| Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad | |
|---|---|
 Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad members with Jack Hensley and with the group's banner in the background. | |
| Leaders | Abu Musab al-Zarqawi |
| Dates of operation | 2003-2004 |
| Active regions | Iraq |
| Opponents | Multinational force in Iraq, Iraq (Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish and Shia militias, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, United Nations |
| Battles and wars | Iraqi insurgency |
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Template:Lang-ar, Unification (Monotheism) and the Holy Struggle Group) was a radical Salafi militant group in the Sunni Iraqi insurgency which was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.[1]
Foreign fighters were widely thought to play a key role in the decentralized network[2] (Zarqawi himself was Jordanian Palestinian), although some analysts say it may have also had a considerable Iraqi membership.[3] Although many of foreign fighters were not the group members, once in Iraq they became dependent on Zarqawi's local contacts.[4]
In 2004, following the October 17 2004 Zarqawi's pledge of allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network[5], the group gradually became known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (official name Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn).[6]
Name
This group's name, which is usually abbreviated as JTJ[7] or most often shortened to Tawhid and Jihad[8], Tawhid wal-Jihad[9] and sometimes Tawhid al-Jihad[10] (or just Al Tawhid or Tawhid), purposely contrasted the strict monotheism of Islam with the "God in three persons" of the Christian Trinity, which it saw as polytheism.
Goals
The stated goals of JTJ were to force a withdrawal of U.S-led forces from Iraq, topple the Iraqi interim government and assassinate collaborators with the "occupation," marginalize the Shiite Muslim population and defeat its militias, and to subsequently establish a pure Sunni Islamic state. Presumably, if and when those goals are achieved, the global Jihad would continue to establish a pan-Islamic state and remove Western influence from the Muslim world.
Tactics
JTJ differed from other Iraqi insurgent groups considerably in its tactics. Rather than just using conventional weapons and guerrilla tactics, it has relied heavily on suicide bombings, mostly with vehicles, targeting a wide variety of groups but most especially Iraqi civilians, Iraqi Security Forces and those facilitating the occupation. U.S and coalition forces, the United Nations, foreign civilians, humanitarian organizations, Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish political and religious figures, Iraqi police and security forces, and Iraqi interim officials have also been targeted. They have assassinated several leading Iraqi politicians.[11]
Zarqawi's militants have been known to use a wide variety of other tactics, however, including targeted assassinations and kidnappings, the planting of improvised explosive devices, mortar attacks, and beginning in a late June 2004 offensive urban guerilla-style attacks using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. TWJ was also known for the brutal beheadings of foreign and Iraqi hostages, which were then distributed on the Internet in video footage attributed to the group.[12]
JTJ cites various texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (traditions) of the prophet Muhammad that they perceive to support their tactics. They refer to the tradition of the prophet Muhammad where he said to the people of Makkah when conquering them, "By the one in whose hand the soul of Muhammad is in, I came to you with slaughter" narrated in the books of Hadith (traditions). They also quote the prophet Muhammad saying, "Whoever slaughters a non-Muslim (at war with Islam, i.e. those perceived to be 'enemy occupiers') sincerely for the sake of Allah, Allah will make hellfire prohibited upon him." as well as many verses of the Qur'an calling Muslims to fight invading non-Muslims and even behead them, such where Allah says in the Qur'an, "when you meet the non-Muslim (enemies in battle) strike their necks."
Activities
Attacks
TWJ was blamed for some of the biggest early insurgent attacks, including:
- August 7 2003: Jordanian embassy bombing in Baghdad which killed 17 and injured at least 40.[13]
- August 19 2003: Canal Hotel bombing that killed Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 22 others at the UN headquarters in Baghdad. More than 100 were injured.[14][15]
- August 29 2003: Imam Ali Mosque bombing in Najaf that killed Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim and more than 85 others. More than 500 were injured.[16][17]
- November 12, 2003: The truck bombing in Nasiriyah which killed 17 Italian paramilitary policemen and 10 civilians and injured at least 100.[18]
- March 2 2004: Series of bombings in Baghdad and Karbala that killed some 178 people and wounded at least 500 during the Day of Ashura.[19]
- June 18 2004: The suicide car bombing in Baghdad that killed 35 civilians, and wounded 145.[20]
TWJ claimed credit for a number of attacks targeting Coalition and Iraqi forces including the October 2004 massacre of 49 unarmed Iraqi National Guard recruits.[21]
Foreign hostages
- Nick Berg, American civilian beheaded on May 7 2004
- Kim Sun-il, South Korean civilian executed on June 22 2004
- Eugene Armstrong, American civilian beheaded on September 20 2004
- Jack Hensley, American civilian beheaded on September 21 2004
- Kenneth Bigley, American civilian beheaded on October 7 2004