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'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

 
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 03:05 PM
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'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Disclaimer: Information contained in daily updates comes from the various Iraqi threads and the Institute for the Study of War.

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CONTENTS

1. Geopolitical and Historical Summary

2. History of ISIS

3. Encyclopedia

4. Misc Links


Geopolitical and Historical Summary

The Islamic State: [link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

This all began before Syria and Iraq. ISIS' predecessor, ISI, was the Iraqi front of Al Qaeda. As such, it was composed of jihadists from all over the world. The present crisis is just a step in a history going back to America's creation of Al Qaeda back in the 80s.

Basically, America wanted to create militant Sunni organizations to offset the new jihadist and pro-Communist regime in Iran, which overthrew the American-backed Shah-regime in '79. Back then, America was terrified of an Islamic anti-American revolution spreading throughout the Islamic world and of the prospect of losing a foothold in the oil-rich Middle East. This was, recall, just after the gas and inflation crises of the 70s.

Militant Sunni guerrilla forces were the answer. Al Qaeda spent much of its history fighting the Iranians (and even the Sauds). However, the great historical problem of these groups is that most of them "went native" and, by radicalizing the Islamic world's youth, were infused with a new generation of militants without concern for America's foreign policy interests. They rebelled against America, but the Clinton administration was happy to keep supporting them via the CIA. Simply put, even if they were no longer coordinating with the West, they were still a thorn in Russia and Iran's side. This changed, or so the story goes, with 9/11 (personally, I don't know whether that was an inside job or not - the evidence is compelling, but I take no stand).

With the invasion of Iraq, these Sunni militants suddenly found reason to openly attack American interests. Yes, isolated incidents had occurred before the invasion, but things really picked up after 2003.

The seeds of Sunni jihad that America had planted in the 80s coalesced into a broad anti-American faction of holy warriors, bent on preserving the sanctity of Islamic land in the face of foreign and infidel invaders.

Now, with the Arab Spring, these militants have built enough gravitas and become enough of a social force in the Sunni Islamic world to topple the majority of the West's puppet regimes. With their recent success in Iraq, they are undertaking the next logical step in this process: the creation of a Sunni caliphate and the corollary elimination of Shia power. Their advance has brought them money, armaments, and allies, and with the addition of popular support they are carving out a new Islamic State against all the norms and predictions governing international society. All-in-all, this is proceeding much how the Americans hoped back in the 80s under Reagan: Sunni forces are coalescing to oppose Iran. It simply took a few more decades to kick off, and the situation has gotten out of control. Rather than promoting American interests, the Sunni jihadist social movement has come to define itself as anti- American.

This is one reason America got involved in the Arab Spring straight away - it wanted to steer events in its favor. It totally failed. Funding non-Shia regimes in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kuwait, and Pakistan prior to the revolution was all well-and-good, but none of them would bring the fight to Iran. (Iraq did in the 80s, but failed). Yet, these pro-US regimes in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have all been toppled by Sunnis since c. 2010. The anti-US conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan continue, the conflict in Pakistan was far more democratic, and the conflict in Libya was a shitstorm from the beginning.

The case of Egypt is particularly interesting, insofar as the American-backed Muslim Brotherhood co-opted the revolution in the beginning, only to be themselves toppled by anti-US Sunni sentiment. Egypt is the most conspicuous case of Western attempts to co-opt the Arab Spring. The West never had any chance of doing so, of course, because the Spring was fundamentally an anti-West revolution, not a pro-democracy revolution. Liberal intellectuals in the Islamic world liked to portray it as democratic, and they got on all the media stages and allowed America's liberals to feel very happy ("Look! Bush was wrong, we were right!"). But in truth the whole thing was a pro-Sunni, anti-America revolt from the outset.

You might ask: Why, then, did a democratic Egyptian people succeed in Egypt? Two points: first, the second Egyptian revolution was partially democratic because Egypt is the most enlightened Islamic country. That doesn't entail that it's pro-America though. Second, the second revolution was driven by the Army, not the people, which is powerful only because it is the indirect recipient of American money. Militarism, not popular solidarity, produced the conditions for democratic Egypt.

In Libya, Ghaddafi turned from the US orbit awhile ago (c. 2005 if I remember correctly), but was still originally a US creation. The same goes for Assad, who was originally a US-backed creation to prevent Syria going an anti-Israel alliance.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey remain the three stable pillars of the Islamic world. Jordan is the same, to a lesser degree. Each is independent of American control. The dialogue in Mesopotamia is now one between these three powers, with a radical Sunni force carving out their own piece of the pie in the middle. Events are complicated by the broader list of new factions subordinate to no power (Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon (AKA Hezbollah), and Palestine).

