Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | Friday, January 17, 2003 | By Jonathan Schanzer

[JohnHuang2]

Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection
By Jonathan Schanzer
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | January 17, 2003

Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in Iraqi Kurdistan since September 2001, is a prototype of America's enemies in the "war on terror." The group serves as a testament to the global spread of al-Qaeda affiliates, achieved through exploitation of weak central authorities and a utilitarian willingness to work with seemingly differing ideologies for a common cause. Lengthy reports on Ansar have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and Kurdish leaders have given Washington a plethora of intelligence on the group. Nevertheless, Ansar has yet to appear on official U.S. terrorism lists. Meanwhile, political complexities would make military action against the group difficult, at best. Hence, this small force of 650 fighters is a textbook example of the ongoing challenges posed by the war on terror.

Northern Iraq's al-Qaeda

In August 2001, leaders of several Kurdish Islamist factions reportedly visited the al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan with the goal of creating an alternate base for the organization in northern Iraq. Their intentions were echoed in a document found in an al-Qaeda guest house in Afghanistan vowing to "expel those Jews and Christians from Kurdistan and join the way of Jihad, [and] rule every piece of land . . . with the Islamic Shari'a rule." Soon thereafter, Ansar al-Islam was created using $300,000 to $600,000 in al-Qaeda seed money, in addition to funds from Saudi Arabia.

Today, Ansar operates in fortified mountain positions along the Iran-Iraq border known as "Little Tora Bora" (after the Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan). There, the group's Kurdish, Iraqi, Lebanese, Jordanian, Moroccan, Syrian, Palestinian, and Afghan members train in a wide array of guerrilla tactics. Approximately 30 al-Qaeda members reportedly joined Ansar upon the group's inception in 2001; that number is now as high as 120. Armed with heavy machine guns, mortars, and antiaircraft weaponry, the group fulfills al-Qaeda lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri's vision of a global jihad. Ansar's goal is to disrupt civil society and create a Taliban-like regime in northern Iraq. To that end, it has already banned music, alcohol, photographs, and advertising in its stronghold. Girls are prevented from studying; men must grow beards and pray five times daily.

Activities since 2001

Ansar first made headlines in September 2001 when it ambushed and killed forty-two Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fighters. In February 2002, the group assassinated Franso Hariri, a Kurdish Christian politician. That spring, Ansar attempted to murder Barham Salih, a PUK leader; five bodyguards and two attackers were killed in the ensuing gunfight. In June, the group bombed a Kurdish restaurant, injuring scores and killing a child. In July, the group killed nine PUK fighters, and destroyed several Sufi shrines -- a move reminiscent of the Taliban. In September, Dutch authorities arrested the group's leader, Najmuddin Faraj (a.k.a. Mullah Krekar), for suspected ties to al-Qaeda. In December, Ansar launched a surprise attack after the PUK sent 1,500 soldiers home to celebrate the end of Ramadan. According to the group's website, they killed 103 PUK fighters and wounded 117.

That same month, Jordan's prime minister announced that al-Qaeda operative Fazel Inzal al-Khalayleh (a.k.a. Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi) had sought refuge with Ansar. Khalayleh had ordered the spring 2002 attack on Salih as well as the October 2002 murder of U.S. Agency for International Development officer Laurence Foley in Amman. Khalayleh's deputy, Nur ad-Din ash-Shami (a.k.a. Abu Abdullah), was killed in a battle with Kurdish fighters less than two weeks ago. Currently, more than thirty Ansar militants (about twenty of whom are Arab) are incarcerated in Sulaymaniyah. Their testimony has provided clues about the group's ties to Saddam Husayn, al-Qaeda, Iran, and weapons of mass destruction.

Chemical Weapons

Some Bush administration and PUK officials claim that Ansar has established chemical weapons facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports allege that Baghdad helped to smuggle these weapons from Afghanistan and that Ansar has tested substances such as cyanide gas and the poison Ricin. Salih has cited "clear evidence" that such tests have been performed on animals. Moreover, the Washington Post reported that the group smuggled VX nerve gas through Turkey in fall 2001.

Links to Saddam

Bush administration and PUK officials have also speculated that Ansar may be working with Saddam through a man named Abu Wa'il, reportedly an al-Qaeda operative on Saddam's payroll. Kurdish explosives experts also claim that TNT seized from Ansar was produced by the Iraqi military, and that arms are sent to the group from areas controlled by Saddam. Iraqi officials deny all such ties, yet Saddam clearly profits from Ansar's activities, which keep Kurdish opposition forces tied up on the border and away from Saddam. Indeed, support for Ansar is not unlike the money Saddam gives to families of Palestinian suicide bombers; turning up the heat in Kurdistan and the Palestinian territories takes heat off Saddam as a crisis looms.

