• the Sunni resistance groups
• the Shia'i resistance groups
• Factions abducting and killing.

1. The main Sunni resistance groups
1. The Iraqi National Islamic Resistance, "The 1920 Revolution Brigades"
• TARGETS: U.S. forces
• ORIGIN: emerged on 16 July 2003
• GOAL: Expulsion of U.S. and establishment of an independent Iraqi Islamic state
• ACTIVE REGIONS: West of Baghdad, in regions of Abu-Ghurayb, Khan Dari, and Al-Fallujah. Also has activities in the governorates of Ninawa, Diyala, and Al-Anbar.
• STATEMENTS: Distributes statements at gates of the mosques after Friday prayers. A statement issued by group on 19 August 2004 claimed that between 27 July and 7 August 2004 the group carried out an average of ten operations each day, resulting in the deaths of "dozens" of U.S. soldiers and the destruction of U.S. armored vehicles.
• ACTIVITIES:
1. The shooting down of a helicopter in the Abu-Ghurayb region by the Al-Zubayr Bin-Al-Awwam Brigade on 1 August 2004
2. the shooting down of a Chinook helicopter in the Al-Nu'aymiyah region, near Al-Fallujah, by the Martyr Nur-al-Din Brigade on 9 August 2004
2. The National Front for the Liberation of Iraq
• ORIGIN: Formed days after the occupation in April 2003.
• ORGANIZATION: 10 resistance groups.
• COMPOSITION: Nationalists and Islamists.
• REGION OF ACTIVITY: Concentrated in Arbil and Kirkuk in northern Iraq; in Al-Fallujah, Samarra and Tikrit in central Iraq, and in Basra and Babil Governorates in the south, in addition to Diyala Governorate in the east.
• ACTIVITIES: Less extensive than 1920 Revolution Brigades.
3. The Iraqi Resistance Islamic Front, JAMI
• ORIGIN: The newest Sunni resistance group announced its existence on 30 May 2004.
• ORGANIZATION: Includes a coalition of small resistance factions. JAMI's military wing, the Salah-al-Din and Sayf-Allahal-Maslul Brigades, has carried out dozens of operations against the U.S. forces.
• REGION OF ACTIVITY: Governorates of Ninawa and Diyala.
• ACTIVITIES: In Ninawa Governorate: the shelling of the occupation command headquarters and the semi-daily shelling of the Mosul airport. Jami targets members of the U.S. intelligence in the Al-Faysaliyah area in Mosul and in the governorate of Diyala. In Diyala, the front's Al-Rantisi Brigade sniped a U.S. soldier and used mortars to shell Al-Faris Airport.
4. Other small factions
1. Hamzah Faction: Emerged on 10 October 2003 in Al-Fallujah. Called for release of Shaykh Jamal Nidal, who had been arrested by U.S. forces.
2. Iraqi Liberation Army: First appeared on 15 July, 2003. It warned foreign countries against sending troops to Iraq and pledged to attack any troops that were sent.
3. Awakening and Holy War: Arab Sunni mujahidin. Active in Al-Fallujah. Filmed an operation and sent tape to Iranian television on 7 July 2003. Claimed on tape that Saddam and U.S. were two sides of same coin. Claims to have carried out operations against U.S. forces in Al-Fallujah and other cities.
4. The White Flags: A group of Arab Sunni mujahidin, active in Sunni triangle and probably in other areas. Originally opposed to Saddam Hussein and in alliance with the Muslim Youths and Muhammad's Army. The group criticized the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. No information is available about their operations.
5. Al-Haqq Army: Consists of Arab Sunni Muslims having some nationalistic tendencies but not loyal to Saddam.
5. Ba'athist factions
• CHARACTER: Loyal to previous regime of Saddam Hussein. Do not represent a significant proportion of resistance.
• ACTIVITIES: Mostly restricted to financing resistance operations.
• COMPOSITION: The factions still existing secretly in the Iraqi arena include:
1. Al-Awdah (The Return): Concentrated in northern Iraq: Samarra, Tikrit, Al-Dur and Mosul. It consists of members of the former intelligence apparatus.
2. Saddam's Fedayeen: Formed by Saddam Hussein's regime before the invasion. Many of its members are rumored to have abandoned their loyalty to Saddam and to have joined Islamic and national groups on the side of the 11 September Revolutionary Group and the Serpent's Head Movement.