So, in short, ISIS is part of a broad Islamic movement initially organized by the US for the sake of marginalizing the Shia and safeguarding Israel and America's oil interests. The situation, however, has gotten out of America's control, and age-old religious sentiment has taken over and now threatens to birth a Caliphate. Whether such a state is born depends on the actions, first, of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran; second, of Israel; and third, of Egypt.

History of ISIS

The present conflict in Iraq emerges from the confluence of two factors in Iraq: the cultural divide between Sunni and Shia, on the one hand, and the jihadist insurgency during the American occupation, on the other. Both factors have converged in ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham).

ISIS is a radical jihadist Sunni group formed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shortly after the US invasion of Iraq. The group swore allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004 and were dubbed "al-Qaeda in Iraq" by the US. They quickly rose to become the chief umbrella organization of the Iraqi insurgency, and took the name "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI) in October 2006. ISI's power was centered in the Sunni western half of Iraq, with Baqubah as its capital. At present, it is incorrect to call ISIS “al-Qaeda” (as MSM do): ISIS has surpassed al-Qaeda and has absorbed many of al-Qaeda’s operatives.

In a July 2005 letter to al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Zarqawi outlined a four-stage plan for the establishment of an Islamic State: (1) expelling U.S. forces from Iraq, (2) establishing an Islamic authority (caliphate), (3) spreading the conflict to Iraq's secular neighbors, and (4) engaging in the Arab–Israeli conflict. At present, (1) has been achieved and (2), (3) and (4) partially achieved.

In 2006, al-Zarqawi was killed and leadership passed to the Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri. Under al-Masri's leadership, ISI conducted indiscriminate attacks on Iraqi civilians, leading to a loss of popularity and the group’s near-destruction by US forces in 2010.

The group went underground, and emerged as the power behind al-Nusra in the Syrian civil war. The groups new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was committed to the original goals set out by al-Zarqawi, and renamed the group ISIS to signify its involvement in both Syria and Iraq. Al-Baghdadi’s identity is unknown, and some sources allege that he is actually several people.

ISIS' power in Syria was centered in Raqqah, extending to Idlib and Aleppo. In 2013, al-Nusra broke with ISIS, leaving the leadership of the Syrian insurgency broken. ISIS, nevertheless, maintains strength in Syria; starting in April 2013, the group made rapid military gains in controlling large parts of Northern Syria. In May 2013, ISIS carried out a car bombing in Turkey that killed 51 people; in July 2013, it raided Abu Ghraib prison, freeing 500 jihadists.

During the latter half of 2013, Sunni resistance to the Shi'ite Maliki government in Iraq grew as claims of Shi'ite oppression of Sunnis spread. In Ramadi, a Sunni protest camp emerged, demanding elections and greater Sunni representation in parliament. The leading figure of this movement was the parliamentarian Ahmed al-Awlani. ISIS successfully infiltrated this group, spreading itself from its new base in Syria back into Iraq, along the Qaim-Ramadi-Fallujah corridor.

In late December, 2013, Maliki ordered the arrest of al-Awlani. ISIS took charge of the Sunni protest, demanding that al-Awlani be released. Maliki refused; in response, ISIS form a military alliance with the western Sunni tribes and launched a rapid military offensive. Within days, Fallujah had fallen and repeated ISF attacks were driven back. Between January-June 2014, ISIS consolidated its position in Anbar and Ninevah provinces in western Iraq and integrated their operations there with their Syrian organization. In June, ISIS launched a sudden offensive against an unprepared ISF, capturing many of their old strongholds (as ISI) in Mosul (Ninevah), Salahuddin province, Diyala province, and Anbar province. At present, ISIS is the richest and most powerful jihadist group on Earth, has extended its operations to Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, and Palestine, and threatens Baghdad. In late June, ISIS leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself Khalifah or Caliph, the supreme religious and political figure of Islam as such, and declared the birth of his new Caliphate, the Islamic State, the first Caliphate to exist since the destruction of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. ISIS or IS is in the process of dismantling the remnants of non-orthodox political and cultural factors within the Islamic State, and establishing new institutions in accordance with its interpretation of Islam. Between July 2014 - January 2015, ISIS continued to make small gains in Syria, but lost ground in central Iraq. ISIS' movements during this period have been largely twofold: internally, they have consolidated the Islamic State; externally, they have expanded their international contacts and infiltrated the West.

