Mujahideen Army

The Jaish al-Mujahideen (or Mujahideen Army) is a prominent Sunni resistance group operating inside Iraq. The group first emerged in late 2004.^[1] The Mujahideen Army is one of the founding members of the Jihad and Reform Front as well as a member of the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance (PCIR).

Ideology

While religious in the nature the Mujahideen Army takes on a more nationalist tone in its rhetoric. The militant group is believed to have an ideology similar to that of fellow Iraqi insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI).^[2]

In the early stages of the insurgency the group is said to have supported, at least tacitly, al-Qaida in Iraq's actions. As of late, however, the Mujahideen Army has distanced itself from the al-Qaida-led Islamic State of Iraq and its indiscriminate killings and uncompromising Salafist ideology.

In May 2006 the Mujahideen Army released a statement condemning Iraq's ethnic and sectarian infighting and urged Iraqis to work "with a sense of national and religious responsibility for the sake of future generations."^[2]

In late January 2006 the Mujahideen Army issued a communiqué calling for attacks against Denmark and Norway in response to the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in several Danish newspapers.^[3]

The Mujahideen Army also threatened attacks following controversial comments made by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006.^[4]

The Mujahideen Army has also taken the unusual step of appealing directly to the American public via several English-language videos purportedly produced and distributed by the group.^[5]

Attacks

The Mujahideen Army has taken credit for numerous attacks against American forces in Iraq. The majority of these claims are issued in communiqués or videos posted on mujahideen websites.

Some notable attacks in which the Mujahideen Army has claimed responsibility:

• The January 2007 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad.^[6]
• Shooting down an American Apache helicopter in January 2006.^[7]

Leadership

Little is publicly known about the Mujahideen Army's leadership and command structure.

In October 2005, the U.S. military announced that it had captured Ahmad Ni'mah Khudayyir Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Shihab), a group "lieutenant and propaganda chief" in the Abu Ghraib district west of Baghdad.^[8]

In a January 2006 statement urging the Mujahideen Army to join the then-fledgling Mujahideen Shura Council, al-Qaida in Iraq identified the emir of the Mujahideen Army as "The Leaping Lion."^[9]

External links

• Al Qaeda in Iraq: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, article by Peter Cruickshank & Paul Cruickshank, Mother Jones, October 31, 2007

References

1. ^ Group Profile: Mujahideen Army MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
2. ^ ^{a b} State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: August 2007 NEFA Foundation, August 15, 2007
3. ^ Communiqué from the Mujahideen Army of Iraq GlobalTerrorAlert.com, January 30, 2006
4. ^ Mujahideen's Army threatens Pope with suicide attack Jerusalem Post, September 16, 2006
5. ^ "The Mujahideen Army" Releases Video in English SITE Institute, March 22, 2005
6. ^ Mujahideen Army in Iraq Issues Video of Downing a Black Hawk in al-Niba'i SITE Institute, February 26, 2007
7. ^ The Mujahideen Army Issues a Video Depicting the Downing of an Apache Helicopter in al-Taramiya SITE Institute, January 16, 2006
8. ^ The Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist lieutenant and propaganda chief captured GlobalSecurity.org
9. ^ Joining al-Qaeda, Declining al-Qaeda ThreatsWatch.org, January 31, 2006