2. Shia resistance against occupation
1. Al-Sadr group: The Al-Mahdi Army
• ORIGIN: The Al-Mahdi Army is considered the only militia experiment to emerge after the occupation. Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced the formation of the Al-Mahdi Army in July 2003, but not as a force directed against the occupation.
• COMPOSITION: Within a short period, Al-Sadr gathered between 10,000 and 15,000 well-trained youths, the majority of whom were from the poor of the Al-Sadr City, Al-Shulah, and the southern cities.
• ACTIVITIES: after the closure of Al-Sadr's Al-Hawzah newspaper in March 2004,Al-Sadr's assistant Mustafa al-Yaqubi is arrested, under suspicion of being involved in the killing of Imam Abd-al-Majid al-Khoei. A writ to arrest Muqtada al-Sadr is issued in April on charges of assassinating Al-Khoei inside the Al-Haydari mosque in Al-Najaf on 10 April 2003. The arrest warrant placed the Al-Mahdi Army in confrontation with the occupation forces in Baghdad and the southern governorates. The greatest confrontation between this militia and the occupation forces erupted in Al-Najaf in August 2004. The battle lasted for nearly three weeks, and ended with the signing of a cease-fire agreement.
2. Imam Ali Bin-Abi-Talib Jihadi Brigades
• ORIGIN: This Shia group appeared for the first time on 12 October 2003.
• TARGETS: The group announced its intention to kill the soldiers of any country sending its troops to support the coalition forces. The group also threatened to transfer the battleground to the territories of coalition countries. The group also threatened to assassinate all the members of the Interim
  Governing Council and any Iraqi cooperating with the coalition forces.
  
• REGION OF PROJECTED ACTIVITIES: The group announced that Al-Najaf and Karbala were the battlegrounds in which it would target the US forces.


3. Factions which adopt terrorist methods of abductions and killing -- Armed groups that resort to operations of abducting and killing noncombatant foreigners, as a method to terrorize the enemy and apply pressure to achieve specific political ends. This method of terror was successful in pressuring Philippine President Gloria Macapagol-Arroyo to withdraw the Philippine forces from the U.S.-led coalition, after the abduction of her compatriot Angelo del Cruz on 7 July 2004.

   The most prominent of these groups are:

   1. Assadullah Brigades
   • STATEMENT: The brigades said in a statement number 50: "The mujahid is entitled to capture any infidel that enters Iraq, whether he works for a construction company or in any other job, because he could be warrior, and the mujahid has the right to kill him or take him as a prisoner."
   • REGION OF ACTIVITIES: This group is concentrated in Baghdad and its suburbs.
   • NOTABLE ACTIVITIES: This group detained the third most senior diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy to Iraq, Muhammad Mamduh Hilmi Qutb, in July 2004, after the Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif announced that Egypt was prepared to offer its security expertise to the interim Iraqi government. The diplomat was released after a week.
   2. Islamic Retaliation Movement:This group abducted the US Marine of Lebanese origin, Wasif Ali Hassun, on 19 July 2004, and then released him.
   3. Islamic Anger Brigades: This group abducted 15 Lebanese in June 2004 and then released all, except for one: Husayn Ulayyan, an employee of a communications company, who was killed.
   4. Khalid-Bin-al-Walid Brigades and Iraq’s Martyrs Brigades: This group is believed to have abducted and killed Italian journalist Enzo Bladoni in August 2004.
   5. The Black Flags Group: A battalion of the Secret Islamic Army. This group abducted three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian working for a Kuwaiti company operating in Iraq. The stated aim was to coerce the company to cease its activities in Iraq. The hostages were later released.
   The last four groups are clearly intellectually close to the beliefs and thinking of Al-Qa’idah Organization and its leader, Usamah Bin-Ladin.
   6. The Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi Group: "The first case of slaughter was that of US national Nicholas Berg in May 2004, and the Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi group claimed responsibility for it."
   7. The Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad Group: the Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad Group killed South Korean Kim Il, "who was working for a Korean company providing the US Army with military installations."
   8. The Islamic Army in Iraq: "A secret organization that adopts the ideology of Al-Qaeda. The organization abducted Iranian Consul Feredion Jahani and the two French journalists, Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot."
   9. Ansar al-Sunnah Movement: In August 2004, the Ansar al-Sunna Movement abducted 12 Nepalese and killed them on 23 August 2004.
   The operations of abducting hostages has cascaded in Iraq: some have been slaughtered, and others have been released.

   "The total number of hostages killed so far is: two Italians, two [now three] US nationals, two Pakistanis, one Egyptian, one Turk, one Lebanese, one Bulgarian, one South Korean, and 12 Nepalese."

