Al Qaeda, Islamic Army clash south of BaghdadBy Bill RoggioOctober 22, 2007 3:52 PM
The divisions between al Qaeda and their erstwhile Sunni allies in the insurgency intensified over the weekend as the Islamic Army of Iraq and the terror group battled in Khannasa, just south of the city of Baghdad near Salman Pak. Over 60 were reported killed in the three day battle, which occurred after
al Qaeda kidnapped a leader of the insurgent group.Al Qaeda continues to overstep its boundaries and kills, kidnaps, and coerces Sunni insurgent groups for failing to follow its rules. The attacks took place in the past few days after terrorists from al-Qaeda kidnapped the head of the Islamic Army in Madain, Wahid Arzuqi, Adnkronos reported. Various witnesses said Arzuqi was kidnapped after receiving various threats, in particular a fierce verbal attack in a meeting organized with other Iraqi guerillas.
Tensions between al Qaeda and the rival militant organization have reportedly been ignited in recent weeks after the deaths of several members of the Islamic Army in Samarra, Kirkuk and al-Duluiya.
The
fighting between the Islamic Army of Iraq and al Qaeda is the latest in a series of clashes and verbal disagreements between the terror group and the Sunni insurgency. The Islamic Army in Iraq and Al Zawraa, its propaganda wing, have feuded with al Qaeda in Iraq over the terror group's brutality and attempts to dominate the Sunni insurgency.
Al Qaeda's predicament in Iraq was compounded this past month when insurgent groups began to issue harsh statements against the terror group. The 1920s Revolution Brigades in Anbar province
accused al Qaeda of numerous crimes, including attacking Ameriyyat [al-Fallujah] with a car bomb packed with chlorine gas canisters, and they even laid siege to the area to prevent food and fuel from getting to people. Finally, they killed several men at the local market and smashed their heads against boxes of food.
Al Qaeda battled the Anbar Salvation Council, which includes significant elements of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, during the winter and spring of 2007. During this time,
al Qaeda launched over 10 chlorine-bomb attacks against leaders in the 1920s Revolution Brigades in Anbar province, and attacked mosques, apartment complexes, and funerals while its leaders were present. Also, elements of the 1920s Revolution Brigades joined forces with Iraqi Security forces and the US military to battle al Qaeda in Diyala province.
Other insurgent groups have begun to turn on al Qaeda. Asaeb al Iraq al Jihadiya (aka the Iraqi Jihad Union) up until a few months ago had conducted several operations in conjunction with al Qaeda. But now Asaeb al Iraq al Jihadiya is accusing the terror group and puppet political government, the Islamic State of Iraq, of murdering and desecrating the bodies of its members in Diyala province. "To make things worse,
they dug up their bodies from the graves, further mutilated them, beheaded them, and showed them off from their vehicles while driving through the towns. [The Islamic State of Iraq] even killed our men?s wives and children."
Recently, two new insurgent councils were formed, both of which ignored al Qaeda and its Islamic State of Iraq. Wanted Baathist Izzat Ibrahim al Douri formed the Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation, a grouping of largely unknown and defunct Sunni insurgent groups.
Days after that formation, elements of the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al Sunna, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (JAMI) and the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq formed a political council. Both groups issued demands that are unlikely to be met by the Iraqi government or the US, but both signaled a willingness to negotiate. The formation of these councils is a direct affront to al Qaeda?s Islamic State of Iraq, and has sparked a series of reprisals by al Qaeda.
As the Sunni insurgency continues to fragment, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has urged the insurgency to unite against the US and the Iraqi government. In a tape titled "Message to the people of Iraq," bin Laden called on the "mujahideen in Iraq" to reject nationalism and tribal affiliations.
"The interest of the Islamic nation surpasses that of a group ... the interest of the (Islamic) nation is more important than that of a state," bin Laden said. The strength of faith is in the strength of the bond between Muslims and not that of a tribe, nationalism or an organization. I advise ... our brothers, particularly those in al Qaeda wherever they may be, to avoid fanatically following a person or a group."
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/al_qaeda_islamic_arm.php