The borders of the Middle East presently: [link to roamingchile.com]

Series of historical maps of the Middle East: [link to www.vox.com]

---

Daily Updates, December 2013 - July 2014: Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 5)

---

Encyclopedia

Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Caliph of the Islamic State Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Abu Ghraib Prison Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

Anbar Governorate Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Map: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

Baghdad Governorate Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 4) (Map: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

Diyala Governorate Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 4) (Map: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

Dulaim tribe Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Fallujah Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Fuad Masum, Iraqi President (2014-) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 8)

Haditha Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Haider al-Abadi, Iraqi Prime Minister (2014-) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 7)

ISIS/ISIL/IS/Islamic State (General) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

ISIS/ISIL (Territory as of August 13) [link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

ISIS/ISIL (Events, January 1 - June 11) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

ISIS/ISIL (Conquest of Mosul) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

Kurdistan Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 2)

Mosul Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Muqtada al-Sadr
Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 2)

Nineveh Governorate Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Map: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister (-2014) Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 2)

Peshmerga Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 2)

Ramadi Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER

Sahwa/Sons of Iraq
Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 2)

Salahuddin Governorate Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 4) (Map: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

Taji Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

Zulfiqar Brigade Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 3)

---

Misc Links:

ISIS governance in Syria: Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 6)

ISIS governance in Mosul: Thread: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER (Page 6)

Map of the Sunni/Shia split in Iraq [link to thesinosaudiblog.files.wordpress.com]

Map of the governates [states] of Iraq [link to upload.wikimedia.org]

Letter announcing the formation of the Jaysh al-Izz wa al-Karama, the ISIS/tribal alliance in Anbar/Ninevah [link to www.facebook.com (secure)]
(AC 26782986 translates it as: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Today, we the righteous people of the blessed land, announce the formation of a new jihad army, Jaysh al-Izz wa al-Karama [the Army of the Dignified al Izz, a Muslim scholar and judge in the 14th century] who will defend our homeland against the infidels of that criminal al Maliki. We will wage jihad over this blessed country until we have established an Ummah (Ination), not only in Anbar but in all of Iraq. God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest.")

Kurdish defensive line in northern Iraq 6/12
[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Map of ISIS in Baghdad [link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

ISIS funded by Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia [link to www.thedailybeast.com]

Map - Baghdad sectarian divide: [link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

Map - ISIS' advance to Baghdad: [link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

Map of military disposition around Baghdad: [link to www.syrianperspective.com]

Birth of the Islamic State: Statement: [link to myreader.toile-libre.org]

Map, 7/25: [link to news.bbcimg.co.uk]

Oil and Gas Pipelines: [link to www.energyeconomist.com]

Study Resources: [link to isisstudygroup.com] and [link to jihadology.net]

Map (oil): [link to i.imgur.com]

Map (Syria): [link to i.imgur.com]

Map (Iraq): [link to i.imgur.com]
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Anbar

"Al Anbar Governorate (or Anbar Province) is the largest governorate in Iraq geographically. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The provincial capital is Ramadi, other important cities include Fallujah and Haditha.

Just about all the inhabitants of the province are Sunni Muslims and mostly from the Dulaim tribe.

The region's geography is a combination of steppe and true desert, characterised by a desert climate, low rainfall and a large variation in temperature between day and night.

According to UN statistics in 2003 the population of Al Anbar is 1,230,169.

While it is Iraq’s largest governorate, it also is its most sparsely populated. For a governorate that is approximately the size of Bangladesh, it is home to fewer than 1.8 million Iraqis. Most of the population lives in the major cities, like Ramadi and Fallujah, and almost everyone else lives within a short distance of the Euphrates River that snakes from Baghdad to the Syrian Border near Al Qa’im.

During the first four years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Anbar Province was the deadliest province for American service members, claiming approximately one-third of American fatalities.

In a country where most were associated with the Shi’ia branch of Islam, the Anbar Province was the Sunni stronghold that had long provided Saddam Hussein with the support he needed to remain in power.

During the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it provided an important base for Al Qaeda and insurgent operations."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Ramadi

"It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate. The city extends more than 60 kilometers along the Euphrates and is the largest city in Al-Anbar.

Ramadi's population has been stated as 500,000 according to UN data from 2003 and 483,209 according to UN from 2004.

By the 21st century, all of the inhabitants of the city were Sunni Muslims from the Dulaim tribe. [The Dulaim tribe are one of the tribes most opposed to the central government]"

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Fallujah

"The city grew from a small town in 1947 to a population of 326,471 inhabitants in 2010. Within Iraq, it is known as the "city of mosques" for the more than 200 mosques found in the city and surrounding villages.

On March 31, 2004, Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA, who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS.

The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry (Jerko) Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set on fire. Their charred corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River.

This led to an abortive US operation to recapture control of the city in Operation Vigilant Resolve, and a successful recapture operation in the city in November 2004, called Operation Phantom Fury in English and Operation Al Fajr in Arabic.

Residents were allowed to return to the city in mid-December 2004 after undergoing biometric identification, provided they wear their ID cards all the time. US officials report that "more than half of Fallujah's 39,000 homes were damaged during Operation Phantom Fury, and about 10,000 of those were destroyed" while compensation amounts to 20 percent of the value of damaged houses, with an estimated 32,000 homeowners eligible, according to Marine Lt Col William Brown.

In 2010 it was reported that an academic study had shown "a four-fold increase in all cancers and a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in under-14s." since 2004. In addition, the report said the types of cancer were "similar to that in the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionising radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout", and an 18% fall in the male birth ratio (to 850 per 1000 female births, compared to the usual 1050) was similar to that seen after the Hiroshima bombing."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

The Dulaim tribe

"Dulaim or Dulaimi or Al Duliam or Dulaym is one of the largest of all middle east tribes, with over seven million people. The tribe's history goes back to pre-Islamic times and millions descend from the tribe today in Iraq and neighboring countries such as Syria and Jordan.

The Dulaims are the largest Sunni Arab tribe in Iraq, living on the Euphrates from a point just below Al Hillah and southern Baghdad to Fallujah, Ramadi, al-Qaim, Samarra and Mosul.

Dulaim is the largest tribe in Anbar province, which formed the nucleus of the resistance\insurgency against U.S. forces in Iraq.

The events of the war and the bombing of Fallujah and targeting the Sunnis in Baghdad and Basra and many other reasons pushed the Sunni Dulaimi clans to carry weapons against Iraqi government and U.S. forces in Iraq."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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Haditha

"It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River. Its population of around 100,000 people is predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs. The city lies near the Buhayrat al Qadisiyyah, an artificial lake which was created by the building of the Haditha Dam, the largest hydroelectric facility in Iraq.

As the fighting continued following the fall of Saddam Hussein, Haditha became a center for insurgent activity. It lies between Al-Qaim, an insurgent entry point and Baghdad.

On 19 November 2005, 24 Iraqi noncombatants, including 11 women and children, were killed by 12 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. The US military is investigating these actions, a captain and a lieutenant colonel have been relieved of duty (another captain was relieved on the same day but not for the same incident. Some allege the massacre was in retribution for an incident earlier in the day in which US Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas was killed in a roadside bomb attack on Marines from Kilo Company.

The change in U.S. strategy in late 2006 brought quick results to the Hadithah Triad. The U.S. Marines and their Iraqi and coalition allies had largely driven out insurgents by the summer of 2007.

Hadithah was much more secure and had recovered some of its prosperity by the summer of 2008. The progress was evident when an American Congressional Delegation visited the town in August and found full shops and friendly people."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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ISIS - Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [Syria/Sham]

"The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant abbreviated as ISIS or ISIL, is an insurgent group active in Iraq and Syria. It was established in the early years of the Iraq War, and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004, becoming known as al-Qaeda in Iraq. The group then became an umbrella organization of Iraqi insurgent groups on October 15, 2006 under the name of Islamic State of Iraq.

It aimed to establish a caliphate in the Sunni dominated regions of Iraq, later expanding this to include Syria.

At the height of the Iraq War, it claimed a significant presence in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Ninawa, Kirkuk, and most of Salah ad Din, and parts of Babil, Diyala, and Baghdad. It claimed Baqubah [north of Baghdad] as its capital. During the ongoing Syrian Civil War, the group has a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo.

Despite significant setbacks to the group during the latter stages of the Iraq War, by late 2012 the group was said to have renewed its strength and more than doubled its number of members to about 2,500.