Currently, Kurdish and international sources are accumulating evidence they say could soon present a clearer picture of Saddam's cooperation with al-Qaeda.

Links to Iran

Iran supports Ansar by allowing it to operate along its borders. Iran may also provide logistical support by permitting the flow of goods and weapons and providing a safe area beyond the front. The Turkish daily Milliyet has noted that Ansar militants check cars leaving their stronghold en route to Iran, indicating coordination with the Islamic republic. Moreover, the recently apprehended Mullah Krekar spent many years in Iran and was arrested in Amsterdam after a flight from Tehran.

Iran has several possible reasons for supporting Ansar. For one, having a democratic proto-state on its borders threatens the very nature of the Islamic republic. Thus, continued guerrilla activity benefits Tehran, as does any movement designed to spread Islamism in Kurdistan. Furthermore, by supporting Ansar and other Islamist groups in Iraq, Tehran may attempt to gain influence among the various factions that could contribute to a new Iraqi government if Saddam's regime is overthrown.

Implications

More than one year after Ansar announced its formation, the State Department has yet to designate it a Foreign Terrorist Organization, nor has the Treasury Department listed it as a Special Designated Global Terrorist. It would be interesting to know why. Other questions remain: Can Washington pressure Iran to cease cooperation with Ansar? Can it persuade Norway, where Mullah Krekar lived for several years, to examine his financial accounts? Can it verify ties between al-Qaeda and Saddam based on interviews with captured Ansar militants?

If such links are established, military force should be considered. Reports from the front indicate that Ansar could not withstand an aerial assault. Yet, Washington may be reticent to attack during this period of UN inspections for fear of international rebuke, particularly from Turkey. Ankara, already ambivalent about an Iraq war, may be sensitive to any measures that would potentially strengthen the Kurds. Still, Ansar al-Islam poses a threat to any future U.S. ground deployment. Moreover, dismantling the group would potentially weaken both Saddam and al-Qaeda -- two primary targets in the war on terror.

[JohnHuang2]

Friday, January 17, 2003

Quote of the Day by spald

[Support Free Republic]

Donate, And Snuggles The Fabric Softener Bear Gets It!
	Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[Cindy]

LINKS OF INTEREST:

***ALBAWABA.com: "GROUP CONFIRMS ABU ABBAS VISITED CAIRO, EGYPT DENIES" (ARTICLE SNIPPETS: "Abu Abbas, also known as Mohammed Abbas, is the leader of the Palestine Liberation Front, which hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in the eastern Mediterranean in 1985. A disabled elderly American, Leon Klinghoffer, was killed during the operation. The Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, said on Thursday that Abu Abbas arrived in Cairo on Monday night to participate in Palestinian talks on an end to attacks on civilians in Israel."..."An official of his Abu Abbas group said Friday he came to Egypt this week for talks with the government. "He did visit Cairo, but I can't say where he is now for his own safety," said Nazim el-Youssef of the Palestine Liberation Front in Lebanon. The group issued a statement earlier in the week saying a delegation led by Abu Abbas had arrived in Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian authorities for talks to "unite the Palestinian groups to enable them to face Israeli aggression."" (Albawaba.com)) (January 11, 2003)

stepping back in time...SPECIAL OPERATIONS.com: "ACHILLE LAURO HIJACKING, Mediterranean Sea, October 1985"

***TERRORISM FILES.org: "TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: PALESTINE LIBERATION FRONT (PLF)" (TERRORISM FILE SNIPPET: "Location/Area of Operation: PLO faction based in Tunisia until Achille Lauro attack. Now based in Iraq. External Aid: Receives support mainly from Iraq. Has received support from Libya in the past.")

