Armed Groups in Iraq

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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Guide: Armed groups in Iraq

Guide: Armed groups in Iraq

A wide range of armed groups are operating in Iraq, feeding into violence which has prompted fears of civil war. Much insurgent and militia activity is shadowy and difficult to trace, but here is a guide to the main players.
INSURGENT GROUPS

Background
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Mujahideen Shura Council
Sunni nationalists
Ansar al-Islam

SHIA MILITIAS

Background
Mehdi Army
Badr Brigade

INSURGENT GROUPS: BACKGROUND

Since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, insurgent groups have targeted coalition forces and anyone working alongside the US in the rebuilding of Iraq.

Insurgents have increasingly also turned on Shia targets - both those linked to the Shia-dominated Iraqi government and civilian targets such as Shia shrines and festivals.

Tracking the insurgency's size and make-up is notoriously difficult, with groups constantly appearing and disappearing, and allegiances shifting.

The insurgency is mainly Sunni, but draws its membership from diverse backgrounds.

Fighters range from former figures in Saddam Hussein's Baath party to Sunni nationalists fearing Shia domination and foreign Islamist fighters who see Iraq as an arena for a global struggle against the West.

The incentives driving individual insurgents are equally disparate - from religious zeal to economic gain, nationalist feeling and anger at the loss of loved ones to the conflict.
Virtually all insurgent groups share the goal of attacking US forces, but other goals vary - with some elements apparently aiming to foment civil war.

Estimates of the number of insurgents are impossible to confirm.

By 2006, US military estimates ranged from 8,000 to 20,000, although Iraqi intelligence officials have issued figures as high as 40,000 fighters plus another 160,000 supporters.

Fighters have been found among the insurgents from countries including Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan. Foreign nationals are widely considered to account for less than 10% of the insurgency, but their role is high profile. Some Sunnis have also formed informal militias, which operate as private defence forces in certain neighbourhoods where Shia militias are thought likely - or known - to carry out attacks.

Interesting......

 

[CSpindizzy]

And we didn't stop this from the get-go. Now we pay for this. So instead of one unified militia, police, military, etc. we have untold amounts with different agendas in religious cleansing, kidnappings, etc.