Mujahideen Army (Iraq)

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).[http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/iraqreport0807.pdf State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: August 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211214803/http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/iraqreport0807.pdf |date=2007-12-11 }} NEFA Foundation, August 15, 2007

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 and Norway, in response to the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in several Danish newspapers.[http://www.globalterroralert.com/pdf/0106/mujarmydenmark0106.pdf Communiqué from the Mujahideen Army of Iraq] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511200153/http://www.globalterroralert.com/pdf/0106/mujarmydenmark0106.pdf |date=2008-05-11 }} GlobalTerrorAlert.com, January 30, 2006

They also threatened attacks following controversial comments made by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006.[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1157913641658 Mujahideen's Army threatens Pope with suicide attack]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} The Jerusalem Post, September 16, 2006 They announced their intention to "destroy their cross in the heart of Rome… and to hit the Vatican."[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,437461,00.html "Vatikan verschärft Sicherheitsvorkehrungen"], Der Spiegel, 16 September 2006 {{in lang|de}}

The Mujahideen Army have also taken the unique step of appealing directly to the American public via several English-language videos purportedly produced and distributed by the group.[http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications29005&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 "The Mujahideen Army" Releases Video in English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625083238/http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications29005&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 |date=2006-06-25 }} SITE Institute, March 22, 2005

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.[http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications256107&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 Mujahideen Army in Iraq Issues Video of Downing a Black Hawk in al-Niba'i]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} SITE Institute, February 26, 2007
• Shooting down an American Apache helicopter in January 2006.[http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications138906&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 The Mujahideen Army Issues a Video Depicting the Downing of an Apache Helicopter in al-Taramiya] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625121842/http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications138906&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 |date=2006-06-25}} SITE Institute, January 16, 2006

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.[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/11/mil-051124-mnfi02.htm The Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist lieutenant and propaganda chief captured] GlobalSecurity.org

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."[http://threatswatch.org/inbrief/2006/01/joining-alqaeda-declining-alqa/ Joining al-Qaeda, Declining al-Qaeda] ThreatsWatch.org, January 31, 2006

The intelligence analyst Malcolm Nance claims that Mujahidin Army of Iraq was a liaison between former Baath militias like the fedayeen and the Islamists. However, most Mujahidin Army commanders appear to be former soldiers who were anti-Baathist politically and became Islamist mujahidin after they left army service and the United States invaded.Malcolm Nance, Terrorists of Iraq, 2014.{{page needed|date=June 2018}} Mujahidin Army spokespeople like Abdul-Rahman Qaisi and Abdullah Umari have been critical of the Baath and want to turn Iraq into an Islamic emirate free of control from occupation

{{reflist|2}}

• "[https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/11/iraq-war-al-qaeda-extended.html Al Qaeda in Iraq: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]", article by Peter & Paul Cruickshank, Mother Jones, October 31, 2007

{{Armed Iraqi groups in the Iraq War and the Iraq Civil War}}

Category:Arab militant groups

Category:Factions in the Iraq War

Category:Rebel groups in Iraq

Category:Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)

Category:Islamist insurgent groups

Category:2004 establishments in Iraq

Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Iraq

Category:Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist