Free Iraqi Army

{{Short description|Iraqi Sunni rebel group}} {{infobox war faction | name = Free Iraqi Army | native_name = الجيش العراقي الحر | native_name_lang = ar | war = the [[Syrian Civil War]] and the [[Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)|Iraqi insurgency]] | image = [[File:Flag of Iraq (1963-1991).svg|border|200px]] | caption = The 1963-1991 [[flag of Iraq]], used by the FIA. | active = 19 July 2012–1 August 2014 | leaders = | headquarters = | area = [[Iraq]] * [[Al Anbar Governorate]] * [[Nineveh Governorate]] | size = 2,500+<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/20121112193038751565.html |title=How Syria's civil war is spilling over |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2014-08-19 |archive-date=2015-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226040722/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/20121112193038751565.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | allegiance = {{flag|Ba'athist Iraq}} | motives = Establishment of a Sunni state in [[Iraq]] or Sunni overthrow of the [[Federal government of Iraq]] | partof = | predecessor = | successor = | allies = {{flagicon image|Flag of Iraq (1991-2004).svg}} [[Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order|Naqshbandi Army]] {{flagicon image|}} [[General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries|GMCIR]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the Revolutionary Tribal Council.svg}} [[Anbar Tribal Council]] {{flagdeco|Syrian Opposition}} [[Free Syrian Army]] | opponents = {{tree list}} * {{flag|Iraq}} ** [[Iraqi Armed Forces]] ** [[Popular Mobilization Forces (Iraq)|Popular Mobilization Forces]] *** [[Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq]] *** [[Badr Brigades]] *** [[Kata'ib Hezbollah]] {{tree list/end}} {{flag|Iran}} * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution.svg}} [[IRGC]] {{flagcountry|Ba'athist Syria}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Nov-10/194594-free-iraqi-army-inspired-by-syria-war.ashx |title=Free Iraqi Army inspired by Syria war |access-date=2012-12-30 |archive-date=2018-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014051505/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Nov-10/194594-free-iraqi-army-inspired-by-syria-war.ashx |url-status=live }}</ref> {{flagicon image|Flag of Hezbollah (thumbnail placeholder).png}} [[Mukhtar Army]] {{Flag|Islamic State}} | battles = [[Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)]] * [[Operation al-Shabah]] [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)]] | url = https://www.facebook.com/freeiraqiarmypage }} The '''Free Iraqi Army''' ('''FIA'''; {{langx|ar|الجيش العراقي الحر|Al-Jayš Al-‘Irāqī Al-Ḥurr}}) was an Iraqi rebel group formed in the western [[Sunni Islam in Iraq|Sunni]]-majority provinces of [[Iraq]] from Iraqi supporters of the [[Free Syrian Army]] rebels fighting in the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite news |title=INSIGHT: Iraq's Tensions Heightened by Syria Conflict |url=http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/11/insight-iraqs-tensions-heightened-by-syria-conflict-96791/ |work=Middle East Voices ([[VOA]]) |date=29 November 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=3 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203032422/http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/11/insight-iraqs-tensions-heightened-by-syria-conflict-96791/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The group aimed to overthrow the [[Shia Islam in Iraq|Shia]]-dominated government of Iraq,<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Soldiers Killed In Iraq: Reports|url=http://www.rttnews.com/2069410/syrian-soldiers-killed-in-iraq-reports.aspx?type=gn|work=RTT News|date=4 March 2013|access-date=11 March 2013|archive-date=5 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205112215/https://www.rttnews.com/2069410/syrian-soldiers-killed-in-iraq-reports.aspx?type=gn|url-status=live}}</ref> believing that they would gain support in this from Syria should the rebels be successful in overthrowing [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref name=insp>{{cite news |title=Free Iraqi Army inspired by Syria war |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Nov-10/194594-free-iraqi-army-inspired-by-syria-war.ashx |work=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)]] |date=10 November 2012 |access-date=30 December 2012 |archive-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014051505/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Nov-10/194594-free-iraqi-army-inspired-by-syria-war.ashx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Iraqis locked in rival sectarian narratives |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20417999 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=21 November 2012 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426060414/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20417999 |url-status=live }}</ref> An Iraqi counterterror spokesman denied this, saying that the name is merely being used by [[al-Qaeda in Iraq]] to "attract the support of the Iraqi Sunnis by making use of the strife going on in Syria."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10475779 |title=Al-Qaida making comeback in Iraq, officials say |date=9 October 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513195901/http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10475779 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Aside [[Al Anbar Governorate|Anbar Province]], the FIA reportedly had a presence in [[Fallujah]], along the Syrian border near the town of [[Al-Qa'im (town)|Al-Qaim]], and in [[Mosul]] in the north of Iraq. A recruiting commander for the group told a reporter from [[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|''The Daily Star'']] newspaper in Lebanon that the group was opposed to both [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq]] and their opponents in the [[Sahwa militia]]. The same commander claimed that the group received financial support from cross-border tribal extensions and Sunni sympathizers in the Persian gulf states of [[Qatar]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]].<ref name=insp />

On 4 February 2013, Wathiq al-Batat of the Shiite militant group [[Mukhtar Army|Hezbollah in Iraq]], announced the formation of the [[Mukhtar Army]] to fight against al-Qaeda and the Free Iraqi Army.<ref>{{cite news |title=Briefing: A guide to defusing sectarian tensions in Iraq |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97465/Briefing-A-guide-to-diffusing-sectarian-tensions-in-Iraq |agency=[[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]] |date=13 February 2013 |access-date=11 March 2013 |archive-date=2 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102205536/http://www.irinnews.org/report/97465/briefing-a-guide-to-diffusing-sectarian-tensions-in-iraq |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2014, the group became defunct, after [[Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)|a large offensive]] by ISIL in northern Iraq, with activity on their websites ceasing.

==History== {{Expand section|date=August 2023}}

==Links to al-Qaeda and the Iraqi Ba'athists== Despite the group's denial of links to al-Qaeda, the group had been accused of being affiliated with the group.<ref>{{cite news |title=Syrian War's Spillover Threatens a Fragile Iraq |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/world/middleeast/iraq-faces-new-perils-from-syrias-civil-war.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 February 2013 |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=22 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222193851/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/world/middleeast/iraq-faces-new-perils-from-syrias-civil-war.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> These accusations of links with both al-Qaeda and the Ba'athists led to a Najaf Shiite figure associated with the State of Law Coalition issuing a fatwa against supplying the group with weapons.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ar:عضو في الدفاع النيابية: الجيش العراقي الحر إسم آخر لتنظيم القاعدة |url=http://iraqicp.com/2010-11-22-05-28-38/28098-2012-12-20-14-12-23.html |publisher=[[Iraqi Communist Party]] |language=ar |date=20 December 2012 |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419123230/http://iraqicp.com/2010-11-22-05-28-38/28098-2012-12-20-14-12-23.html |archive-date=19 April 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also == {{Portal|Iraq|Asia}} * [[List of armed groups in the Iraqi Civil War]]

==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/user/freeiraqiarmy Free Iraqi Army] on [[YouTube]]

==References== <references/> {{Ba'ath Party}}

[[Category:2012 establishments in Iraq]] [[Category:Anti-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war]] [[Category:Arab militant groups]] [[Category:Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)]] [[Category:Rebel groups in Iraq]] [[Category:War in Iraq (2013–2017)]]