Free Iraqi Army
| Free Iraqi Army | |
|---|---|
| الجيش العراقي الحر Participant in the Syrian Civil War and the Iraqi insurgency |
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;_Flag_of_Syria_(1963-1972).svg)
Flag of Iraq
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| Active | 9 November 2012 - present |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism |
| Area of operations | Iraq |
| Strength | 2,500+[1] |
| Allies | Naqshbandi Army SCJL |
| Opponents | Iraqi government |
| Battles and wars | Iraqi insurgency |
| Website | https://www.facebook.com/freeiraqiarmypage |
The Free Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي الحر, Al-Jayš Al-‘Irāqī Al-Ḥurr, FIA) is a Sunni 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 aims to overthrow the Shia-dominated government of Iraq,[3] believing that they will gain support in this from Syria should the rebels be successful in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad.[4][5] An Iraqi counterterror spokesman has 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 from Anbar Province, the FIA reportedly has 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 is opposed to both Al-Qaeda in Iraq and their opponents in the Sahwa militia. The same commander claimed that the group receives financial support from cross-border tribal extensions and Sunni sympathizers in the Gulf states of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.[4]
On 4 February 2013, Wathiq al-Batat of the Shia militant group Hezbollah in Iraq, announced the formation of the Mukhtar Army to fight against al-Qaeda and the Free Iraqi Army.[7]
Links to al-Qaeda and the Iraqi Ba'athists
Despite the group's denial of links to al-Qaeda, the group has 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]
References
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