***ALBAWABA.com: "THE IRAQI WOMAN BUSH WANTS TO LAY HIS HANDS ON" (ARTICLE NOTE: Dr. Rihab Tahat is known as "Dr. Germ.") (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "In Dr. Germ's highly secret laboratories, Taha and her team of some 100 Iraqi scientists worked immensely to weaponize the most lethal viruses and bacteria known to man. According to United Nations estimates, Taha created 8400 liters of anthrax"..."grew 19,000 liters of botulinum"..."She also cultivated 2000 liters of aflatoxin"..."These experiments may have never come to light if it were not for the defection of General Hussein Kamal, son-in-law of Saddam Hussein and a weapons of mass destruction expert. In 1995, Kamal defected from Iraq to Jordan where he told the world about Dr. Germ, thus making him the first to expose Taha's work and the killer diseases that Iraq holds in reserve."..."The original UN weapons inspectors tried to find out where Iraq's biological weapons were and destroy them, but failed. Eventually, UN inspectors found out that Dr. Germ was the lover and wife of Lieutenant General Amer Rashid, the Iraqi official whose job was to work with the UN inspectors. It is now believed Rashid warned his wife of possible raids, thus giving her enough time to get rid of any evidence. Until recently, Rashid served as the oil minister in Saddam Hussein's government."(January 14, 2003)

***News.TELEGRAPH.co.uk: "CHEMICAL WAR THREAT BY IRAQ'S 'TALIBAN'" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mullah Mohammad Hasan is the new leader of Ansar Al-Islam, a radical Taliban-style mini-state in Northern Iraq where ricin and other chemical agents have been been tested as potential weapons. He has vowed to use his arsenal to fight America and its allies if a war is launched against Saddam Hussein. Ansar has also given shelter to Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi - the al-Qaeda quartermaster responsible for planning the terrorist group's attacks - in its camps, according to Kurdish officials in the area. The group has told recent visitors to its enclave that it holds stocks of the deadly chemical agents ricin, cyanide gas and aflatoxin.") (January 12, 2003)

stepping back in time...CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: "TALIBAN-STYLE GROUP GROWS IN IRAQ" (ARTICLE SNIPPETS: "HALABJA, NORTHERN IRAQ - A radical Islamist group - with possible links to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein - is growing and threatening the stability of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq."..."Since, Ansar al-Islam has nearly doubled in size to 700, including Iraqis, Jordanians, Moroccans, Palestinians, and Afghans - a composition similar to the multinational Al Qaeda network. Villagers here claim it has ransacked and razed beauty salons, burned schools for girls, and murdered women in the streets for refusing to wear the burqa. It has seized a Taliban-style enclave of 4,000 civilians and several villages near the Iran border.") (March 15, 2002)

GOOGLE Search Term: "ANSAR-AL-ISLAM"

HAARETZ.com: "'ARMS FROM IRAQ CAUSED BLAST AT HEZBOLLAH BASE'" (010302)

***WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "IRAQ URGES ARABS TO FOLLOW NORTH KOREA" (010203)

***MuslimThai.com/TALIBANonline (VOICE OF THE TALIBAN): "IRAQI MUSLIMS DECLARE HOLY WAR ON U.S." (*Note: URL subject to change or expire.) (122602)

***ALBAWABA.com - The Middle East Gateway: "SADDAM SAYS IRAQ READY TO FIGHT" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Saddam Hussein said Tuesday that Iraqis were ready to fight a holy war against the United States...") (122502)

IDF.il - Spokesperson's Unit: "IRAQ CONTINUES TO AWARD FUNDS TO FAMILIES OF PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS" (122502)

***U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: "ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF OMISSIONS FROM THE IRAQI DECLARATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL" (121902)

HAARETZ DAILY.com: "REPORT: SADDAM PLANNED TO USE BIOLOGICAL WEAPON AGAINST ISRAEL" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The document says that Iraq sent three MiG-21 planes to bomb Israeli targets with regular bombs to check whether they were able to penetrate the Israeli air defense system. At the second stage, three more MiGs armed with conventional weaponry were to be sent to Israel as a diversion, together with a Sukhoi airplane armed with biological weapons. But the operation failed during the first stage, when the three MiGs were downed over the Persian Gulf a short time after takeoff.") (122302)

[Cindy]

***AFTENPOSTEN.no: "USA WANTS NORWAY TO WATCH KREKAR" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mullah Krekar has been, and likely remains, the leader of Ansar al-Islam, a fringe Islamic group in Iranian Kurdistan accused of having connections to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. The New York Times reported the connection last week after interviews with Ansa al-Islam members, and after finding documents in Afghanistan mentioning direct links to al-Qaeda.") (January 17, 2003)

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Coop]

Flag

[PGalt]

Thanks for your post, your links.

[Cindy]

stepping back in time...WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "AL QAEDA LINKED TO IRAQI LAB" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "U.S. officials believe the terrorists tested a biological toxin known as ricin, a deadly poison made from the castor-bean plant.") (082002)

[Cindy]

An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com: "MULLAH KREKAR ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS" (February 12, 2003)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/841393/posts

MULLAH KREKAR Here:
http://www.nettavisen.no/servlets/page?section=208&item=254354