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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by David O. Johnson (talk | contribs) at 18:05, 21 October 2013 (removed Syria categories and infobox; AQI not involved in Syria; only Al Nusra & ISIS; not an RS for operations in infobox). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2013.

Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia) "al-Qaeda in Iraq"
Jihadist black flag. The JTJ in their beheading videos displayed this jihadist black flag with a white or yellow circle below the shahada.
Leaders	Abu Musab al-Zarqawi † (2004–2006) Abu Ayyub al-Masri † (2006–2010) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2010–)
Dates of operation	2003 - present
Headquarters	Mosul, Iraq Fallujah, Iraq (historical)
Active regions	Iraq Limited activity in the broader Middle East
Ideology	Sunni Islamism Salafist jihadism Takfiri (anti-Shia)
Part of	Al-Qaeda (since 2004) Mujahideen Shura Council (2006) Islamic State of Iraq (since 2006)
Allies	Al-Nusra Front Abu Bakr Brigade Ansar al-Islam Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
Opponents	Multinational force in Iraq  Iraq Sons of Iraq Peshmerga Shia militias Some Sunni militias  Israel  Egypt  Jordan
Battles and wars	Iraq War Iraqi insurgency (post U.S. withdrawal)

Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), also known as al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the Islamic State of Iraq is an Iraqi Salafi jihadi militant organization said to have links to al-Qaeda. It is a major combatant actor in the Iraqi insurgency. It is mostly known for killing Shia and non-Muslim civilians.

The group was founded in 2003 as a reaction to the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, and first led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in October 2004. It first operated under the name Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Template:Lang-ar, "Group of Monotheism and Jihad"); since 2004 its official name has been Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في بلاد الرافدين, "Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia"). Foreign fighters from outside Iraq are widely thought to play a key role in its network.

Summary

Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AKA, Islamic State of Iraq) has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians as well as members of the Iraqi government and its international allies. The organization has claimed to have links to the Al-Nusra Front, a radical Islamist group fighting in the Syrian Civil War, and al-Qaida.

In late 2012 Al-Qaeda in Iraq/Islamic State of Iraq was said to have renewed its strength and more than doubled its number of troops to about 2,500 and the group was thought to be behind a dramatic increase in bombings across Iraq in 2013 which had killed nearly 2,000 people between April and Mid-June, 2013.

History

Name and name changes

The group has changed its named several times since its formation. The organization first emerged in early 2004 and called itself Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (جامعة التوحيد والجهاد, "The Monotheism and Jihad Group") but changed its name in October 2004 to Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (تنظيم القاعدة الجهاد في بلاد الرافدين), The Organization of Jihad's Base in the Country of the Two Rivers (TQJBR) and frequently referred to itself as al-Qaida in Iraq. Then in January 2006 the group merged with several smaller organizations and began calling itself Mujahideen Shura Council and in October 2006 it finally chose the name Dawlat al-'Iraq al-Islamiyya (دولة العراق الإسلامية, "Islamic State of Iraq").

As Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad

Origins

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, often abbreviated to "JTJ" or shortened to Tawhid and Jihad, Tawhid wal-Jihad and sometimes Tawhid al-Jihad (or just Al Tawhid or Tawhid), was started by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a combination of foreigners and local Islamist sympathizers. Zarqawi was a Jordanian Salafi who had traveled to Afghanistan to fight in the Soviet-Afghan War, but he arrived after the departure of the Soviet troops and soon returned to his homeland. He eventually returned to Afghanistan, running an Islamic militant training camp near Herat. Originally, Zarqawi started the network with the intention of overthrowing the kingdom of Jordan, which he considered to be un-Islamic in the fundamentalist sense, and for this purpose developed a large number of contacts and affiliates in several countries. His network may have been involved in the late 1999 plot to bomb the Millennium celebrations in the United States and Jordan. Zarqawi's operatives were also responsible for the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan in 2002.

Following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, Zarqawi moved westward into Iraq, where he reportedly received medical treatment in Baghdad for an injured leg. It is believed that he developed extensive ties in Iraq with Ansar al-Islam ("Partisans of Islam"), a Kurdish Islamist militant group based in the extreme northeast of the country. Allegedly, Ansar had ties to Iraqi Intelligence; Saddam Hussein's motivation would have been to use Ansar as a surrogate force to repress the secular Kurds fighting for independence of Kurdistan. In January 2003, Ansar's founder Mullah Krekar denied any connection with Saddam's regime. The consensus of intelligence officials has since concluded that there were no links whatsoever between Zarqawi and Saddam, and that Saddam viewed Ansar al-Islam "as a threat to the regime" and his intelligence officials were spying on the group. The Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq concluded in 2006, "Postwar information indicates that Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and that the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi."

Following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, JTJ developed into an expanding militant network including some of the remnants of Ansar al-Islam and a growing number of foreign fighters, with the purpose of resisting the coalition occupation forces and their Iraqi allies. Many foreign fighters arriving in Iraq were inititally not associated with the group, but once in the country they became dependent on Zarqawi's local contacts. In May 2004, JTJ joined forces with an obscure Islamist militant group Salafiah al-Mujahidiah.

Goals and tactics

The stated goals of JTJ were to force a withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq, to topple the Iraqi interim government, to assassinate collaborators with the occupation, to marginalize the Shia population and defeat its militias, and to subsequently establish a pure Islamic state.

JTJ differed from the other early Iraqi insurgent groups considerably in its tactics. Rather than just using conventional weapons and guerrilla tactics in ambushes against the U.S. and coalition forces, it has relied heavily on suicide bombings, often using car bombs and targeting a wide variety of groups but especially Iraqi Security Forces and those facilitating the occupation. Groups of workers that have been targeted by JTJ include Iraqi interim officials, Iraqi Shia and Kurdish political and religious figures, the country's Shia Muslim civilians, foreign civilian contractors, and the United Nations and humanitarian workers. Zarqawi's militants have been also known to use a wide variety of other tactics, including targeted kidnappings, the planting of improvised explosive devices, and mortar attacks; beginning in late June 2004, the JTJ implemented urban guerilla-style attacks using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. They also gained a worldwide notoriety for beheading Iraqi and foreign hostages and distributing video recordings of these acts on the Internet.