1. The Iraqi National Islamic Resistance, "The 1920 Revolution Brigades:"

-- It emerged for the first time on 16 July 2003. Its declared aim is to liberate Iraqi territory from foreign military and political occupation and to establish a liberated and independent Iraqi state on Islamic bases. It launches armed attacks against the US forces. The attacks primarily are concentrated in the area west of Baghdad, in the regions of Abu-Ghurayb, Khan Dari, and Al-Fallujah. It has other activities in the governorates of Ninwi, Diyali, and Al-Anbar. The group usually takes into consideration the opinions of a number of Sunni authorities in Iraq.

-- The group's statements, in which it claims responsibility for its operations against the US occupation, are usually distributed at the gates of the mosques after the Friday prayers.

-- A recent statement issued by the group on 19 August 2004 explained that the group, during the period between 27 July and 7 August 2004, carried out an average of 10 operations every day, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of US soldiers and the destruction of dozens of US armored vehicles.

-- The most prominent operations of the group during that period were the shooting down of a helicopter in the Abu-Ghurayb region by the Al-Zubayr Bin-al-Awwam Brigade on 1 August 2004, and the shooting down of a Chinook helicopter in the Al-Nu'aymiyah region, near Al-Fallujah, by the Martyr Nur-al-Din Brigade on 9 August 2004.

2. The National Front for the Liberation of Iraq:

-- The front includes 10 resistance groups. It was formed days after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003. It consists of nationalists and Islamists. Its activities are concentrated in Arbil and Karkuk in northern Iraq; in Al-Fallujah, Samarra, and Tikrit in central Iraq, and in Basra and Babil Governorates in the south, in addition to Diyali Governorate in the east.

-- Generally speaking, its activities are considered smaller than those of the 1920 Revolution Brigades.

3. The Iraqi Resistance Islamic Front, 'JAMI':

The front is the newest Sunni resistance group to fight the US occupation. It includes a number of small resistance factions that formed a coalition. Its political and jihad program stems from a jurisprudence viewpoint that allows it to fight the occupiers. Its activities against the occupation forces are concentrated in the two governorates of Ninwi and Diyali. It announced its existence for the first time on 30 May 2004.

In its statements, JAMI warns against the Jewish conspiracies in Iraq. According to statements issued by the front, JAMI's military wing, the Salah-al-Din and Sayf-Allah al-Maslul Brigades, has carried out dozens of operations against the US occupation forces. The most prominent of these operations were in Ninwi Governorate. These operations included the shelling of the occupation command headquarters and the semi-daily shelling of the Mosul airport. Further more, JAMI targets the members of US intelligence and kills them in the Al-Faysaliyah area in Mosul and also in the governorate of Diyali, where the front's Al-Rantisi Brigade sniped a US soldier and used mortars to shell Al-Faris Airport.

4. Other Small Factions:

There are other factions that claim responsibility for some limited military operations against the US forces. However, some of these factions have joined larger brigades that are more active and more experienced in fighting. These factions include:

Hamzah Faction: A Sunni group that appeared for the first time on 10 October 2003 in Al-Fallujah and called for the release of a local shaykh known as Shaykh Jamal Nidal, who was arrested by the US forces. There is no other information available about this group.

Iraqi Liberation Army: The first appearance of this group was on 15 July 2003. It warned the foreign countries against sending troops to Iraq and pledged to attack those troops if they were sent.

Awakening and Holy War: A group of Arab Sunni mujahidin. It is active in Al-Fallujah. It filmed an operation on videotape and sent the tape to Iranian television on 7 July 2003. On the tape, the group said that Saddam and the United States were two sides of the same coin. The group said that it carried out operations against the US occupation in Al-Fallujah and other cities.

The White Banners: A group of local Arab Sunni mujahidin that is active in the Sunni triangle and probably in other areas. Originally, they were opposed to Saddam Husayn, and in alliance with the Muslim Youths and Muhammad's Army. The group criticized the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad. So far, there is no information about their operations.

Al-Haqq Army: There is not much information about this group, apart from that it consists of Arab Sunni Muslims, it has some nationalistic tendencies, and it is not loyal to Saddam.

5. Ba'thist Factions:

These factions are loyal to the Ba'th Party and the previous regime of Saddam Husayn. They do not constitute a proportion of the actual resistance in Iraq. Their activities are more or less restricted to financing of resistance operations. The factions that still exist secretly in the Iraqi arena include:

Al-Awdah (The Return): This faction is concentrated in northern Iraq -- Samarra, Tikrit, Al-Dur, and Mosul. It consists of members of the former intelligence apparatus.

Saddam's Fedayeen: The faction was formed by the Saddam regime before the US invasion. Now, it is rumored that many of its members have abandoned their loyalty to Saddam and have joined Islamic and national groups on the side of the 11 September Revolutionary Group and the Serpent's Head Movement.

