Iraq trgedy

ISIS used to be al-Qaeda in Iraq

An Iraqi soldier during a fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq in January 2014.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) used to have a different name: al Qaeda in Iraq. US troops and allied Sunni militias defeated al Qaeda in Iraq during the post-2006 "surge" — but it didn't destroy them. The US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, described the group in 2010 as down but "fundamentally the same." In 2011, the group rebooted. ISIS successfully freed a number of prisoners held by the Iraqi government and, slowly but surely, began rebuilding their strength. ISIS and al-Qaeda divorced in February 2014. "Over the years, there have been many signs that the relationship between al Qaeda Central (AQC) and the group's strongest, most unruly franchise was strained," Barack Mendelsohn, a political scientist at Haverford College, writes. Their relationship "had always been more a matter of mutual interests than of shared ideology."

 

According to Mendelsohn, Syria pushed that relationship to the breaking point. ISIS claimed that it controlled Jabhat al-Nusra, the official al-Qaeda splinter in Syria, and defied orders from al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to back off. "This was the first time a leader of an al-Qaeda franchise had publicly disobeyed" a movement leader, he says. ISIS also defied repeated orders to kill fewer civilians in Syria, and the tensions led to al-Qaeda disavowing any connection with ISIS in a February communiqué.

Today, ISIS and al-Qaeda compete for influence over Islamist extremist groups around the world. Some experts believe ISIS may overtake al-Qaeda as the most influential group in this area globally.

UN warning

Islamic State fighters have taken over much of northern Iraq, including its second city Mosul

 

The UN has warned that up to 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes after militants took over more towns in northern Iraq. Islamic State (formerly known as Isis) militants are reported to have taken over the town of Sinjar near Syria. It follows the IS takeover of the town of Zumar and two nearby oilfields from Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Saturday. IS seized large parts northern Iraq from government control in a major offensive in June.
 

The UN special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said that a "humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sinjar". "The United Nations has grave concerns for the physical safety of these civilians" he said. "The humanitarian situation of these civilians is reported as dire, and they are in urgent need of basic items including food, water and medicine" he added. The UN said many of those who fled are in exposed areas in mountains near the town.

 

Many of those in Sinjar are believed to have fled from earlier IS advances in northern Iraq. The town is home to a large community of Kurdish Yazidis, whom IS consider heretical. Two Yazidi shrines have reportedly been destroyed in the town. Kurdish military forces, known as the Peshmerga, were also forced to retreat from the nearby town of Zumar on Saturday after a militant offensive. Kurdish forces had held the town since the Iraqi army retreated from the are in June. Eyewitnesses said militants also seized control of two small oilfields near Zumar. IS already controls several other oil installations in northern Iraq, which are believed to fund its activities.