The group, whose spiritual advisor and deputy leader was the Palestinian cleric Abu Anas al-Shami, cited various texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (traditions) of Muhammad that they perceived to be in support of their tactics. It quoted the prophet Muhammad, who said to the people of Mecca when conquering them: "By the one in whose hand the soul of Muhammad is in, I came to you with slaughter" as narrated in the books of Hadith (traditions), and quoted Muhammad as saying "Whoever slaughters a non-Muslim sincerely for the sake of Allah, Allah will make hellfire prohibited upon him." Other verses of the Qur'an call Muslims to fight invading non-Muslims and even behead them, such where Allah says in the Qur'an, "When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them."

Activities

JTJ claimed credit for a number of attacks targeting Iraqi forces and infrastructure (including the October 2004 ambush and massacre of 49 unarmed Iraqi National Guard recruits) and for a series of attacks on humanitarian aid agencies such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It also conducted numerous attacks against U.S. military personnel throughout 2004 and audacious suicide attacks inside the high-security Green Zone perimeter in Baghdad. Zarqawi's men reputedly succeeded in assassinating several leading Iraqi politicians of the early post-Saddam era, and their bomb attack on the United Nations mission's headquarters in Iraq led the U.N. country team to relocate to Jordan and continue to work remotely.

The group either directly took responsibility or was blamed for many early Iraqi insurgent attacks, including the August 2003 series of high-profile bombings which killed 17 people at the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad; 23 people, including the chief of the United Nations mission to Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, at the UN headquarters in Baghdad; and at least 86 including Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim in the Imam Ali Mosque bombing in Najaf; as well as the November truck bombing which killed 27 people, mostly Italian paramilitary policemen, at the Italian base in Nasiriyah.

The 2004 attacks connected to the group included the series of bombings in Baghdad and Karbala which killed some 178 people during the holy Day of Ashura in March; the April failed plot to explode chemical bombs in Amman, Jordan (said to be financed by Zarqawi's network); a series of suicide boat bombings of the oil pumping stations in the Persian Gulf in April, for which Zarqawi took responsibility in a statement published by the Muntada al-Ansar Islamist web site; the May car bomb assassination of Iraqi Governing Council president Ezzedine Salim at the entrance to the Green Zone in Baghdad; the June suicide car bombing in Baghdad which killed 35 civilians; and the September car bomb which killed 47 police recruits and civilians on Haifa Street in Baghdad.

Foreign civilian hostages abducted by the group in 2004 included American citizens Nick Berg, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, Turkish citizens Durmus Kumdereli, Aytullah Gezmen and Murat Yuce, South Korean citizen Kim Sun-il, Bulgarian citizens Georgi Lazov and Ivaylo Kepov, and a British citizen Kenneth Bigley. Most of them were beheaded using knives. Al-Zarqawi personally beheaded Berg and Armstrong, but Yuce was shot dead by al-Masri and Gezmen was released after "repenting".

As Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn

Goals and umbrella organizations

In a July 2005 letter to Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Zarqawi outlined a four-stage plan to expand the Iraq War, which included expelling U.S. forces from Iraq, establishing an Islamic authority (caliphate), spreading the conflict to Iraq's secular neighbors, and engaging in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The affiliated groups were linked to regional attacks outside Iraq consistent with their stated plan, such as the Sharm al-Sheikh bombings in Egypt which killed some 88 people, including many foreign tourists.

In January 2006, AQI created an umbrella organization, the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), in an attempt to unify Sunni insurgents in Iraq. Its efforts to recruit Iraqi Sunni nationalists and secular groups were undermined by its violent tactics against civilians and its extreme Islamic fundamentalist doctrine. Because of these impediments, the attempt was largely unsuccessful.

AQI formerly attributed its attacks to the MSC until mid-October 2006, when Abu Ayyub al-Masri declared the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), another front which included the Shura Council factions. The AQI now attributes its attacks to the ISI. According to a study compiled by U.S. intelligence agencies, the ISI have plans to seize power and turn the country into a Sunni Islamic state.

Strength and activity

The group's strength is unknown, with estimates that ranged from just 850 to several thousand full-time fighters in 2007. In 2006, the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research estimated that AQI’s core membership was "more than 1,000." (These figures do not include the other six AQI-led Salafi groups organized in the Islamic State of Iraq.) The group is said to be suffering high manpower losses (including from its many "martyrdom" operations), but for a long time this appeared to have little effect on its strength and capabilities, implying a constant flow of volunteers from Iraq and abroad. However, Al Qaeda in Iraq has more that doubled in strength, from 1,000 to 2,500 fighters, since the US withdrawal from Iraq in late 2011.

In 2007 some observers and scholars suggested that the threat posed by AQI was being exaggerated and a "heavy focus on Al-Qaeda obscures a much more complicated situation on the ground." According to both the July 2007 National Intelligence Estimate and the Defense Intelligence Agency reports, AQI accounted for 15 percent of attacks in Iraq. However, the Congressional Research Service noted in its September 2007 report that attacks from al-Qaeda are less than two percent of the violence in Iraq and criticized the Bush administration’s statistics, noting that its false reporting of insurgency attacks as AQI attacks has increased since the surge operations began in 2007. In March 2007, the U.S.-sponsored Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty analyzed AQI attacks for that month and concluded the group had taken credit for 43 out of 439 attacks on Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias, and 17 out of 357 attacks on U.S. troops.

According to the 2006 U.S. Government report, this group is most clearly associated with foreign Jihadi cells operating in Iraq and has specifically targeted international forces and Iraqi citizens; most of AQI's operatives were not Iraqi, but were coming through a series of safe houses, the largest of which was on the Iraq-Syrian border. AQI's operations are predominately Iraq-based, but the United States Department of State alleges that the group maintains an extensive logistical network throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Iran, South Asia, and Europe. In a June 2008 CNN special report, al-Qaeda in Iraq was called "a well-oiled organization (...) almost as pedantically bureaucratic as was Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party", collecting new execution videos long after they stopped publicising them, and having a network of spies even in the U.S. military bases. According to the report, Iraqis (many of them former members of Hussein's secret services) have now effectively run al-Qaeda in Iraq, with "foreign fighters' roles seem mostly relegated to the cannon fodder of suicide attacks"; however, the organization's top leadership was still dominated by non-Iraqis.

