|
A look
at the Islamic extremist group Ansar al-Islam,
blamed for attacks in Iraq and supported by a
network of members in Europe, according to
authorities.
-HISTORY: Founded in late 2001 in Kurdish
part of northern Iraq by Mullah Krekar, who has
lived as refugee in Norway since 1991. Area was
beyond Saddam Hussein's control thanks to
Western-enforced no-fly zones. Supporters set up an
enclave near the Iranian border ruled by strict
Islamic law.
Members trained in Afghanistan and provided safe
haven to al-Qaida members fleeing after the U.S.-led
invasion in 2003.
-SIZE: Ansar al-Islam fighters in Iraq,
believed to number about 700, scattered by U.S.
invasion. U.S. officials say some regrouped and
linked up with Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
for attacks.
-ABROAD: European supporters, including
Iraqis and North Africans, believed to be
concentrated in Germany and Italy. Authorities
accuse them of channeling fighters to Iraq for
attacks on U.S.-led forces. United States has
declared Ansar al-Islam - Arabic for Supporters of
Islam - a foreign terrorist organization.
-ATTACKS: Group and a suspected offshoot,
Ansar al-Sunnah Army, blamed for numerous bombings
and killings in Iraq. The Ansar al-Sunnah Army has
been the most active recently, claiming
responsibility for a Dec. 21 strike on a U.S. base
in Mosul that killed 22 people, mostly Americans;
videotaped executions of 12 Nepalese construction
workers in Iraq in August; and Feb. 1 twin suicide
bombings at offices of two main Kurdish political
parties that killed 109 Kurds.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Top |
® 