Originally, Zarqawi started the network with the intention of overthrowing the kingdom of Jordan, which he considered to be un-Islamic in the fundamentalist sense, and for this purpose developed a large number of contacts and affiliates in several countries. His network may have been involved in the late 1999 plot to bomb the Millennium celebrations in the United States and Jordan. Zarqawi's operatives were also responsible for the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan in 2002.

Following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, Zarqawi moved westward into Iraq, where he reportedly received medical treatment in Baghdad for an injured leg. It is believed that he developed extensive ties in Iraq with Ansar al-Islam ("Partisans of Islam"), a Kurdish Islamist militant group based in the extreme northeast of the country.

The stated goals of JTJ were to force a withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq, to topple the Iraqi interim government, to assassinate collaborators with the occupation, to marginalize the Shia population and defeat its militias, and to subsequently establish a pure Islamic state.

JTJ differed from the other early Iraqi insurgent groups considerably in its tactics. Rather than just using conventional weapons and guerrilla tactics in ambushes against the U.S. and coalition forces, it has relied heavily on suicide bombings, often using car bombs and targeting a wide variety of groups but especially Iraqi Security Forces and those facilitating the occupation.

The group, whose spiritual advisor and deputy leader was the Palestinian cleric Abu Anas al-Shami, cited various texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (traditions) of Muhammad that they perceived to be in support of their tactics. It quoted the prophet Muhammad, who said to the people of Mecca when conquering them: "By the one in whose hand the soul of Muhammad is in, I came to you with slaughter" as narrated in the books of Hadith (traditions), and quoted Muhammad as saying "Whoever slaughters a non-Muslim [at war with Islam, i.e., those perceived to be 'enemy occupiers'] sincerely for the sake of Allah, Allah will make hellfire prohibited upon him." Other verses of the Qur'an call Muslims to fight invading non-Muslims and even behead them, such where Allah says in the Qur'an, "When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them."

Foreign civilian hostages abducted by the group in 2004 included American citizens Nick Berg, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, Turkish citizens Durmus Kumdereli, Aytullah Gezmen and Murat Yuce, South Korean citizen Kim Sun-il, Bulgarian citizens Georgi Lazov and Ivaylo Kepov, and a British citizen Kenneth Bigley. Most of them were beheaded using knives. Al-Zarqawi personally beheaded Berg and Armstrong, but Yuce was shot dead by al-Masri and Gezmen was released after "repenting".

In a July 2005 letter to Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Zarqawi outlined a four-stage plan to expand the Iraq War, which included expelling U.S. forces from Iraq, establishing an Islamic authority (caliphate), spreading the conflict to Iraq's secular neighbors, and engaging in the Arab–Israeli conflict. The affiliated groups were linked to regional attacks outside Iraq consistent with their stated plan, such as the Sharm al-Sheikh bombings in Egypt which killed some 88 people, including many foreign tourists.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has more that doubled in strength, from 1,000 to 2,500 fighters, since the US withdrawal from Iraq in late 2011.

In November [2004], al-Zarqawi's network was the main target of the U.S. Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, but its leadership managed to escape the American siege and subsequent storming of the city. In December, in two of its many sectarian attacks, al-Qaeda bombed a Shi'ite funeral procession in Najaf and the main bus station in nearby Karbala, killing at least 60 in the holy cities of Shia Islam.

During 2006, several key members of the AQI were killed or captured by American and allied forces; this included al-Zarqawi himself, killed on 7 June 2006, his spiritual adviser Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, and the alleged "number two" deputy leader, Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi. The group's leadership was then assumed by the man called Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who was really the Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

The high-profile attacks linked to the group continued through early 2007, as the AQI-led Islamic State claimed responsibility for attacks such as the March assassination attempt on Sunni Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Salam al-Zaubai.

By late 2007, violent and indiscriminate attacks directed by AQI against Iraqi civilians had severely damaged their image and caused the loss of support among the population, isolating the group. In a major blow to AQI, many former Sunni militants that previously fought along with the group started to work with the American forces.

As of 2008, a series of U.S. and Iraqi offensives managed to drive out the AQI-aligned insurgents from their former safe havens such as Diyala and Al Anbar Governorates and the embattled capital of Baghdad to the area of the northern city of Mosul, the latest of the Iraq War's major battlegrounds.

