Islamic Army in Iraq

This article is missing information about the group from after 2014. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (January 2018)

Islamic Army in Iraq الجيش الإسلامي في العراق
Leaders	Ishmael Jubouri Muhammad Abid Luhaibi Ahmed al-Dabash
Dates of operation	2003–2014
Active regions	Sunni Triangle Baghdad Belts
Ideology	Sunni Islamism Jihadism Anti-Imperialism Anti-Zionism
Size	10,400 (2007)[1]
Allies	Iraqi Ba'ath Party Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order Free Iraqi Army Hamas of Iraq 1920 Revolution Brigades Jaysh al-Mujahideen Ansar al-Sunnah Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2005) Iraqi Islamic Resistance Army
Opponents	Iraq  United States  Iran - backed militias in Iraq Islamic State of Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2007)  Israel
Battles and wars	Iraq War Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013-17)
Flag
Succeeded by Popular Movement in Iraq

The Islamic Army in Iraq (Arabic: الجيش الإسلامي في العراق, romanized: al-Jaysh al-Islāmi fī'l-`irāq, abbr. IAI) was underground Islamist militant organization formed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led Coalition forces, and the subsequent collapse of the Ba'athist regime headed by Saddam Hussein. IAI was regarded as one of the largest, sophisticated and most influential Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq that led an asymmetrical military insurgency against Coalition forces.^[2] The group became known for its grisly videos of kidnappings and attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops.^[3]

Although it carries an Islamic title, the group combines Sunni Islamism with Iraqi nationalism, and has been labelled as "resistance" by Iraq's Sunni Vice president Tariq al-Hashimi (who was sentenced to death in 2012) despite al-Hashimi's close relations with the U.S. government.

Following the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq in late 2011, the IAI largely demobilized and turned towards political activism, setting up the Sunni Popular Movement.^[4] The group’s turn away from armed opposition towards activism was criticised by other militant groups, including groups that the IAI had previously allied with such as the Mujahideen Army.^[4]

In the beginning of 2014, however, the group returned to armed militancy and was active anti-government violence in Anbar and Northern Iraq during the first phases of the War in Iraq (2013-17). The group was primarily active in the Diyala and Saladin Governorates.^[4] Most of its fighters have renounced fighting against the Iraqi state, although some have joined ISIS. Islamic Army in Iraq has not claimed any attacks since late 2014.