Free Iraqi Army

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Free Iraqi Army
الجيش العراقي الحر
Dates of operation19 July 2012–1 August 2014
MotivesEstablishment of a Sunni state in Iraq
Active regionsIraq
Size2,500+[1]
Allies Naqshbandi Army[citation needed]

Al-Qaeda (Alleged, denied)
SCJL[citation needed]

Republic of Iraq

 Iran

 Syria[2]
Mukhtar Army
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (sometimes)[citation needed]

Iraqi insurgency
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/freeiraqiarmypage

The Free Iraqi Army (

Syrian Civil War.[3] The group aimed to overthrow the Shia-dominated government of Iraq,[4] believing that they would gain support in this from Syria should the rebels be successful in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad.[5][6] An Iraqi counterterror spokesman denied this, saying that the name is merely being used by al-Qaeda in Iraq to "attract the support of the Iraqi Sunnis by making use of the strife going on in Syria."[7]

Aside from

Sahwa militia. The same commander claimed that the group received financial support from cross-border tribal extensions and Sunni sympathizers in the Persian gulf states of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.[5]

On 4 February 2013, Wathiq al-Batat of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Iraq, announced the formation of the Mukhtar Army to fight against al-Qaeda and the Free Iraqi Army.[8] In August 2014, the group became defunct, after a large offensive by ISIL in northern Iraq, with activity on their websites ceasing.

History

Links to al-Qaeda and the Iraqi Ba'athists

Despite the group's denial of links to al-Qaeda, the group had been accused of being affiliated with the group.[9] These accusations of links with both al-Qaeda and the Ba'athists led to a Najaf Shiite figure associated with the State of Law Coalition issuing a fatwa against supplying the group with weapons.[10]

See also

  • List of armed groups in the Iraqi Civil War

External links

References

  1. ^ "How Syria's civil war is spilling over". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  2. ^ "Free Iraqi Army inspired by Syria war | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR". Archived from the original on 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  3. VOA). 29 November 2012. Archived
    from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Syrian Soldiers Killed In Iraq: Reports". RTT News. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Free Iraqi Army inspired by Syria war". The Daily Star (Lebanon). 10 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Iraqis locked in rival sectarian narratives". BBC News. 21 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Al-Qaida making comeback in Iraq, officials say". The Guardian. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Briefing: A guide to defusing sectarian tensions in Iraq". IRIN. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Syrian War's Spillover Threatens a Fragile Iraq". The New York Times. 26 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  10. ^ عضو في الدفاع النيابية: الجيش العراقي الحر إسم آخر لتنظيم القاعدة (in Arabic). Iraqi Communist Party. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
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