| دولة العراق الإسلامية (Arabic) Dawlat al-ʿIrāq al-ʾIslāmiyyah Islamic State of Iraq |
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| Participant in Iraq War | |
Flag and logo of the Islamic State of Iraq |
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| Active | October 15, 2006 - Present |
| Ideology | Sunni Islam |
| Leaders | Abu Omar al-Baghdadi † Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi |
| Headquarters | Baqubah |
| Area of operations |
Iraq |
| Strength | 12,000+ (2006) 1,000+ (2008) |
| Allies | Al-Qaeda |
| Opponents | Iraqi security forces United States Armed Forces |
| Battles/wars | Iraq war |
The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI, Arabic: دولة العراق الإسلامية Dawlat al-ʿIrāq al-ʾIslāmiyyah), is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.[1][2] The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba, Katbiyan Ansar Al-Tawhid wal Sunnah, Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura, etc, and other clans whose population is of Sunni faith. It aims to establish a caliphate in the Sunni dominated regions of Iraq.
It claims a presence in the governorates of Baghdad, Al Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah ad Din, Ninawa, and parts of Babil and Wasit, etc. It initially claimed Baqubah as its capital.[2][3][4][5]
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Between late 2006 and May 2007, the ISI brought the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad under its control. Numerous Christian families left, unwilling to pay the Jizya tax. US efforts to drive out the ISI presence stalled in late June, 2007, despite the walling-off of streets and the use of biometric identification technology. By November 2007 the ISI had been removed from Dora, and Assyrian churches could be re-opened.[6]
The Interior Ministry of Iraq said that Al-Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was captured in Baghdad on March 9, 2007, but it was later said that the person in question was not Al-Baghdadi.[7][8]
On April 19, 2007, the organization announced that it had set up a provisional government termed "the first Islamic administration" of post-invasion Iraq. The "emirate" was stated to be headed by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and his "cabinet" of 10 "ministers"[9]:
| Name (English transliteration) and notable pseudonyms | Arabic name | Post | Notes |
| Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (Deceased April 18, 2010) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi [10] |
أبو عمر البغدادي | Emir | al- husseini is the second Emir |
| Abu Abdul Rahman al-Falahi | أبو عبد الرحمن الفلاحي ʾAbū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Falāḥī |
"First Minister" (Prime Minister) | |
| Abu Hamza al-Muhajir AKA Abu Ayyub al-Masri (Deceased April 18, 2010) Al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman [11] |
أبو حمزة المهاجر | War | Identity of al-Muhajir with al-Masri suspected. ISI has apparently only used former name. Abu Suleiman is the second minister of war. |
| Abu Uthman al-Tamimi | أبو عثمان التميمي ʾAbū ʿUṯmān at-Tamīmī |
Sharia affairs | |
| Abu Bakr al-Jabouri AKA Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jabouri (Deceased May 1/2, 2007) |
أبو بكر الجبوري ʾAbū Bakr al-Ǧabūrī AKA محارب عبد اللطيف الجبوري Muḥārib ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Ǧabūrī |
Public Relations | Common spelling variants: al-Jubouri, al-Jiburi. |
| Abu Abdul Jabar al-Janabi | أبو عبد الجبار الجنابي | Security | |
| Abu Muhammad al-Mashadani | أبو محمد المشهداني ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Mašhadānī |
Information | |
| Abu Abdul Qadir al-Eissawi | أبو عبد القادر العيساوي ʾAbū ʿAbd al-Qādir al-ʿĪsāwī |
Martyrs and Prisoners Affairs | |
| Abu Ahmed al-Janabi | أبو أحمد الجنابي ʾAbū ʾAḥmad al-Ǧanābī |
Oil | |
| Mustafa al-A'araji | مصطفى الأعرجي Muṣṭafā al-ʾAʿraǧī |
Agriculture and Fisheries | |
| Abu Abdullah al-Zabadi | أبو عبد الله الزيدي | Health | |
| Mohammed Khalil al-Badria | محمد خليل البدرية Muḥammad Ḫalīl al-Badriyyah |
Education | Announced on September 3, 2007 |
These are all considered to be noms de guerre.
On May 3, Iraqi sources claimed that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had been killed a short time earlier; no evidence was provided to support his death, and US sources remained skeptical.[12] The Islamic State of Iraq released a statement later that day that denied his death.[13] The death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri was also claimed, apparently in error too (see that article for details).
