Kurdistan Brigades

The Kurdistan Brigades,[5] also known as al-Qaeda in Kurdistan or al-Qaeda's Kurdish Brigades, are a militant Islamist organization, primarily active in the northern Iran–Iraq border. It is the Kurdish branch of al-Qaeda that has launched several attacks on the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. The group was classified as a terrorist organization by the US State Department on January 1, 2012.[6]

Kurdistan Brigades
(Kurdish: کەتیبەکانی کوردستان)
LeadersDilshad Kalari (Unknown to Unknown): Very little is known about Kalari although some sources believe him to be the operational leader of AQKB. Abdullah Hassan al-Surani (2007 to Unknown): Surani has released public statements of behalf of AQKB and is believed to be the group’s official spokesman.[1]
Dates of operationMarch 2007–present[2]
HeadquartersKurdistan Mountains near Iranian border
IdeologyIslamic extremism
Salafist Qutbism
Salafist Jihadism
Wahhabism[3]
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

Formation

AQKB was founded in 2007, after the apparent disbandment of Ansar al-Islam, another al-Qaeda-affiliated group. The group is considered to be relatively small, but it has camps in the Iranian towns of Mariwan and Sanandaj.[7]

Attacks

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
  1. "Mapping Militant Organizations, Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. "Mapping Militant Organizations, Al Qaeda Kurdish Battalions". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. "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.
  5. "The Kurdistan Brigades: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish Henchmen". Jamestown. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  6. "Terrorist Designation of the al-Qaida Kurdish Battalions". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  7. "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.
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