Second, Shiite resistance against the occupation:

Al-Sadr group: The Al-Mahdi Army is considered the only militia experiment to emerge after the occupation. In July 2003, Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced the formation of the Al-Mahdi Army, but not as a force directed against the occupation. Within a short period, Al-Sadr gathered between 10,000 and 15,000 well-trained youths, the majority of whom were from the poor of the Al-Sadr City, Al-Shu'lah, and the southern cities.

Recent events -- starting with the closure of Al-Sadr's Al-Hawzah newspaper in March 2004; the arrest of Al-Sadr assistant Mustafa al-Ya'qubi against a background of suspicions about his involvement in the killing of Imam Abd-al-Majid al-Khu'i, and crowned with the writ to arrest Muqtada al-Sadr in April on charges of assassinating Al-Khu'i inside the Al-Haydari mosque in Al-Najaf on 10 April 2003 -- placed the Al-Mahdi Army in confrontation with the occupation forces in Baghdad and the southern governorates.

The greatest confrontation between this militia and the occupation forces erupted in Al-Najaf in August 2004. The confrontation continued for nearly three weeks, and it ended with the signing of a cease-fire agreement between the two sides. The observers believe that these confrontations bestowed upon the Al-Sadr tendency the mark of an armed resistance to the occupation.

Imam Ali Bin-Abi-Talib Jihadi Brigades: This Shiite group appeared for the first time on 12 October 2003. It vowed to kill the soldiers of any country sending its troops to support the coalition forces, and threatened to transfer the battleground to the territories of such countries if they were to send troops. The group also threatened to assassinate all the members of the Interim Governing Council and any Iraqi cooperating with the coalition forces. The group also announced that Al-Najaf and Karbala were the battlegrounds in which it would target the US forces.

Third: Factions that adopt abductions and killing:

In addition to the groups resisting occupation, other armed groups have emerged and resorted to operations of abducting and killing foreigners as a method, in their opinion, that would terrorize the enemy and as a political pressure card to achieve their specific demands. This was what happened when Philippine President Gloria Macapagol-Arroyo decided to withdraw the Philippine forces acting under US command in Iraq after the abduction of her compatriot Angelo del Cruz on 7 July 2004 and his release at a later time.

The most prominent of these groups are:

Assadullah Brigades: The brigades said in a statement, number 50, "The mujahid is entitled to capture any infidel that enters Iraq, whether he works for a construction company or in any other job, because he could be warrior, and the mujahid has the right to kill him or take him as a prisoner."

The activities of this group are concentrated in Baghdad and its suburbs. The group detained the third most senior diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy to Iraq, Muhammad Mamduh Hilmi Qutb, in July 2004 in response to statements by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif, who announced that Egypt was prepared to offer its security expertise to the interim Iraqi Government. The diplomat was released after nearly a week.

Islamic Retaliation Movement: One of the movements that adopt the course of abductions. It abducted the US Marine of Lebanese origin, Wasif Ali Hassun, on 19 July 2004, and then released him.

Islamic Anger Brigades: The group that abducted 15 Lebanese in June 2004 and then released them, with the exception of Husayn Ulayyan, an employee of a communications company, whom it killed.

Khalid-Bin-al-Walid Brigades and Iraq's Martyrs Brigades: They are believed to be the ones who abducted Italian journalist Enzo Bladoni in August 2004 and killed him.

The Black Banners Group: A battalion of the Secret Islamic Army. The group abducted three Indians, two Kenyans, and an Egyptian working for a Kuwaiti company operating in Iraq. The aim was to compel the company to stop its activities in Iraq. The hostages were later released.

The Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi Group.

The Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad Group.

The Islamic Army in Iraq: A secret organization that adopts the ideology of Al-Qa'ida. The organization abducted Iranian Consul Feredion Jahani and the two French journalists, Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.

Ansar al-Sunnah Movement: The movement abducted 12 Nepalese on 23 August 2004 and killed them.

The last four groups are clearly intellectually close to the beliefs and thinking of Al-Qa'ida Organization and its leader, Usama Bin Ladin.

The first case of slaughter was that of US national Nicholas Berg in May 2004, and the Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi group claimed responsibility for it.

After that, the Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad Group killed South Korean Kim Il, who was working for a Korean company providing the US Army with military installations.

Following that, the operations of abducting hostages cascaded in Iraq. Some of the hostages were slaughtered, and others were released. And the phenomenon came to the surface.

The total number of hostages killed so far is: two Italians, two US nationals, two Pakistanis, one Egyptian, one Turk, one Lebanese, one Bulgarian, one South Korean, and 12 Nepalese.