Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna

Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
جماعة أنصار السنة
Dates of operation 2003–present
Leader Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (POW)
Mullah Krekar
Active region(s) Iraq
Gaza Strip
Ideology Islamism
Islamic fundamentalism
Size 500-1000 members [1]

Ansar al-Sunnah or Jamaat Ansar al-Sunnah or Group of the Followers of Sunnah (faith) (Arabic: جماعة أنصار السنه‎), (formerly Jaish Ansar al-Sunna, or "Army of the Followers of the Sunna") is a terrorist salafi group in Iraq that is fighting the U.S.-led occupation and the elected government led by Nouri al-Maliki. The group is based in northern and central Iraq, and includes mostly Iraqi fighters. The group was founded in September 2003 as an umbrella organization for guerrillas, with former members of Ansar al-Islam, a radical Islamist organization with members currently residing in Iran after a 2003 joint operation by Iraqi and US forces forced them to flee Iraq.[2] This date coincides with the first released message from the group stating their existence, on September 20. Their goal is to expel U.S. occupation forces from Iraq.

Ansar al-Sunna is thought to have links with other Islamic organizations operating in Iraq including, the formerly Abu Musab al-Zarqawi backed, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (al-Qaeda in Iraq). In October 2004 Ansar al-Sunna released a video beheading of a Turkish truck driver on its website. The kidnappers on the video identified themselves as members of al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Source: MERIA). Initially the United States and Iraqi Interim governments reportedly linked Ansar al-Sunna to al-Qaeda. However a letter[3][4] intercepted by the American military in January 2007 exposes violent conflict between the two groups.

Following the twin Sunni and Shiite uprisings of the spring and summer of 2004, and the subsequent decrease in U.S patrols and the creation of "no-go" areas in the Sunni Triangle, Ansar al-Sunna was believed to be part of a loose coalition of insurgent groups (also including guerrillas from Mohammad's Army and al-Tawhid wal-Jihad) controlling the Sunni cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarra, and Baquba (U.S. offensives later largely wrested control from Baquba, Fallujah, and Samarra, although underground guerrilla resistance forces still have a strong presence in those cities).

On October 10, 2005, Britain's Home Office banned Ansar al-Sunna and fourteen other militant groups from operating in the United Kingdom. Under Britain's Terrorism Act 2000, being a member of a Ansar al-Sunna is punished by a 10-year prison term.

IN July 2007 representatives of the Jaish Ansar al-Sunna were instrumental in forming an alliance of sunni militant groups to prepare for the withdrawal of American and allied forces.[5] The new alliance is composed of seven groupings explicitly excluding al-Qaeda and the Baath-party. This delimitation reveals a growing split between al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Sunna over tactics, alleged attacks on Iraqi shia civilians being a main point of difference.

The same year Ansar al-Sunnah formally acknowledged the organizations origins in the Ansar al-islam, and changed their name to this.[6]

Contents

Suicide bombings

Jaish Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings in Iraq, including the devastating attacks on the offices of two main Kurdish political parties, KDP and PUK, in Irbil on February 1, 2004, that killed at least 109 people. The strikes were one of the bloodiest attacks launched by insurgents since the start of the war.

It has produced tapes and CDs that mark the "last testaments" of six bombers from previous attacks, three of whom appear non-Iraqi. Its name also appeared with eleven other insurgent groups on leaflets passed out in the Sunni Triangle cities of Ramadi and Fallujah from January 31, 2004 to February 1, 2004. The leaflets detail the insurgency's plan for seizing Iraqi cities following the departure of coalition forces.

It also has a strong presence in Mosul were it launched an offensive in November 2004 along with other foreign fighters and militant groups. After the Battle of Mosul (2004) the group maintained pockets of resistance in the western part of the city. It continued to clash with units such as the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment and it claimed responsibility for a major suicide bombing of the dining hall at the US base in Mosul on December 21, 2004 that killed 14 US soldiers, 5 US citizen Halliburton employees and 5 Iraqi soldiers. The attacker was reportedly a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest under the uniform of an Iraqi security officer. The suicide bomber's name was Abu Museli.

Militant actions

Ansar al-Sunna was one of three groups responsible for the kidnapping of foreigners in Iraq in 2004 and the subsequent broadcasting of their beheading via the Internet. In two of the videos, one of the members referred to as "The Emir" is heard warning Iraqis not to deal with US forces.One of the leaders of the organization was found dead with child pornography in his possession during a US-led raid into his compound The voice threatens to kill and send to Hell all who disobey. The speaker has not been identified but it is presumed that he is the head of Ansar al-Sunna. Ansar al-Sunna is also among the most active users of IEDs against coalition forces, a fact testified to by the numerous videos released of IED attacks claimed by the group. [1]

These are some of the attacks which they have claimed to have carried out:

2003

October

November

2004

January

February

March

August

September

October

November

December

2005

May

August

2006

June

2007

September

2010

March

November

References

  1. ^ http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/125
  2. ^ http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4213&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=182&no_cache=1
  3. ^ overview of letter from Ansar al-Sunna to Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy
  4. ^ text of that letter, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy
  5. ^ "http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2129675,00.html"
  6. ^ http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/12/ansar_alsunnah_acknowledges_re.php
  7. ^ Breitbart.tv » WARNING: Graphic Video Shows Execution of Iraqi Government ‘Apostates’
  8. ^ The Jawa Report: Ansar al-Sunnah Murders Two Iraqis
  9. ^ http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=171296
  10. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqbgmp69RPZj8GhLn_Zr-v1kue0Q?docId=CNG.7e09386b65c17f3de9348479ef8364e6.101
http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3921

See also