(GLORIA Center-IDC, Herzliya) Jonathan Spyer - Iraq today stands on the brink of a renewed Sunni insurgency. Over 9,000 people were killed in fighting in Iraq in 2013, the highest since 2007. The two main insurgent groups are ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and the Naqshbandi Army. ISIS experienced a resurgence during the Syrian civil war, and today it controls much of Raqqa province in eastern Syria. The Naqshbandi Army is headed by Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, a former high official in Saddam Hussein's regime, and many of the Naqshbandi commanders and fighters are former members of the Ba'ath party. They support the Naqshabandi Sufi Muslim sect, from which their name derives, while the Ba'athist and pan-Arab element is dominant. The dawning insurgency is related to the increasing marginalization felt by the Iraqi Sunni Arab minority as a result of the sectarian policies pursued by the Shia-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
2014-03-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive