Free Iraqi Army

Free Iraqi Army
الجيش العراقي الحر
Dates active19 July 2012–1 August 2014
Allegiance Ba'athist Iraq
Active regionsIraq
Size2,500+[1]
Warsthe Syrian Civil War and the Iraqi insurgency
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/freeiraqiarmypage

The Free Iraqi Army (FIA; Arabic: الجيش العراقي الحر, romanized: Al-Jayš Al-‘Irāqī Al-Ḥurr) was an Iraqi rebel group formed in the western Sunni-majority provinces of Iraq from Iraqi supporters of the Free Syrian Army rebels fighting in the Syrian Civil War.[2] The group aimed to overthrow the Shia-dominated government of Iraq,[3] believing that they would gain support in this from Syria should the rebels be successful in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad.[4][5] An Iraqi counterterror spokesman denied this, saying that the name is merely being used by al-Qaeda in Iraq to "attract the support of the Iraqi Sunnis by making use of the strife going on in Syria."[6]

Aside Anbar Province, the FIA reportedly had a presence in Fallujah, along the Syrian border near the town of Al-Qaim, and in Mosul in the north of Iraq. A recruiting commander for the group told a reporter from The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon that the group was opposed to both Al-Qaeda in Iraq and their opponents in the Sahwa militia. The same commander claimed that the group received financial support from cross-border tribal extensions and Sunni sympathizers in the Persian gulf states of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.[4]

On 4 February 2013, Wathiq al-Batat of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Iraq, announced the formation of the Mukhtar Army to fight against al-Qaeda and the Free Iraqi Army.[7] In August 2014, the group became defunct, after a large offensive by ISIL in northern Iraq, with activity on their websites ceasing.

Despite the group's denial of links to al-Qaeda, the group had been accused of being affiliated with the group.[8] These accusations of links with both al-Qaeda and the Ba'athists led to a Najaf Shiite figure associated with the State of Law Coalition issuing a fatwa against supplying the group with weapons.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "How Syria's civil war is spilling over". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  2. ↑ "INSIGHT: Iraq's Tensions Heightened by Syria Conflict". Middle East Voices (VOA). 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Syrian Soldiers Killed In Iraq: Reports". RTT News. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Free Iraqi Army inspired by Syria war". The Daily Star (Lebanon). 10 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Iraqis locked in rival sectarian narratives". BBC News. 21 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "Al-Qaida making comeback in Iraq, officials say". The Guardian. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Briefing: A guide to defusing sectarian tensions in Iraq". IRIN. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Syrian War's Spillover Threatens a Fragile Iraq". The New York Times. 26 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  9. ↑ عضو في الدفاع النيابية: الجيش العراقي الحر إسم آخر لتنظيم القاعدة (in Arabic). Iraqi Communist Party. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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