Accuses Al-Qaida of Stoking Infighting Among Iraqi Insurgents

By Evan Kohlmann

The 1920 Revolution Brigades -- a prominent Sunni militant group linked to the Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood -- has issued an irate response to recent criticisms by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and other spokesmen for Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq." In its statement, the 1920 Brigades dismissed these claims as "an effort at settling a score or possibly even the product of a personal agenda." The 1920 Revolution Brigades also issued its own set of counter-allegations, accusing Al-Qaida in Iraq of engaging in a consistent pattern of treachery, deceit, and murder. An English translation of the statement is now available for download c/o the NEFA Foundation website:

"Do not listen to those of your brothers who became enslaved by their own insecurities and fell into a trap… Dear brothers… you should know that the snake has a head and a tail. The head is the infidel American occupiers, their allies, and their agents—and the tail is your own neighbors who have sought to stray from the principles of Islam and decided instead to be used by the enemy… We inform you that the ISI’s denials about forcing other jihadi factions into joining the Al-Qaida organization are false, and the evidence for this is our own practical experience dealing with Al-Qaida in Abu Ghraib. They forced one of our brigades, the Jaffar al-Tayyar Brigade, to join them and they kept increasing pressure on them until the brigade was forced to defend itself… We would like to remind you that Muharib al-Jabouri (commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades) was asked to swear an oath of allegiance to Al-Qaida, but he refused because he believed that the Al-Qaida organization had no right either to establish an ‘Islamic State’ without first consulting other factions nor to fight against those who refuse to join its state. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened when fighting broke between the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the ISI that persisted until the joint agreement signed [between us]... In reality, the people who were murdered and tortured were fighters from the 1920 Revolution Brigades: Omar Abdel Razaaq and his two friends. Omar was captured [by Al-Qaida] during the cease-fire and resulting peace talks that concluded with the February 4 joint agreement... After Al-Qaida promised not to cause any harm to Omar, his dead body was sent to his family... We wonder, does the Al-Qaida organization look down upon the sacrifices of others and choose only to glorify its own?”

See also:
- (NEFA Foundation) Transcript of September 14 audio recording by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi from Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI)
- (NEFA Foundation) Translation of reaction from Hamas in Iraq
- (NEFA Foundation) Translation of statement from Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya ("the Iraqi Jihad Union")
- (Globalterroralert.com) Translation of reaction from Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front (JAAMI)
- (Globalterroralert.com) Translation of Al-Qaida/ISI Statement on the 1920 Revolution Brigades
- (Counterterrorism Blog) "Khawaarij and Jihad: Is Al-Qaida's Network in Iraq Doomed to the Fate of the GIA?"
- (NBC News) "Insurgent groups condemn al-Qaida tactics."
October 13, 2007 01:42 AM Link