Editing Islamic Army in Iraq (section)

==Roots and ideology==
The precise details about the emergence of the IAI are unclear, although it is generally assumed that the group was established in the late summer of 2003 to fight and expel [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|Coalition forces]] from Iraq.<ref name="jamestown.org">[http://www.jamestown.org/images/pdf/ter_003_005.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321082628/http://www.jamestown.org/images/pdf/ter_003_005.pdf|date=March 21, 2006}}</ref> Former officers of [[Saddam Hussein]]'s army from Sunni strongholds such as [[Ramadi]], [[Fallujah]], [[Tikrit]] and [[Baqubah]] who were skilled ex-soldiers from the [[Coalition Provisional Authority Order 2|disbanded]] [[Republican Guard (Iraq)|Republican Guard]], [[Fedayeen Saddam]], and the [[Iraqi Intelligence Service]] formed and joined the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nance |first=Malcolm W. |title=The Terrorists of Iraq |publisher=CRC Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1498706896 |pages=193–194 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=June 6, 2007 |title=A Truce Between U.S. Enemies in Iraq |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1629871,00.html |magazine=TIME}}</ref>

When the IAI first formed, it used kidnapping as a means of pursuing its goals. The group also threatened to target the January 2005 elections, although it didn't carry out any such attack. Unlike most terrorist organizations today, the IAI does not have [[Salafi movement|Salafist]] tendencies,{{dubious|date=March 2019}} its primary focus and goal{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} being the expulsion of foreign troops from Iraq. A November 2004 ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' interview with the group's leader, Ishmael Jubouri, stated that the IAI was predominantly composed of [[Iraqis]] ([[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]], [[Shia Islam|Shias]], [[Kurds]], and [[Arabs]]) trying to force foreign troops out of Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16794-2004Nov27.html|title=Marines Widen Their Net South of Baghdad|access-date=7 November 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Jackie|last=Spinner|date=28 November 2004}}</ref> The [[Terrorism]] Monitor put out by [[Jamestown Foundation|The Jamestown Foundation]] confirms some of what Jubouri was claiming. In a March 2005 article, the monitor said the group was composed primarily of Sunnis with a small Shiite congregation and, in general, was "[an] inclusive Islamic organization with Iraqi nationalist tendencies."<ref name="jamestown.org" />

In a November 2006 [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] interview, spokesman Ibrahim al-Shamary expanded on who the IAI considers foreign troops, "There are two occupations in Iraq. [[Iran]] on one side through the militias which they control and through direct involvement with the national guard and the intelligence services, that causes the killing and destruction of the Sunnis. ... And then there is the [[United States|American]] occupation which destroys the Iraqi people."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/45CFC5AE-6065-4607-9D84-69273EA45F1C.htm |title=Inside the Islamic Army of Iraq |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=3 March 2015 |url-status=dead |author=Hoda Abdel-Hamid |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611220119/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/45CFC5AE-6065-4607-9D84-69273EA45F1C.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2008}}</ref>

The group has released several joint statements with other groups such as [[1920 Revolution Brigades|Islamic Resistance Movement]] and the [[Islamic Resistance in Iraq (2004–2017)|Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance]], which are known to be of an [[Muslim Brotherhood|ikhwan]] background. In one of these joint statements, six groups (including the IAI) called for Iraqis to participate in the referendum on the October 2005 [[constitution]] by voting against it. (This was in conspicuous contrast to [[al-Qaeda in Iraq]], which said that simply participating in voting is a compromise of the fundamentals of [[Islam]], even if one were to vote against it.)

When rumours spread in Iraq of the alleged demolition of the [[Temple Mount|al-Aqsa Mosque]], in April 2005, the IAI announced the formation of the "al-Aqsa Support Division." This group was to support [[Palestine]] in the armed struggle against [[Israel]]. The current status of the al-Aqsa Support Division is unknown, leading people to believe that the statement was merely [[rhetoric]].

The group has shown support for the [[Free Syrian Army]] (FSA) and its fight against the Syrian government and allied Shiite paramilitary groups like [[Hezbollah]]. In June 2013, the IAI released a statement advising the FSA in methods in fighting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aymennjawad.org/14350/comprehensive-reference-guide-to-sunni-militant|title = Comprehensive Reference Guide to Sunni Militant Groups in Iraq}}</ref>