Al-Qaeda in Iraq

Al-Qaeda in Iraq
(Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia)
Al-Qaeda in Iraq; (Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia)
القاعدة في العراق
	One of several flags used by AQI in their video releases; others used white text for the circle and the shahada.
Leaders	Abu Musab al-Zarqawi † (17 October 2004 – 7 June 2006); Abu Ayyub al-Masri † (7 June 2006 – 15 October 2006); Omar Husayn Hadid al-Muhammadi † (November 2004)
Dates of operation	17 October 2004 – 15 October 2006
Active regions	Iraq
Ideology	Salafi Jihadism; Anti-Shi'ism; Qutbism
Part of	Al-Qaeda; Mujahideen Shura Council (from January 2006)
Opponents	Coalition forces; Iraq; Coalition Provisional Authority; Islamic Army in Iraq; Ansar al-Sunna; Hamas of Iraq; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Mahdi Army; Jordan; Israel; United Nations
Battles and wars	Iraq War Iraqi insurgency Iraqi Insurgency war (2003–06); Iraqi Civil war (2006–2008); ;
Designated as a terrorist group by	Iraq; Malaysia; Saudi Arabia
	Preceded by; Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad; Ansar al-Islam (associate) Succeeded by; Mujahideen Shura Council; Islamic State of Iraq

Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn^[9] (Arabic: تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في بلاد الرافدين, romanized: tanẓīm qā‘idat al-jihād fī bilād ar-rāfidayn, lit. 'Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia'), more commonly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq^[1]^[10]^[11] (Arabic: القاعدة في العراق, romanized: al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq, abbr. AQI), was a Salafi jihadist organization^[2] affiliated with Al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004,^[1] and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri until its disbandment on 15 October 2006.

The group was started as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999. In 2004 it pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda. Under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, AQI was engaged in various militant activities during the early stages of the Iraqi insurgency, with the objective of expelling the U.S.-led coalition and establishing an Islamic state in Iraq. In January 2006, AQI and seven other Sunni guerrilla groups formed the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), which on 15 October 2006 disbanded to form the "Islamic State of Iraq."

^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference JamestownFoundation20041018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement" (PDF). Washington Institute for Near East Policy. June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ "Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia". Al Jazeera. 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
^ "موقع المقاومة الإسلامية عصائب أهل الحق - الشهيد السعيد لـيث صـــاحب كـــــان مــــــؤمناً أن طريـــــق أهـــل الحـــق هــــــــو طريـــــــــــق الخـــــــــــــــــــــــلاص والتحــــــــــرُّر". Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
^ "Mahdi Army | Mapping Militant Organizations". Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
^ "Iraq issues 'most wanted' terror list". 4 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
^ Archived copy Archived 9 October 2022 at Ghost Archive
^ "سياسي / وزارة الداخلية: بيان بالمحظورات الأمنية والفكرية على المواطن والمقيم ، وإمهال المشاركين بالقتال خارج المملكة 15 يوما إضافية لمراجعة النفس والعودة إلى وطنهم / إضافة أولى وكالة الأنباء السعودية". Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "Govt bans al-Zarqawi terror group". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 February 2005. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
^ Cite error: The named reference Msnbc20041018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Gordon Corera (16 December 2004). "Unraveling Zarqawi's al-Qaeda connection". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 16 September 2014.

[JamestownFoundation20041018-1] Cite error: The named reference JamestownFoundation20041018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[winepJune14-2] "The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement" (PDF). Washington Institute for Near East Policy. June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

[aljazeera-3] "Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia". Al Jazeera. 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2015.

[4] "موقع المقاومة الإسلامية عصائب أهل الحق - الشهيد السعيد لـيث صـــاحب كـــــان مــــــؤمناً أن طريـــــق أهـــل الحـــق هــــــــو طريـــــــــــق الخـــــــــــــــــــــــلاص والتحــــــــــرُّر". Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.

[5] "Mahdi Army | Mapping Militant Organizations". Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

[6] "Iraq issues 'most wanted' terror list". 4 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.

[7] Archived copy Archived 9 October 2022 at Ghost Archive

[8] "سياسي / وزارة الداخلية: بيان بالمحظورات الأمنية والفكرية على المواطن والمقيم ، وإمهال المشاركين بالقتال خارج المملكة 15 يوما إضافية لمراجعة النفس والعودة إلى وطنهم / إضافة أولى وكالة الأنباء السعودية". Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.

[:0-9] "Govt bans al-Zarqawi terror group". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 February 2005. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2015.

[Msnbc20041018-10] Cite error: The named reference Msnbc20041018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[JamestownFoundation20041216GordonCorera-11] Gordon Corera (16 December 2004). "Unraveling Zarqawi's al-Qaeda connection". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 16 September 2014.

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