On 18 April 2010, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi were both killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid near Tikrit. As of June 2010, 80% of the group's 42 leaders, including recruiters and fincanciers, have been killed or captured with only eight remaining at large, according to Odierno. He said they are cut off from their leaders in Pakistan, and improved intelligence allowed for the successful mission in April that led to the killing of the two AQI top commanders; in addition, the number of attacks and casualty figures in the first five months of 2010 have been the lowest yet since 2003. In May 2011, the Islamic State's "emir of Baghdad" Huthaifa al-Batawi, captured during the crackdown after the 2010 Baghdad church attack in which 68 people died, was killed during an attempted prison break after having killed an Iraqi general and several others.

The group is currently led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In April 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio statement, in which he announced that Jabhat al-Nusra had been established, financed and supported by the Islamic State of Iraq. Al-Baghdadi declared that the two groups were officially merging under the name "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham."

The leader of Jabhat Al-Nusra, Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, issued a statement denying the merger and complaining that neither he nor anyone else in the leadership had been consulted about it. In June 2013 Al Jazeera reported that it had obtained a letter written by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, addressed to both leaders, in which he ruled against the merger and appointed an emissary to oversee relations between them and put an end to tensions. In the same month, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio message rejecting Zawahiri's ruling and declaring the merger was going ahead.

In 11 May 2013, two car bombs exploded in the town of Reyhanlı, Hatay Province, Turkey. At least 51 people were killed and 140 injured in the attack...On 30 September 2013, some websites claimed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the al-Qaeda group operating in Iraq and Syria, accepted responsibility for the attack, threatening further attacks against Turkey.

In July 2013, the group carried out a mass breakout of its imprisoned members held at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. It was reported that over 500 prisoners escaped, including senior commanders of the group.

In September 2013 ISIS over-ran the Syrian town of Azaz, taking it from an FSA-affiliated rebel brigade.

In November 2013 it was reported that Turkish authorities were on high alert, with the authorities saying they had detailed information on ISIS's plans to carry out suicide bombings in major cities in Turkey, using 7 explosive-laden cars being constructed in Raqqa.

In November 2013, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated: "ISIS is the strongest group in Northern Syria -100%- and anyone who tells you anything else is lying.""

[link to en.wikipedia.org]
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

(Also known as: Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri, Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, Dr. Ibrahim, or Abu Dua)

"Al-Baghdadi is in charge of running all AQI activity in Iraq, and is responsible for managing and directing large-scale operations such as the 28 August 2011 attack on the Umm al-Qura mosque in Baghdad that killed prominent Sunni lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi.

On 22 December 2011, a series of coordinated car bombings and IED attacks struck over a dozen neighborhoods across Baghdad, killing at least 63 people and wounding 180; the assault came just days after the US completed its troop withdrawal from the country. On 26 December, the Islamic State of Iraq - AQI's political front - released a statement on jihadist internet forums claiming credit for the operation, stating that all targets of the Baghdad attack were "accurately surveyed and explored," and that the "operations were distributed between targeting security headquarters, military patrols and gatherings of the filthy ones of the al-Dajjal Army (Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army)."

Coalition intelligence, in stating that al-Baghdadi was the "emir of Rawa," also said that he was responsible for running Taliban-like Islamic courts in order to terrorize the local population, claiming that he "held religious courts to try local citizens charged with supporting the Iraqi government and coalition forces. He would kidnap individuals or entire families, accuse them, pronounce sentence and then publicly execute them.""

[link to en.wikipedia.org]
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Mosul

"Mosul is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Nineveh Province, some 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Baghdad...It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra.

In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2002 population estimate was 1,740,000, and by 2008 was estimated to be 1,800,000.

The city of Mosul is home to the University of Mosul, one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East.

The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah.

In its current Islamic form and spelling, the term Mosul, or rather "Mawsil" stands for the "linking point" – or loosely, the Junction City, in Arabic. Mosul should not be confused with the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh which is located across the Tigris from Mosul on the eastern banks...The surviving Assyrians, refer to entire city of Mosul as Nineveh (or rather, Ninweh)...It is sometimes described as "The Pearl of the North".

In November 2004, concurrently with the US and Iraqi attack on the city of Fallujah, the Battle of Mosul (2004) began. On November 10, insurgents conducted coordinated attacks on the police stations. The policemen who were not killed in the fighting fled the city, leaving Mosul without any civil police force for about a month. However, soon after the insurgents' campaign to overrun the city had begun, elements from the 25th Infantry Division and components from the Multinational force composed mainly of Albanian forces, took the offensive and began to maneuver into the most dangerous parts of the city.

