Mujahideen Army
Encyclopedia
The Jaish al-Mujahideen (or Mujahideen Army) is a prominent Sunni resistance group operating inside Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. The group first emerged in late 2004. The Mujahideen Army is one of the founding members of the Jihad and Reform Front
Jihad and Reform Front
The Jihad and Reform Front or the Reformation and Jihad Front is a Sunni insurgent coalition that announced their formation on May 2, 2007...

 as well as a member of the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance
Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance
Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance , or the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, is an Iraqi insurgent "political" coalition of six major Sunni militant groups operating inside Iraq. The formation of the umbrella organization was announced on October 11, 2007 by a group spokesman in a...

 (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
Islamic Army in Iraq
The Islamic Army in Iraq is one of a number of underground Baathist and Islamist militant organizations formed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by United States and coalition military forces, and the subsequent collapse of the Baathist government headed by Saddam Hussein.Although it...

 (IAI).

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
Islamic State of Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq , is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba,...

 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."

In late January 2006 the Mujahideen Army issued a communiqué calling for attacks against Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 in response to the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 in several Danish newspapers.

The Mujahideen Army also threatened attacks following controversial comments made by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 in September 2006.

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.

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
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...

 websites.

Some notable attacks in which the Mujahideen Army has claimed responsibility:
  • The January 2007 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad
    Baghdad
    Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

    .
  • Shooting down an American Apache helicopter in January 2006.

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
Abu Ghraib
The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...

 district west of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

.

In a January 2006 statement urging the Mujahideen Army to join the then-fledgling Mujahideen Shura Council
Mujahideen Shura Council
The Mujahideen Shura Council was an umbrella organization of at least six Sunni Islamist groups taking part in the Iraqi insurgency: Tenzheem Qa'adah al-Jihad , Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura, Katbiyan Ansar Al-Tawhid wal Sunnah, Saray al-Jihad Group, al-Ghuraba Brigades, and al-Ahwal Brigades.The...

, al-Qaida in Iraq identified the emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

 of the Mujahideen Army as "The Leaping Lion."

External links

  • Al Qaeda in Iraq: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, article by Peter Cruickshank & Paul Cruickshank, Mother Jones
    Mother Jones (magazine)
    Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...

    , October 31, 2007
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