In what was apparently the same incident, "Minister of Public Relations" Abu Bakr al-Jabouri was announced to have been killed on May 1/2, 2007 near Taji.[13] The exact circumstances of the incident are unknown. The initial version of the events at Taji, as given by the Iraqi Interior Ministry, was a shootout between rival Sunni militias. Coalition and Iraqi government operations were apparently conducted in the same area about the same time, and later sources implied they were directly involved, with al-Jabouri being killed "resisting arrest". See Abu Omar al-Baghdadi for details and sources. The successor of al-Jabour (if any) is presently unknown.
In an ISI press release, responsibility was claimed for an ambush at Al Taqa (Babil) on May 12, at which one Iraqi soldier and 4 US 10th Mountain Division soldiers were killed; 3 soldiers of the US unit were captured. One was found dead in the Euphrates 11 days later. The other two were claimed to have been executed and buried in an ISI video release, after a 4,000-man manhunt by US and allied forces ended without success. No direct proof was given. Their bodies were found a year later.[14][15]
On June 18, the US launched Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as "a large-scale effort to eliminate al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating in Baquba and its surrounding areas".[16] See also Diyala province campaign.
The June 25 suicide bombing of a meeting of Al Anbar tribal leaders and officials at Mansour Hotel, Baghdad,[17] which killed 13, including 6 Sunni sheikhs[18] and some other prominent figures, was proclaimed by the ISI to have been in retaliation for the rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi police.[19] Security at the hotel, which is some 100 meters outside the Green Zone, was provided by a British contractor[20] that apparently hired guerrilla fighters to provide physical security;[21] the veracity and implications of allegated claims of responsibility of an Egyptian Islamist group and possible on-scene assistance for the suicide bomber[22] are undetermined.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi released an audio tape that issued an ultimatum to Iran. He said: "We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two-month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention ... otherwise a severe war is waiting for you." He further warned Arab states from doing business with Iran.[23]
Iran supports the Iraqi government which many see as anti-Sunni. Furthermore, Iran is believed to support Shi'ite militias, such as that of Muqtada al-Sadr, which have attacked Sunni groups and populations.
Resistance to Coalition operations in Baqubah turned out to be less than anticipated. In early July, US Army sources suggested that the ISI leadership as was in the area had largely relocated elsewhere in early June, 2007, before start of Operation Arrowhead Ripper.[24]
The 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings were attacks in Baghdad, Iraq which killed 155 people and injured at least 721 people.[25] The 8 December 2009 Baghdad bombings were attacks in Baghdad, Iraq which resulted in the deaths of at least 127 people and injured 448 more.[26] Both these attacks were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq.
The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the 25 January 2010 Baghdad bombings attack that killed 41 people. The group claimed credit for the 4 April 2010 Baghdad bombings that killed 42 people and Injured 224. On June 17, 2010 the group claimed responsibility for an attack on Central Bank of Iraq that killed 18 people and 55 wounded.[27] On August 19, 2010 a statement posted on a website often used by Islamist radicals, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a local al Qaeda umbrella group, claimed responsibility for the 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings[28] and October 2010 bombings.[29]
According to the SITE Institute,[30] the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the 2010 Baghdad church attack that took place during a Sunday Mass on October 31.[31]
The statement, which appears to be the first reaction of any group affiliated with al Qaeda to the ongoing protests in Egypt as part of the 2011 Arab Spring Movement, was issued on jihadist forums on February 8, according to the US group. The message, addressed to the protesters, says that the “market of jihad” has opened in Egypt and “the doors of martyrdom have opened,” and every able-bodied man must participate. The group urged Egyptians to ignore the “ignorant deceiving ways” of secularism, democracy, and “rotten pagan nationalism.” “Your jihad,” the message said, is in support of Islam, the weak and oppressed in Egypt, for “your people” in Gaza and Iraq, and “for every Muslim who was touched by the oppression of the tyrant of Egypt and his masters in Washington and Tel Aviv,” read a translation of the text provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.[32]
| Insurgents | Now-defunct Ba'athist rebels and insurgents | Military of Iraq and Police | Militias and others | ||
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Shia militia
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Sunni militias
Kurdish militias
Minority militias
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