Rise and decline of al-Qaeda in Iraq

The group officially pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in a letter in October 2004. That same month, the group, now popularly referred to as "Al-Qaeda in Iraq", kidnapped and murdered the Japanese citizen Shosei Koda. In November, al-Zarqawi's network was the main target of the U.S. Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, but its leadership managed to escape the American siege and subsequent storming of the city. In December, in two of its many sectarian attacks, al-Qaeda bombed a Shi'ite funeral procession in Najaf and the main bus station in nearby Karbala, killing at least 60 in the holy cities of Shia Islam. The group also reportedly took responsibility for the 30 September 2004 Baghdad bombing which killed 41 people, mostly children.

In 2005, AQI largely focused on executing high-profile and coordinated suicide attacks, claiming responsibility for numerous attacks which were primarily aimed at Iraqi civilians. The group launched attacks against voters during the Iraqi legislative election in January, a combined suicide and conventional attack on the Abu Ghraib prison in April, and the coordinated suicide attacks outside the Sheraton Ishtar and Palestine Hotel in Baghdad in October. In July, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and execution of Ihab Al-Sherif, Egypt's envoy to Iraq. A July 2005 three-day series of suicide attacks, including the Musayyib marketplace bombing, left at least 150 people dead. Al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the September single-day series of more than a dozen bombings in Baghdad, including a 14 September bomb attack, which killed about 160 people (mostly unemployed Shi'ite workers). They claimed responsibility for series of mosque bombings which killed at least 74 people the same month in Khanaqin.

The attacks blamed on or claimed by al-Qaeda in Iraq continued to increase in 2006 (see also the list of major insurgent attacks in Iraq). In one of the incidents, two U.S. soldiers (Thomas Lowell Tucker and Kristian Menchaca) were captured, tortured and beheaded by the ISI; in another, four Russian embassy officials were abducted and subsequently executed. Iraq's al-Qaeda and its umbrella groups were blamed for multiple attacks targeting the country's Shia Muslim population, some of which AQI claimed responsibility for. The U.S. claimed the group was at least one of the forces behind the wave of chlorine bombings in Iraq which affected hundreds of people (albeit with few fatalities) through the series of crude chemical warfare attacks between late 2006 and mid-2007. During 2006, several key members of the AQI were killed or captured by American and allied forces; this included al-Zarqawi himself, killed on 7 June 2006, his spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, and the alleged "number two" deputy leader, Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi. The group's leadership was then assumed by the man called Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who was really the Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

The high-profile attacks linked to the group continued through early 2007, as the AQI-led Islamic State claimed responsibility for attacks such as the March assassination attempt on Sunni Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Salam al-Zaubai, the April Iraqi Parliament bombing, and the May capture and subsequent execution of three American soldiers. Also in May, ISI leader al-Baghdadi was declared to have been killed in Baghdad, but his death was later denied by the insurgents (later, al-Baghdadi was even declared by the U.S. to be non-existent). There were conflicting reports regarding the fate of al-Masri. From March to August, coalition forces fought the Battle of Baqubah as part of the largely successful attempts to wrest the Diyala Governorate from AQI-aligned forces. Through 2007, the majority of the suicide bombings targeting civilians in Iraq were routinely identified by the military and government sources as being the responsibility of al-Qaeda and its associated groups, even when there was no claim of responsibility (as was in the case of the 2007 Yazidi communities bombings, which killed some 800 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in Iraq to date).

By late 2007, violent and indiscriminate attacks directed by AQI against Iraqi civilians had severely damaged their image and caused the loss of support among the population, isolating the group. In a major blow to AQI, many former Sunni militants that previously fought along with the group started to work with the American forces (see also below). The U.S. troop surge supplied the military with more manpower for operations targeting the group, resulting in dozens of high-level AQI members being captured or killed. Al-Qaeda seemed to have lost its foothold in Iraq and appeared to be severely crippled. Accordingly, the bounty issued for al-Masri was eventually cut from $5 million down to $100,000 in April 2008.

As of 2008, a series of U.S. and Iraqi offensives managed to drive out the AQI-aligned insurgents from their former safe havens such as Diyala and Al Anbar Governorates and the embattled capital of Baghdad to the area of the northern city of Mosul, the latest of the Iraq War's major battlegrounds. The struggle for control of Ninawa Governorate (the Ninawa campaign) was launched in January 2008 by U.S. and Iraqi forces as part of the large-scale Operation Phantom Phoenix aimed at combating Al-Qaeda activity in and around Mosul, as well as finishing off the network's remnants in central Iraq that escaped Operation Phantom Thunder in 2007. In 2008, Al-Qaeda bombed the Baghdad's pet market in February and a shopping centre in March, killing at least 98 and 68 people, respectively.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq has long raised money through various activities like kidnapping for ransom, car theft (sometimes killing drivers in the process), and hijacking fuel trucks, that would bring them tens of millions of dollars. According to an April 2007 statement by their Islamic Army in Iraq rivals, AQI was demanding jizya tax and killing members of wealthy families when not being paid. According to both U.S. and Iraqi sources in May 2008, the Islamic State of Iraq has been stepping up its racketeering campaigns as their strictly militant capabilities were on the wane, with especially lucrative activity said to be coming from oil rackets centered on the industrial city of Bayji. According to U.S. military intelligence sources, in 2008 the group resembled a "Mafia-esque criminal gang".

Inciting sectarian violence through mass terrorism

Attacks against civilians often targeted the Iraqi Shia majority in an attempt to incite sectarian violence and greater chaos in the country. Al-Zarqawi purportedly declared an all-out war on Shiites while claiming responsibility for the Shiite mosque bombings. The same month, a letter allegedly written by al-Zawahiri (later rejected as a "fake" by AQI) appeared to question the insurgents' tactic of indiscriminately attacking Shiites in Iraq. In a December 2007 video, al-Zawahiri defended the Islamic State in Iraq, but distanced himself from the crimes against civilians committed by "hypocrites and traitors existing among the ranks".

