the southern cities.

Recent events include the closure of Al-Sadr's Al-Hawzah newspaper in March 2004; the arrest of Al-Sadr assistant Mustafa Al-Yaqubi against a background of suspicions about his involvement in the killing of Imam Abdul-Majid Al-Khui, and finally the writ to arrest Muqtada Al-Sadr in April on charges of assassinating Al-Khui inside the Al-Haydari Mosque in Najaf on 10 April 2003. They put the Mahdi Army in confrontation with the occupation forces in Baghdad and the southern governorates.

The greatest confrontation between this militia and the occupation forces erupted in Najaf in August 2004. The confrontation continued for nearly three weeks, and it ended with the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides. Observers believe these confrontations bestowed upon the Al-Sadr tendency the mark of an armed resistance to the occupation.

Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib Jihadi Brigades : This Shia group appeared for the first time on 12 October 2003. It vowed to kill the soldiers of any country sending its troops to support the coalition forces, and threatened to transfer the battleground to the territories of such countries if they were to send troops. The group also threatened to assassinate all members of the Interim Governing Council and any Iraqi cooperating with the coalition forces. The group also announced that Najaf and Karbala were the battlegrounds in which it would target the US forces.

Third: Factions that adopt abductions and killing:

In addition to the groups resisting occupation, other armed groups have emerged and resorted to operations of abducting and killing foreigners both to terrorise the enemy and as a political pressure card to achieve their specific demands. This was what happened when Philippine President Gloria Macapagol Arroyo decided to withdraw the Philippine forces acting under US command in Iraq after the abduction of her compatriot Angelo del Cruz on 7 July 2004 and his release at a later time.

The most prominent of these groups are:

Assadullah Brigades : The group said in a statement, number 50, "the mujahid is entitled to capture any infidel that enters Iraq, whether he works for a construction company or in any other job, because he could be a warrior, and the mujahid has the right to kill him or take him as a prisoner."

The activities of this group are concentrated in Baghdad and its suburbs. The group detained the third most senior diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy to Iraq, Mohamed Mamdouh Hilmi Qotb, in July 2004 in response to statements by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, who announced that Egypt was prepared to offer its security expertise to the interim Iraqi government. The diplomat was released after nearly a week.

Islamic Retaliation Movement : It abducted the US Marine of Lebanese origin, Wasif Ali Hassun, on 19 July 2004, and then released him.

Islamic Anger Brigades : This group abducted 15 Lebanese in June 2004 and then released them, with the exception of Hussein Ulayan, an employee of a communications company, whom it killed.

Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Brigades and Iraq's Martyrs Brigades : They are believed to be the ones who abducted Italian journalist Enzo Bladoni in August 2004 and killed him.

The Black Banners Group : A battalion of the Secret Islamic Army. The group abducted three Indians, two Kenyans, and an Egyptian working for a Kuwaiti company operating in Iraq. The aim was to compel the company to stop its activities in Iraq. The hostages were later released.

The Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi Group and The Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad Group are both headed by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

The Islamic Army in Iraq : A secret organisation that adopts the ideology of Al-Qaeda. The organisation abducted Iranian Consul Feredion Jahani and two French journalists, Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.

Ansar Al-Sunna Movement : The movement abducted 12 Nepalese on 23 August 2004 and killed them.

The last four groups are clearly intellectually close to the beliefs and thinking of Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

The first case of videotaped beheading was that of US national Nicholas Berg in May 2004. The Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi group claimed responsibility. After that, the Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad Group killed South Korean Kim Il, who was working for a Korean company providing the US Army with military installations. Following that, the abducting of hostages escalated in Iraq. Some of the hostages were killed, and others were released. The total number of hostages killed so far is: two Italians, two US nationals, two Pakistanis, one Egyptian, one Turk, one Lebanese, one Bulgarian, one South Korean and 12 Nepalese.

This is not the final word on the resistance, which keeps changing every day, with new groups forming, others lapsing and dividing into smaller groups.

Based on a report by Global Policy Forum

[NYer]

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/889/sc3.htm

Resisting the invasion



It seems the so-called Insurgency has been losing ground. (http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2008/03/iraq-opinion-la.php)

http://www.michaeltotten.com/images/Iraq%20Poll%202008%201.JPG

History may note that 07 FEB 2008 was the beginning of the end (or at least the real end of the beginning.)

http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/images/photos/angelina-jolie-baghdad.jpg