On May 10, 2008, a military offensive was launched by US-backed Iraqi Army Forces led by Maj. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, the commander of military operations in Mosul, in the hope of bringing back stability and security to the city. Though the representatives of Mosul in the Iraqi Parliament, the intellectuals of the city, and other concerned humanitarian groups agreed on the pressing need for a solution to the unbearable conditions of the city, they still believe that the solution is merely political and administrative. They are also questioning whether such a large scale military offensive will spare the lives of innocent people.

An investigation in 2009 pointed out that more than 2,500 Kurds had been killed and more than 40 families displaced in Mosul since 2003. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan blames Al-Qaeda and former Ba'ath Party's.

There is a Sunni Arab majority in urban areas, such as downtown Mosul on the Tigris. Across the Tigris and further north in the suburban areas, thousands of Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmens, Shabaks and Armenians, make up the rest of Mosul's population. Sunni Arabs make up the majority of the city's population.

The city is close to the Kurdish regions of Iraq. Kurdish fighters have been moving into the city since the fall of the Ba'ath government, causing some tensions with the Sunni Arabs of the city. Clashes have erupted in recent months between Sunni Arabs in Mosul and Kurdish fighters entering the city from the Kurdish regional governorates."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]
BunBun

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01/01/2014 07:07 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
That's really interesting. Thanks for laying it all out. I appreciate the primer.
Christard and Lover of God
SteamrolledGobias

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01/01/2014 07:18 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
bump
Taskforce88

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01/01/2014 07:21 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
SO what we looking at, full blown civil war and intervention?
JesseDart

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01/01/2014 07:41 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 08:02 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Can we blame Obama? hf
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 08:05 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Like him or not Saddam was a stabilizing factor....
Useless Cookie Eater

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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Iraq's falling into full-blown civil war. Check these threads for the details:

[link to www.godlikeproductions.com]

Thread: Sunni gunmen overrun government buildings in Hadeetha, Baghdad, Ramadhi! Rebels seize Anbar TV live on air! Fallujah under siege!

Below I'm going to summarize some basic info on Iraq and the players. If people want to discuss Iraq, they're welcome to. We can talk about the bigger picture so as not to step on Ger_reG's toes with the minute-by-minute reporting.
 Quoting: The_Original_Mind


We shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Let them fight their own battles.

careometer
Woot Woot

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01/01/2014 08:09 PM

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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Like him or not Saddam was a stabilizing factor....
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 15483798


Another Obama ME success story ( sarcasm to extreme )
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 08:13 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
The Antichrist henchmen is gaining in strength I see.
R.P. McMurphy

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01/01/2014 08:13 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Like him or not Saddam was a stabilizing factor....
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 15483798


Another Obama ME success story ( sarcasm to extreme )
 Quoting: Woot Woot


^^^ this right here ^^^
"Moral of the story is I chose a half measure when I should have gone all the way. I'll never make that mistake again.

==== ESTJ-a (Executive) 93% Extroverted, 82% Observant, 83% Thinking, 82% Judging,72% Assertive ====
Useless Cookie Eater

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01/01/2014 08:26 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Iraq's falling into full-blown civil war. Check these threads for the details:

[link to www.godlikeproductions.com]

Thread: Sunni gunmen overrun government buildings in Hadeetha, Baghdad, Ramadhi! Rebels seize Anbar TV live on air! Fallujah under siege!

Below I'm going to summarize some basic info on Iraq and the players. If people want to discuss Iraq, they're welcome to. We can talk about the bigger picture so as not to step on Ger_reG's toes with the minute-by-minute reporting.
 Quoting: The_Original_Mind


We shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Let them fight their own battles.

careometer
 Quoting: Useless Cookie Eater


Let who fight their battle?

YOU, the Jewish mafia run USA started the war. Iraq or Saddam never attacked USA or the shithole Israel.

YOU did it! All that blood is on your hands because you support your Jewish masters and their bloodthirsty wars all over the world.

STOP LICKING JEWISH BALLS!

Karma is coming for all of you! All of you are headed toward hell!

yodarantredface
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 44814639


Huh?
Dude.....no shit....that was my point.
Licking Jew balls?

Are you high or what???...or just brain dead with reading comprehension issues?

hes-high
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 08:35 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
shoefit
gwdancebushfingblairdickgdubbushtard

THIS IS WHAT ME AND MY DADDY WANTED ALL ALONG
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 09:06 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
we should just pull out and leave behind DU ammo in every calibre for them too "find"

problem solved
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 09:28 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
workdone1

Mission Accomplished
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 09:36 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Iraq's falling into full-blown civil war. Check these threads for the details:

[link to www.godlikeproductions.com]

Thread: Sunni gunmen overrun government buildings in Hadeetha, Baghdad, Ramadhi! Rebels seize Anbar TV live on air! Fallujah under siege!

