Ansar al Islam

Ansar al Islam, which operates in northeastern Iraq, has close links to and support from al-Qaida. Al-Qaida and Usama Bin Laden participated in the formation and funding of the group, which has provided safehaven to al-Qaida in northeastern Iraq.

The group's fighters are also believed to have trained with al-Qaida and U.S. officials suspect it of helping hide al-Qaida members fleeing Afghanistan.

The group has carried out terrorist attacks in Iraq. These include the attempted murder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Barham Saleh in April 2002 and the attempted assassination of General Shawkat Haji Mushir, a prominent Kurdish politican, in near the city of Halabja.

The Islamic group called the Jund al-Islam seized control of several villages near Halabja in September 2001, and established an administration governed under Shari’a. The group is alleged to have ties to the al-Qaida network and many from the group had spent time in Afghanistan while it was under the control of the Taliban. The group changed its name to Ansar al-Islam in December 2001. The group continued to control a small section of the northern part of the country along the Iranian border at the end of 2002. Local authorities claim that the group seeks to expand the area under its control by undermining the local administration, with the ultimate goal of imposing rule under Islamic law over all of the northern part of the country. The group restricted non-Islamic worship, imposed severe restrictions on public behavior, and administered all civil affairs under an extreme interpretation of Islamic laws.