ANSAR ALISLAM

Ansar al-Islam(Supporters of Islam) was originally created in 2001 out of several smaller KurdishIslamic extremistgroups in northernIraq. Its membership included Kurds, Arabs, and Afghans. At first, it called itselfJund al-Islam(Soldiers of Islam) but changed its name in 2002. Many initially believed thatAnsar al-Islamhad connections to al-Qaida, but this apparently was not true. However, some of Ansar's members may have received training at al-Qaida's bases in Afghanistan. In the run-up to its war against Iraq in 2003, theUnited Statesclaimed thatAnsarhad received financial support from al-Qaida and experimented with the deadly chemical agent ricin.

The group established itself in the mountains nearHalabjanext to the border withIran. It modeled itself after the Taliban in Afghanistan, ruled with a deeply conservativereligiousbent, and sponsored terror and war against the secularPatriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK). Savage fighting occurred between the two in the fall of 2001 and again in the fall of 2002.Ansarmutilated the bodies of some of its victims and even came close to assassinatingBarham Salih, the prime minister of the PUK administration inSulaymaniyain April 2002. In February 2003,Ansartreacherously assassinated another PUK official, Shawkat Haji Mushir, as he was attempting to negotiate with it.

Ansar al-Islamprohibited electronic devices such as television and radio, mandated beards for men, and requiredwomento wear full-length gowns that covered their faces.Mulla Fatih Kraker, its founder and first leader, was arrested in the Netherlands in September 2002. Mulla Mohammad Hasan reputedly became the new leader. The group also had a 15-membershura, or leadership council, which operated from the village of Beyara. Early in 2003,Ansarwas thought to have approximately 600 fighters. Others, however, believed the total was larger. The group ran training camps with lessons on infantry weapons, tactics, suicide bombing, and assassination. In addition, it videotaped combat operations and announced its battlefield accomplishments on a website at www.ansarislam.com.

In February 2003, Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state, declared in a speech to theUNSecurity Council thatAnsar al-Islamwas also testingchemical weaponsand had connections withSaddam Hussein. Although these claims now seem exaggerated, it was clear thatAnsar al-Islamwas a serious threat to the PUK and any possible attack by the United States against Iraq that was directed near Ansar's stronghold in northern Iraq. Therefore, during the early stages of the U.S. attack against Iraq in March 2003, U.S. and Kurdish troops routedAnsar. However, some of its elements escaped to Iran and elsewhere to fight again another day, eventually merging intoAnsar al-Sunnalater in 2003.

See alsoIslamic Movement of Kurdistan.