U.S. and Iraqi officials accused AQI of trying to slide Iraq into a full-scale civil war between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs with an orchestrated campaign of civilian massacres and a number of provocative attacks against high-profile religious targets. With attacks such as the 2003 Imam Ali Mosque bombing, the 2004 Day of Ashura and Karbala and Najaf bombings, the 2006 first al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra and the deadly single-day series of bombings in which at least 215 people were killed in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City, and the second al-Askari bombing in 2007, they provoked Shiite militias to unleash a wave of retaliatory attacks, resulting in a plague of death squad-style killings and spiraling further sectarian violence which escalated in 2006 and brought Iraq to the brink of violent anarchy in 2007. In 2008, sectarian bombings blamed on al-Qaeda killed at least 42 people at the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala in March and at least 51 people at a bus stop in Baghdad in June.

Operations outside Iraq and other activities

On 3 December 2004, AQI attempted to blow up an Iraqi-Jordanian border crossing, but failed to do so (in 2006, a Jordanian court sentenced Zarqawi in absentia and two of his associates to death for their involvement in the plot). AQI increased its presence outside Iraq by claiming credit for three attacks in 2005. In the most deadly of such attacks, suicide bombs killed 60 people in Amman, Jordan, on 9 November 2005. They claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks that narrowly missed the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ashland in Jordan, and which also targeted the city of Eilat in Israel, and also for the firing of several rockets into Israel from Lebanon in December.

The Lebanese-Palestinian militant group Fatah al-Islam, which was defeated by Lebanese government forces during the 2007 Lebanon conflict, was linked to AQI and led by Zarqawi's former companion who had fought alongside him in Iraq. The group may have been linked with the little-known group called "Tawhid and Jihad in Syria", and may have influenced the extremist Palestinian group called "Tawhid and Jihad Brigades" (better known as Army of Islam) in Gaza.

American officials believe that Al-Qaeda in Iraq has conducted bomb attacks against Syrian government forces.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that al-Qaeda in Iraq members have gone to Syria, where the militants previously received support and weapons. The al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda inspired group, has claimed responsibility for attacks inside of Syria.

Conflicts with the other groups

The first reports of a split and even armed clashes between people and other Sunni groups date back to 2009. In the summer of 2006, local Sunni tribes and insurgent groups, including the prominent Islamist-nationalist group Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), began to speak of their dissatisfaction with al-Qaeda and its tactics, openly criticizing the foreign fighters for their deliberate targeting of Iraqi civilians. In September 2006, thirty Anbar tribes formed their own local alliance called the Anbar Salvation Council (ASC), directed specifically at countering al-Qaeda-allied terrorist forces in the province, openly siding with the government and the U.S. troops.

By the beginning of 2007, Sunni tribes and nationalist insurgents had begun battling with their former allies in AQI in order to retake control of their communities. In early 2007, forces allied to Al-Qaeda in Iraq committed a series of attacks against Sunnis critical of the group, including the February 2007 attack in which scores of people were killed when a truck bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in Fallujah. Al-Qaeda supposedly played a role in the assassination of the leader of the Anbar-based insurgent group 1920 Revolution Brigade, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement. In April 2007, the IAI spokesman accused the ISI of killing at least 30 members of the Islamic Army, as well as members of the Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna and Mujahideen Army insurgent groups, and called on Osama bin Laden to personally intervene to rein in Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The following month, the government stated that AQI leader al-Masri was killed by ASC fighters. Four days later, AQI released an audio tape in which a man claiming to be al-Masri warned Sunnis not to take part in the political process (later in May, the U.S. forces announced the release of dozens of Iraqis who were tortured by AQI as a part of the group's intimidation campaign, but also said that reports of internal fighting between Sunni militia groups were "lies and fabrications".

By June 2007, the growing hostility between foreign-influenced religious fanatics and Sunni nationalists led to open gun battles between the groups in Baghdad. The Islamic Army soon reached a ceasefire agreement with AQI, but refused to sign on to the ISI. There were reports that Hamas of Iraq insurgents were involved in assisting U.S. troops in their Diyala Governorate operations against Al-Qaeda in August 2007. In September 2007, AQI claimed responsibility for the assassination of three people including the prominent Sunni sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Anbar "Awakening council". That same month, a suicide attack on a mosque in the city of Baqubah killed 28 people, including members of Hamas of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigade, during a meeting at the mosque between tribal and guerilla leaders and the police. Meanwhile, the U.S. military began arming moderate insurgent factions when they promised to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq instead of the Americans.

By December 2007, the strength of the "Awakening" movement irregulars (also called "Concerned Local Citizens" and "Sons of Iraq") was estimated at 65,000–80,000 fighters. Many of them were former insurgents (including alienated former AQI supporters), now being armed and paid by the Americans specifically to combat al-Qaeda's presence in Iraq. As of July 2007, this highly controversial strategy proved to be effective in helping to secure the Sunni districts of Baghdad and the other hotspots of central Iraq and to rout out the al-Qaeda-aligned militants.

Transformation and attempted resurgency

In early 2009, U.S. forces began pulling out of cities across the country, turning over the task of maintaining security to the Iraqi Army, police, and their paramilitary allies. Experts and many Iraqis worried that in the absence of U.S. soldiers, AQI might resurface and attempt mass-casualty attacks to destabilize the country. There was indeed a spike in the number of suicide attacks, and through mid and late 2009, al-Qaeda in Iraq rebounded in strength and appeared to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government. During August and October 2009, AQI asserted responsibility for four bombings targeting five government buildings in Baghdad, including attacks that killed 101 at the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance in August and 155 at the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works in September; these were the deadliest attacks directed at the new government in more than six years of war. These attacks represent a shift from the group's previous efforts to incite sectarian violence, although a series of suicide attacks in April targeted mostly Iranian Shia pilgrims, killing 76, and in June a mosque bombing in Taza killed at least 73 Shi'ites from the Turkmen ethnic minority.

