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Kurdistan Brigades

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Kurdistan Brigades
(Kurdish: کەتیبەکانی کوردستان)
LeadersDilshad Kalari (unknown to unknown) Abdullah Hassan al-Sorani (2007 to unknown): al-Sorani has released public statements of behalf of AQKB and is believed to be the group’s official spokesman.[1]
Dates of operation2001-present, largely inactive after 2010
HeadquartersIraqi Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan
IdeologyIslamic extremism
Salafist Qutbism
Salafist Jihadism
Wahhabism[2]
Anti-Zionism
Part of al-Qaeda
Allies
OpponentsState opponents

Non-state opponents

Battles and warsthe Iraq War and
the Global War on Terrorism
Designated as a terrorist group by United States

The Kurdistan Brigades,[4] are a militant Islamist organization, primarily active in the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Iran. It is the official Kurdish branch of al-Qaeda. It has also launched several attacks on the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. The group was overshadowed by other Islamist factions but remains active.[5]

Formation

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The Kurdistan Brigades were founded in 2001 in the Hamrin Mountains, as an official faction of Al-Qaeda. It was founded by former Ansar al-Islam militants. However, the creation of the Kurdistan Brigades was announced with a video called "Back to the Mountains" released in March 2007 by Al-Qaeda. From 2007 to 2010, they waged an insurgency against the Kurdistan Regional Government with many attacks against authorities. They were also active in Iranian Kurdistan.[6]

The group is considered to be relatively small, but it has camps in the Iranian Kurdish towns of Mariwan and Sanandaj.[7]

In April 2014, the Kurdistan Brigades released a statement where they criticised the Islamic State and called on Kurds to not join it.[6]

Attacks

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The group has launched several attacks, including its largest one being against KRG's Ministry of Interior in Erbil that killed 19 people in May 2007.[7] AQKB killed 7 border guards and one PUK security officer in Penjwan in July 2007. In September 2010, two police officers were hurt by a failed suicide attack in Sulaymaniyah.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Mapping Militant Organizations, Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. ^ Hudson, Valerie (30 June 2015). The Hillary Doctrine. Columbia University. p. 154. ISBN 9780231539104. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  3. ^ "ISI Confirms That Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Its Extension in Syria, Declares 'Islamic State of Iraq And Al-Sham' As New Name of Merged Group". MEMRI. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  4. ^ "The Kurdistan Brigades: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish Henchmen". Jamestown. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ Cassman, Daniel. "Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b "ABD-İran geriliminin yeni ismi; El Kaide'nin Kürt grubu". www.rudaw.net. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Rudaw in English The Happening: Latest News and Multimedia about Kurdistan, Iraq and the World - US Designates Kurdish Group Terrorists". Rudaw.net. 15 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions". Stanford - CISAC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.