Below I'm going to summarize some basic info on Iraq and the players. If people want to discuss Iraq, they're welcome to. We can talk about the bigger picture so as not to step on Ger_reG's toes with the minute-by-minute reporting.
 Quoting: The_Original_Mind


I'm kinda surprise it's taken this long...It will get worst I believe.
pmb1

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01/01/2014 09:48 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Well if I have to sit and think about Iraq it makes me wonder why would this be happening according to some people Iraq's dinar has done an in country Rv, that is what the people wanted. Of course in all reality I am hearing this still has not happened. However once again said person is saying it did happen and that Maliki told everyone in public that their currency is now worldwide, and they can buy whatever they want??? What the people are not happy??? Why the heck not?? They can now buy American made stuff and crap made in China makes us Americans happy they should be dancing in the streets to that, not wanting a civil war. Do they not have all their cash now on their cards??? We have been hearing that was done months and months ago??? I mean come on they have to be happy folks.
Judethz

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01/01/2014 10:30 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
idf7flo9 Perhaps we should also discuss Iran going to shit.

[link to youtu.be]
perfect monster
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01/01/2014 10:33 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
if it has black hair and brown eyes,kill it.breed the strain out of the females.
Anonymous Coward
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01/01/2014 10:38 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
There can never be peace in the world,
till Islam is eradicated from the world.

American leadership has always been
clueless about Islam, thinking they are
dealing with rational people.

Islam is not rational. Those who are
Muslim are not rational by western standards.

Israel knows the irrationality of Islam
and it's hands have been tied in their
dealings with Islam by American clueless
presidents since the sixties.

American idiocy has now paved the way for
the rise of the Caliphate. It doesn't matter
if leadership is Republican or Democrat.
They are stupid about it at best, and some
have assisted with knowledge of the intended
rise of the Caliphate.

The Caliphate is the unification of all
Muslims where they squat in all nations as
one in jihad. TPTB don't understand how this
animal will turn on them in the last days,
even as they smirkingly use them
to accomplish their NWO.

Israel and their massive support in the USA
through church might as well face it.
The idiots in DC have sealed the fate of all.

Islam is Mordor.
American politicians are Saruman's.
American church in support of Israel is Elven.
Israel is the return of the King.
Who has the ring? That is the question.
Let's get a helo to those, whoever they are.
Useless Cookie Eater

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01/01/2014 10:41 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
if it has black hair and brown eyes,kill it.breed the strain out of the females.
 Quoting: perfect monster 45425643


Thank you Adolph.

putin
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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01/01/2014 11:14 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Thanks for the pin!
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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01/01/2014 11:39 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Map of the religious division of Iraq

[link to thesinosaudiblog.files.wordpress.com]
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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01/01/2014 11:44 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Map of the governates [states] of Iraq

[link to upload.wikimedia.org]
mrmuffins69

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01/01/2014 11:56 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Mission Accomplished
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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01/01/2014 11:58 PM
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Re: 'THE END IS HERE': ISIS/ISLAMIC STATE PRIMER
Nineveh

"Nineveh Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq, which contains the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. It has an area of 37,323 square kilometres and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient Nineveh. Tal Afar is also a major city within the region.

Its two main cities endured the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and emerged relatively unscathed. In 2004, however, Mosul and Tal Afar were the scenes of fierce battles between US-led troops and the Iraqi insurgency. The insurgents had moved to Nineveh after the Battle of Fallujah in 2004.

In April 2009, Atheel al-Nujaifi, a hardline [Sunni] Arab nationalist and member of Al-Hadba, became governor.

Nineveh Province is multiethnic. There are significant numbers of Arabs, indigenous Assyrians, Kurds, and Yazidis, both in towns and cities, and in their own specific villages and regions. There are also numbers of Shabaks, Turkmen and Armenians.

In terms of religion, the majority of Kurds, Arabs are Sunni Muslim while Turkmen are mostly Shi'ite, Assyrians and Armenians are exclusively Christian, and Yazidis, Shabaks following their own religious beliefs. Ninawa is a Sunni-majority province."

[link to en.wikipedia.org]





GLP