According to the commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, AQI "has transformed significantly in the last two years. What once was dominated by foreign individuals has now become more and more dominated by Iraqi citizens." Odierno's comments reinforce accusations by the government of Nuri al-Maliki that al-Qaeda and ex-Ba'athists were working together to undermine improved security and sabotage the planned Iraqi parliamentary elections in 2010. On 18 April 2010, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi were both killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid near Tikrit. As of June 2010, 80% of the group's 42 leaders, including recruiters and fincanciers, have been killed or captured with only eight remaining at large, according to Odierno. He said they are cut off from their leaders in Pakistan, and improved intelligence allowed for the successful mission in April that led to the killing of the two AQI top commanders; in addition, the number of attacks and casualty figures in the first five months of 2010 have been the lowest yet since 2003. In May 2011, the Islamic State's "emir of Baghdad" Huthaifa al-Batawi, captured during the crackdown after the 2010 Baghdad church attack in which 68 people died, was killed during an attempted prison break after having killed an Iraqi general and several others.

The group is currently led by Abu Dua, who was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on 4 October 2011 by the US State Department with an announced reward of $10 million for information leading to his capture or death. In August 2012, two Iraqi refugees who have resided in Kentucky were accused of assisting al-Qaida in Iraq by sending funds and weapons; one has pleaded guilty.

Some key members

Leaders

• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (killed in 2006)
• Abu Ayyub al-Masri (killed in 2010)
• Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi (killed in 2010)
• Abu Dua

Other personnel

• Abu Anas al-Shami (killed in 2004)
• Abu Azzam (killed in 2005)
• Abu Omar al-Kurdi (captured in 2005)
• Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi (captured in 2006)
• Abu Yaqub al-Masri (killed in 2007)
• Haitham al-Badri (killed in 2007)
• Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi (captured in 2006)
• Khaled al-Mashhadani (captured in 2007)
• Mahir al-Zubaydi (killed in 2008)
• Mohamed Moumou (killed in 2008)
• Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman (killed in 2006)
• Huthaifa al-Batawi (killed in 2011)

See also

• Islamic State of Iraq
• Islamic terrorism
• Iraq War insurgent attacks
• List of armed groups in the Syrian civil war

References

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4. Surge in violence, new training camps show al-Qaida revival in Iraq after US troop withdrawal, Associated Press, 10 October 2012
5. Middle East and North Africa Overview, Country Reports on Terrorism, U.S. State Department, 28 April 2006
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9. AP, Sinan Salaheddin, Separate attacks kill 32 people across Iraq, http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/16/18987082-separate-attacks-kill-32-people-across-iraq?lite, 16 June 2013
10. Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Iraq, General One-sided violence Information, Actor information, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=77&regionSelect=10-Middle_East#, viewed on June 18, 2013
11. Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Iraq, General One-sided violence Information, Actor information, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=77&regionSelect=10-Middle_East#, viewed on June 18, 2013
12. Richard Boucher (15 October 2004). "Foreign Terrorist Organization: Designation of Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad and Aliases". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
13. "The Enemy of My Enemy: The odd link between Ansar al-Islam, Iraq and Iran" (PDF). The Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. Pam O'Toole (31 January 2003). "Mullah denies Iraq al-Qaeda link". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
15. Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq, Conclusion 5
16. ^ Gary Gambill (16 December 2004). "Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi: A biographical sketch". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
17. "Profile: Tawhid and Jihad group". BBC News. BBC. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
18. Al-Qaeda leaders have proclaimed Iraq a major front in their global terrorist campaign. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 9 July 2005
19. "Iraq: 2004 overview". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. Archived from the original on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
20. "Country Reports on Terrorism". United States Department of State. 28 April 2006. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
21. Mohamad Bazzi (7 February 2005). "Zarqawi kin reportedly bombed shrine in Iraq". Newsday. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
22. Emily Hunt (15 November 2005). "Zarqawi's 'Total War' on Iraqi Shiites Exposes a Divide among Sunni Jihadists". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
23. Leiken, Robert; Brooke, Steven (18 May 2004). "Who Is Abu Zarqawi?". The Weekly Standard. CBS News. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
24. ^ "Fast facts about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi". Fox News. Associated Press. 8 June 2006. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
25. "Car bomb kills 35 in Baghdad". CNN. 18 June 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
26. Peter Cave (14 September 2004). "Car bomb kills dozens in Baghdad". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
27. ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations", Country Reports on Terrorism, U.S. State Department, 28 April 2006
28. Muir, Jim (11 June 2007). "US pits Iraqi Sunnis against al-Qaeda". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation.
29. ^ DeYoung, Karen; Pincus, Walter (18 March 2007). "Al-Qaeda in Iraq May Not Be Threat Here". The Washington Times.
30. ^ "al jehad in Iraq (AQI)", Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School
31. Mahnaimi, Uzi (13 May 2007). "Al-Qaeda planning militant Islamic state within Iraq". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
32. ^ Tilghman, Andrew. "The Myth of AQI". Washington Monthly.
33. Parker, Ned (15 July 2007). "Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007.
34. "Two leaders linked to al-Qaeda group arrested". Adnkronos. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
35. Roggio, Bill (6 November 2012). "Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber kills 31 at Iraqi Army base in Taji". Long War Journal.
36. Yacoub, Sameer (8 June 2007). "In motley array of Iraqi foes, why does U.S. spotlight al-Qaida?". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008.
37. Hoyt, Clark (8 July 2007). "Seeing Al Qaeda Around Every Corner". The New York Times.
38. CRS Report To Congress: Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security Congressional Research Service PDF 6 September 2007
39. Ware, Michael (11 June 2008). "Papers give peek inside al Qaeda in Iraq". CNN.
40. "Zarqawi pledges allegiance to Osama". Dawn. Agence France-Presse. 18 October 2004. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
41. "Al-Zarqawi group vows allegiance to bin Laden". MSNBC. Associated Press. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
42. Jeffrey Pool (18 October 2004). "ZARQAWI'S PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO AL-QAEDA: FROM MU'ASKER AL-BATTAR, ISSUE 21". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
43. "Al-Qaeda claims to have killed Egyptian envoy". The New York Times. 7 July 2005.
44. Caroll, Rory; Borger, Julian (8 July 2005). "Egyptian envoy to Iraq killed, says al-Qaida". The Guardian. London.
45. Howard, Michael (18 July 2005). "Three days of suicide bombs leave 150 dead". The Guardian. London.
46. ^ "Another wave of bombings hit Iraq". The New York Times. 15 September 2005.
47. ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (17 September 2005). "20 die as insurgents in Iraq target Shiites". The New York Times.
48. "U.S. says Iraq chlorine bomb factory was al Qaeda's". Reuters. 24 February 2007.
49. "Al-Qaeda in Iraq names new head". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 June 2006.
50. ^ Tran, Mark (1 May 2007). "Al-Qaida in Iraq leader believed dead". The Guardian. London.
51. Targeting al Qaeda in Iraq's Network, The Weekly Standard, 13 November 2007
52. Ricks, Thomas; DeYoung, Karen (15 October 2007). "Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled". The Washington Post.
53. ^ Samuels, Lennox (20 May 2008). "Al Qaeda Nostra". Newsweek.
54. ^ Andoni, Lamis. "On whose side is Al-Qaeda?". Al-Ahram.
55. Atwan, Abdel Bari (20 March 2006). "Al Qaeda's hand in tipping Iraq toward civil war". The Christian Science Monitor.
56. "Al-Qaeda disowns 'fake letter'". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 October 2005.
57. "British 'fleeing' claims al-Qaeda". Adnkronos. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
58. ^ "Al Qaeda leader in Iraq 'killed by insurgents'". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 May 2007.
59. Aloul, Sahar (19 December 2005). "Zarqawi handed second death penalty in Jordan". The Inquirer. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007.
60. "Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Amman blasts". The New York Times. 10 November 2005.
61. "Fatah Islam: Obscure group emerges as Lebanon's newest security threat". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007.
62. "Al-Qaida inspired militant group calls on Syrians to kill country's president". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
63. "Palestine: Reporter is dead, claims terror group". The Straits Times. Asia Media. 17 April 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
64. Jonathan S. Landay (10 February 2012). "U.S. officials: Al Qaida behind Syria bombings". Mcclatchydc.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
65. Jonathan S. Landay (16 February 2012). "Top U.S. intelligence officials confirm al Qaida role in Syria". Mcclatchydc.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
66. "Al-Qaeda probably responsible Syrian suicide bombings, US spy chief claims". The Daily Telegraph. London. 17 February 2012.
67. "Syria crisis heads to UN assembly". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 February 2012.
68. Schmitt, Eric; Shanker, Thom (15 February 2012). "Al Qaeda Influence Suspected in Bombings in Syria". The New York Times.
69. "U.S. blames Al Qaeda for Syria bomb attacks?". Daily News. New York. 16 February 2012.
71. MacFarquhar, Neil (10 February 2012). "Blasts Rock Aleppo as Dozens More Are Reported Killed in Syria". The New York Times.
72. "US official says al-Qaeda involved in Syria". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
73. ^ Karam, Zeina (07/6/2012). "Iraq: Al-Qaeda migrates to Syria". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
74. Abdul-Ahad, Ghaith (27 October 2005). "'We don't need al-Qaida'". The Guardian. London.
75. Caroll, Rory; Mansour, Osama (7 September 2005). "Al-Qaida in Iraq seizes border town as it mobilises against poll". The Guardian. London.
76. "Rebels call on Al Qaida to 'review' behaviour". Gulf News. Reuters. 7 April 2007. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007.
77. Klein, Joe (23 May 2007). "Is al-Qaeda on the Run in Iraq?". Time. Time Inc.
78. Beaumont, Peter (3 October 2006). "Iraqi tribes launch battle to drive al-Qaida out of troubled province". The Guardian. London.
79. ABC7 News, KGO-TV, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
80. Burns, John; Rubin, Alissa (11 June 2007). "U.S. Arming Sunnis in Iraq to Battle Old Qaeda Allies". The New York Times.
81. Crain, Charles (1 January 2008). "Exit Al-Qaeda. Enter the Militias?". Time. Time Inc.
82. "Iraqis killed by chlorine bombs". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 March 2007. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010.
83. "Official Blames Al Qaeda in Iraq for Death of Key Sunni Insurgent Leader". Fox News. Associated Press. 27 March 2007.
84. "Al-Qaida linked group moves to patch up rift among insurgent factions". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008.
85. "U.S. frees 42 al Qaeda kidnap victims in Iraq". CNN. 27 May 2007.
86. "Tape from 'dead' Al Masri put on Web". Gulf News. 5 May 2007.
87. "Bombed bridge, Turkish troops trouble Kurdish Iraq from two sides". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 28 September 2008 suggested (help)
88. Hurst, Steven R. "Sunnis Revolt Against al-Qaida in Iraq", The Guardian, 1 June 2007
89. Ghosh, Bobby (6 June 2007). "A Truce Between U.S. Enemies in Iraq". Time. Time Inc.
90. "Leader of 'Hamas of Iraq' and 1920 Brigades dead in mosque attack". Adnkronos. 25 September 2007.
91. MacAskill, Ewen (12 June 2007). "US arms Sunni dissidents in risky bid to contain al-Qaida fighters in Iraq". The Guardian. London.
92. Rubin, Alissa J. (23 December 2007). "In a Force for Iraqi Calm, Seeds of Conflict". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
93. Peter, Tom (13 January 2009). "As US withdraws, will Al Qaeda in Iraq find new openings?". The Christian Science Monitor.
94. Arraf, Jane (13 May 2009). "Spike in suicide attacks: Is Al Qaeda in Iraq coming back?". The Christian Science Monitor.
95. Londoño, Ernesto (22 November 2009). "Resurgent al-Qaeda in Iraq seeks to undermine government". The Washington Post.
96. "Al Qaeda in Iraq becoming less foreign-U.S. general". Reuters. 18 November 2009.
97. Arango, Tim (19 April 2010). "Top Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Reported Killed in Raid". The New York Times.
98. Shanker, Thom (4 June 2010). "Qaeda Leaders in Iraq Neutralized, U.S. Says". The New York Times.
99. "US says 80% of al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq removed". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 June 2010.
100. "Attacks in Iraq down, Al-Qaeda arrests up: US general". Google News. Agence France-Presse. 4 June 2010.
101. "Al-Qaeda leader attempts Baghdad jailbreak leaving 18 dead". The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
102. Mohammed, Muhanad (8 May 2011). "Al Qaeda leader and 17 others killed in Iraq jail clash". Reuters. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
103. "Terrorist Designation of Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri". United States Department of State. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
104. Brett Barrouquere (16 August 2012). "Iraqis in Ky. linked to IED attack zone". Army Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 27 August 2012.

External links

• Al-Qaeda in Iraq, GlobalSecurity.org
• Country Reports on Terrorism, United States Department of State
• News about Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times, The New York Times

Articles

• The Myth of AQI by Andrew Tilghman, The Washington Monthly, October 2007
• In motley array of Iraqi foes, why does U.S. spotlight al-Qaida?, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, 1 June 2007
• Is al-Qaeda on the Run in Iraq?, TIME, 23 May 2007
• Sunni Muslim sheiks join US in fighting Al Qaeda, Christian Science Monitor, 3 May 2007
• Iraq: Al-Qaeda Tactics Lead To Splits Among Insurgents, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 17 April 2007
• Al-Qaeda in Iraq May Not Be Threat Here; Intelligence Experts Say Group Is Busy On Its Home Front, The Washington Post, 18 March 2007
• Al Qaeda Nostra, Newsweek, 21 May 2008
• Papers give peek inside al Qaeda in Iraq, CNN special report, 11 June 2008

Videos

• Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Al Jazeera English on 20 May 2007

v t e Armed groups in the Iraqi conflict
Iraqi government	Iraqi Armed Forces Iraqi Army Iraqi Air Force Iraqi Navy Iraqi security forces Iraqi Police Iraqi Police Service National Police Supporting Forces Facilities Protection Service
Ba'athists	Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order Fedayeen Saddam General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries Al-Awda General Command of the Armed Forces, Resistance and Liberation in Iraq Popular Army New Return Patriotic Front Political Media Organ of the Ba'ath Party Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Iraq Al-Abud Network Free Iraqi Army
Militias and others	Shia Islamic militias Popular Mobilization Forces Mahdi Army Abu Deraa's Mahdi Army faction Badr Organization Sheibani Network Soldiers of Heaven Free Iraqi Forces Special Groups (Iraq) Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Promised Day Brigade Kata'ib Hezbollah Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda Kata'ib al-Imam Ali Kata'ib Jund al-Imam Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Saraya al-Jihad Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya Quwwat Sahl Ninawa Mukhtar Army Hezbollah Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas Jaysh al-Mu'ammal Liwa Ali al-Akbar Islamic Resistance in Iraq Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Sunni Islamic militias Tribal Mobilization Awakening groups 1920 Revolution Brigades Jaish al-Rashideen Islamic Army in Iraq Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance Hamas of Iraq Harakat Ahrar al-Iraq Kurdish militias Peshmerga Kurdistan Workers' Party Kurdistan Freedom Hawks Asayîşa Êzîdxanê Turkmen militias Iraqi Turkmen Front 16Brigade 52nd Brigade 92nd Brigade Brigade of Imam Hussein Sayyid al-Shuhada Bashir Regiment Assyrian militias Nineveh Plains Nineveh Plain Protection Units Nineveh Plain Forces Qaraqosh Protection Committee Dwekh Nawsha Syriac Military Council Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam Babylon Brigade Yazidi militias Asayîşa Êzîdxanê Êzîdxan Protection Force Sinjar Alliance Sinjar Resistance Units Êzîdxan Women's Units
Insurgents	Nationalist Salafis Mujahideen Army Mujahideen Battalions of the Salafi Group of Iraq Islamic Salafist Boy Scout Battalions Mohammad's Army Salafi Jihadists Al-Mustafa Army in Iraq Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan Black Banner Organization Abu Theeb's group Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army Hassan Al-Basri Brigades Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah Islamic State Mujahideen Shura Council Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah Al-Qaeda in Iraq Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Shield of Islam Brigade Wakefulness and Holy War White Flags

v t e Al-Qaeda
Leadership	Saif al-Adel Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki Ahmad Umar Iyad Ag Ghaly Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Abu Ubaidah Youssef al-Annabi Ali Sayyid Muhamed Mustafa al-Bakri Ibrahim al-Banna Ibrahim al Qosi Abu Walid al-Masri Mohammed Showqi Al-Islambouli Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir Fuad Qalaf Jehad Mostafa Abu Humam al-Shami Sami al-Oraydi
Former leadership	Killed Osama bin Laden (killing) Ayman al-Zawahiri (killing) Mohammed Atef Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil Haitham al-Yemeni Abu Hamza Rabia Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Omar al-Faruq Haitham al-Badri Abu Yaqub al-Masri Abu Talha al-Sudani Abu Laith al-Libi Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi Midhat Mursi Mohamed Moumou Khalid Habib Abu Ghadiya Abu Zubair al-Masri Rashid Rauf Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan Saad bin Laden Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan Abdullah Said al Libi Saleh al-Somali Saeed al-Masri Hamza al-Jawfi Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali Mohamed Abul-Khair Sheikh Fateh Huthaifa al-Batawi Ilyas Kashmiri Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki Samir Khan Tariq al-Dahab Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan Fahd al-Quso Abu Yahya al-Libi Hassan Ghul Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti Said Ali al-Shihri Farman Ali Shinwari Abdelhamid Abou Zeid Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki Said Bahaji Abu Khalid al-Suri Omar Ould Hamaha Ahmed Abdi Godane Abu Yusuf Al-Turki Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah Adam Yahiye Gadahn Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad al-Rubaysh Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi Nasir al-Wuhayshi Muhsin al-Fadhli Abu Khalil al-Madani Matiur Rehman Abu Firas al-Suri Ahmed Refai Taha Mokhtar Belmokhtar Abu Khayr al-Masri Ibrahim al-Asiri Hamza bin Laden Sari Shihab Asim Umar Qasim al-Raymi Abdelmalek Droukdel Khalid al-Aruri Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Abu Muhsin al-Masri Captured Mamdouh Mahmud Salim Wadih el-Hage Khalid al-Fawwaz Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Walid bin Attash Riduan Isamuddin Ali al-Bahlul Ahmed Ghailani Abu Faraj al-Libbi Mustafa Setmariam Nasar Abdul Hadi al Iraqi Muhammad Jafar Jamal al-Kahtani Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi Younis al-Mauritani Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Abu Anas al-Libi Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh Mukhtar Robow Amin al-Haq Other Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri (died) Abu Ubaidah al-Masri (died) Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (left) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (expelled) Abu Mohammad al-Julani (left) Abu Maria al-Qahtani (left) Ahmad Salama Mabruk (left) Abu Omar al-Turkistani (left) Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir (left) Khalid Batarfi (died)
Timeline of attacks	1998 United States embassy bombings 2000 USS Cole bombing 2001 September 11 attacks 2002 Bali bombings 2004 Madrid train bombings 2005 London bombings 2007 Algiers bombings 2008 Islamabad Danish embassy bombing 2008 Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing 2013 In Amenas hostage crisis 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting 2015 Garissa University College attack 2015 Bamako hotel attack 2016 Ouagadougou attacks 2016 Grand-Bassam shootings 2016 Bamako attack 2019 Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting
Wars	Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) First Chechen War Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Iraq War Somali Civil War War in North-West Pakistan (drone strikes) Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) Syrian civil war Yemeni civil war (2014–present) Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Houthi insurgency
Affiliates	Al-Shabaab (Somalia) Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Egypt) Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (Indian subcontinent) Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Mali) Hurras al-Din (Syria)
Charity organizations	Benevolence International Foundation Al-Haramain Foundation
Media	Al Qaeda Handbook Al Neda As-Sahab Al-Andalus Media Al-Kataib Media Foundation Radio al-Andalus Shahada News Agency Al-Malahem Media Inspire Az-Zallaqa Foundation Fatawā of Osama bin Laden Al-Khansaa Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit Management of Savagery Voice of Jihad Qaedat al-Jihad Global Islamic Media Front
Video and audio	Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden Videos and audio recordings of Ayman al-Zawahiri USS Cole bombing
Related	Safe houses Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory Timeline
Category:Al-Qaeda

v t e Al-Qaeda
Leadership	Saif al-Adel Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki Ahmad Umar Iyad Ag Ghaly Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Abu Ubaidah Youssef al-Annabi Ali Sayyid Muhamed Mustafa al-Bakri Ibrahim al-Banna Ibrahim al Qosi Abu Walid al-Masri Mohammed Showqi Al-Islambouli Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir Fuad Qalaf Jehad Mostafa Abu Humam al-Shami Sami al-Oraydi
Former leadership	Killed Osama bin Laden (killing) Ayman al-Zawahiri (killing) Mohammed Atef Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil Haitham al-Yemeni Abu Hamza Rabia Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Omar al-Faruq Haitham al-Badri Abu Yaqub al-Masri Abu Talha al-Sudani Abu Laith al-Libi Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi Midhat Mursi Mohamed Moumou Khalid Habib Abu Ghadiya Abu Zubair al-Masri Rashid Rauf Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan Saad bin Laden Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan Abdullah Said al Libi Saleh al-Somali Saeed al-Masri Hamza al-Jawfi Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali Mohamed Abul-Khair Sheikh Fateh Huthaifa al-Batawi Ilyas Kashmiri Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki Samir Khan Tariq al-Dahab Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan Fahd al-Quso Abu Yahya al-Libi Hassan Ghul Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti Said Ali al-Shihri Farman Ali Shinwari Abdelhamid Abou Zeid Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki Said Bahaji Abu Khalid al-Suri Omar Ould Hamaha Ahmed Abdi Godane Abu Yusuf Al-Turki Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah Adam Yahiye Gadahn Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad al-Rubaysh Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi Nasir al-Wuhayshi Muhsin al-Fadhli Abu Khalil al-Madani Matiur Rehman Abu Firas al-Suri Ahmed Refai Taha Mokhtar Belmokhtar Abu Khayr al-Masri Ibrahim al-Asiri Hamza bin Laden Sari Shihab Asim Umar Qasim al-Raymi Abdelmalek Droukdel Khalid al-Aruri Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Abu Muhsin al-Masri Captured Mamdouh Mahmud Salim Wadih el-Hage Khalid al-Fawwaz Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Walid bin Attash Riduan Isamuddin Ali al-Bahlul Ahmed Ghailani Abu Faraj al-Libbi Mustafa Setmariam Nasar Abdul Hadi al Iraqi Muhammad Jafar Jamal al-Kahtani Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi Younis al-Mauritani Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Abu Anas al-Libi Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh Mukhtar Robow Amin al-Haq Other Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri (died) Abu Ubaidah al-Masri (died) Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (left) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (expelled) Abu Mohammad al-Julani (left) Abu Maria al-Qahtani (left) Ahmad Salama Mabruk (left) Abu Omar al-Turkistani (left) Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir (left) Khalid Batarfi (died)
Timeline of attacks	1998 United States embassy bombings 2000 USS Cole bombing 2001 September 11 attacks 2002 Bali bombings 2004 Madrid train bombings 2005 London bombings 2007 Algiers bombings 2008 Islamabad Danish embassy bombing 2008 Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing 2013 In Amenas hostage crisis 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting 2015 Garissa University College attack 2015 Bamako hotel attack 2016 Ouagadougou attacks 2016 Grand-Bassam shootings 2016 Bamako attack 2019 Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting
Wars	Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) First Chechen War Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Iraq War Somali Civil War War in North-West Pakistan (drone strikes) Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) Syrian civil war Yemeni civil war (2014–present) Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Houthi insurgency
Affiliates	Al-Shabaab (Somalia) Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Egypt) Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (Indian subcontinent) Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Mali) Hurras al-Din (Syria)
Charity organizations	Benevolence International Foundation Al-Haramain Foundation
Media	Al Qaeda Handbook Al Neda As-Sahab Al-Andalus Media Al-Kataib Media Foundation Radio al-Andalus Shahada News Agency Al-Malahem Media Inspire Az-Zallaqa Foundation Fatawā of Osama bin Laden Al-Khansaa Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit Management of Savagery Voice of Jihad Qaedat al-Jihad Global Islamic Media Front
Video and audio	Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden Videos and audio recordings of Ayman al-Zawahiri USS Cole bombing
Related	Safe houses Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory Timeline
Category:Al-Qaeda

• Articles to be merged from July 2013
• Use dmy dates from November 2012
• 2003 establishments in Iraq
• Al-Qaeda
• Al-Qaeda in Iraq
• Iraqi insurgency
• Jihadist organizations
• War crimes committed by Islamist militant groups
• Islam in Iraq
• Islamist groups
• Organisations based in Iraq
• Terrorism in Iraq
• Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States government
• European Union designated terrorist organizations