Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad

{{Short description|Jordanian/Iraqi Salafi jihadist militant group (1999–2004)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox War Faction | name = Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad | native_name = {{lang|ar|جماعة التوحيد والجهاد}} | image = 275px | caption = A flag that was in use by Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad around the late 2004 | active = 1999<ref name=winepJune14>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf|publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy|date=June 2014|title=The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=20 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220221134/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf|url-status=dead}} (pages 1-2)</ref>–17 October 2004<ref name=JamestownFoundation20041018/> | founder = Abu Musab al-Zarqawi | leaders = Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Anas al-Shami{{KIA}} Omar Husayn Hadid al-Muhammadi | clans = | headquarters = Fallujah | area = Iraq, limited in Jordan | size = | partof = | allegiance = | ideology = * Qutbism<ref name="winepJune14e">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf|publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy|date=June 2014|title=The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement|access-date=1 January 2015|archive-date=20 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220221134/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> *Salafi Jihadism<ref name="winepJune14e"/> *Wahhabism<ref name=sect/><ref name="Atwan">{{cite news|last=Atwan|first=Abdel Bari|title=Al Qaeda's hand in tipping Iraq toward civil war|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0320/p09s01-coop.html|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=20 March 2006}}</ref> *Anti-Shi'ism<ref name=winepJune14e/><ref name=sect>{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2016/12/the-sectarianism-of-the-islamic-state-ideological-roots-and-political-context?lang=en|title=The Sectarianism of the Islamic State: Ideological Roots and Political Context|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|author=Hassan Hassan|date=13 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera">{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2005/09/200849143727698709.html|work=Al Jazeera|title=Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia|date=14 September 2005|access-date=22 October 2009}}</ref> * Anti-Christianism<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 November 2010 |title=Al-Qaeda in Iraq – "Knights Of Martyrdom 8" |url=https://ojihad.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/al-qaeda-in-iraq-knights-of-martyrdom-8/ |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=Jih@d |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref name=sect/> *Anti-Western sentiment<ref name=sect/> *Anti-Iranian sentiment<ref name=sect/> *Anti-Turkish sentiment<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> | predecessor = Bay'at al-Imam | successor = 23px|border Al-Qaeda in Iraq | allies = {{flagicon image|Flag of Ansar al-Islam.svg}} Ansar al-Islam (associate)<ref name="Bbc20060815">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4268904.stm|date =15 August 2006|publisher=BBC|title=Guide: Armed groups in Iraq|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill/> Islamic Army of Iraq (sometimes) {{flagicon image|Flag of al-Qaeda.svg}} Ansar al-Sunnah (sometimes) {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Jaish al-Rashideen (sometimes) {{flagicon image|Al-Liwaa.svg}} Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (sometimes) {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Jeish Muhammad (sometimes) | opponents = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Multi-National Force – Iraq.svg}} Multi-National Force – Iraq {{flagicon image|Flag of Iraq (2004–2008).svg|Flag of Iraq (2004–2008).svg}} Coalition Provisional Authority {{flag|United States}} {{flag|Jordan}} {{flagcountry|Iran}} {{flagcountry|Turkey}} {{flagcountry|Japan}}<ref name="Beheaded Japanese to be flown home">"[http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/31/japan.hostage/index.html Beheaded Japanese to be flown home]." ''CNN''. 1 November 2004. Retrieved on 25 October 2015.</ref> {{flag|United Nations}} | battles = {{tree list}} * Iraqi insurgency ** First Battle of Fallujah ** Battle of Samarra (2004) {{tree list/end}} | designated_as_terror_group_by = {{Unbulleted list |{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://24.kg/english/48835_List_of_terrorist_and_extremist_organizations_banned_in_Kyrgyzstan_/|title=List of terrorist and extremist organizations banned in Kyrgyzstan|date=5 April 2017}}</ref> |{{MYS}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 May 2019 |title=List of individuals, entities and other groups and undertakings declared by the Minister of Home Affairs as specified entity under Section 66B(1) |url=https://www.moha.gov.my/images/maklumat_bahagian/KK/kdndomestic.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901101308/https://www.moha.gov.my/images/maklumat_bahagian/KK/kdndomestic.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2021 |website=Ministry of Home Affairs}}</ref> |{{flag|Russia}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/npd/terror.htm|script-title=ru:Единый федеральный список организаций, в том числе иностранных и международных организаций, признанных в соответствии с законодательством Российской Федерации террористическими|language=ru|date=2 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514033426/http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/npd/terror.htm|archive-date=14 May 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> }} }}

'''Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad''' ({{Langx|ar|جماعة التوحيد والجهاد|lit=Congregation of Monotheism and Jihad}}), abbreviated as '''JTJ''' or '''Jama'at''', was a Salafi jihadist militant group.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/186573/PR141212_The_Evolution_of_ISIS.pdf |title=From Al-Qaida Affiliate to the Rise of the Islamic Caliphate: The Evolution of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria |date=December 2014 |first=Ahmed S. |last=Hashim |access-date=3 August 2019 |journal=S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies |publisher=Nanyang Technological University |pages=1–16}}</ref> It was founded in Jordan in 1999, and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi insurgency (2003–11) the group became a decentralized network with foreign fighters<ref name=ChristianScienceMonitor20040514/> with a considerable Iraqi membership.<ref name=Bbc20060815/><ref name=winepJune14/>

On 17 October 2004, al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, and the group became known as Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq or Tanzim).<ref name=JamestownFoundation20041018/><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GordonCorera/> After several mergers with other groups and the formation of the Mujahideen Shura Council, it changed its name several times until it called itself Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in 2006. The group is often seen as the predecessor of the Islamic State.<ref>{{cite report |first=Aaron Y. |last=Zelin |date=June 2014 |title=The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf |work=Research Notes |volume=20 |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |access-date=2019-08-28 |archive-date=2015-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220221134/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Origins == {{Jihadism sidebar}} Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a Jordanian jihadist who traveled to Afghanistan to fight within the Soviet–Afghan War, but arrived after the departure of the Soviet troops, and soon returned to his homeland. He eventually returned to Afghanistan, where he ran an Islamic militant training camp near Herat.<ref name="auto"/>

A report released by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in mid-2014 describes al-Zarqawi, in association with other Jordanians and Sunni jihadist militants, as starting JTJ in 1999 with its training camp in Herat, and with "a small amount of seed money" from bin Laden "which continued until 9/11".<ref name=winepJune14 />

== Ideology and motivation == Al-Zarqawi's interpretation of Islamic takfir—accusing other Muslims of heresy and thereby justifying their killing—was extreme, which caused friction between him and bin Laden.<ref name=winepJune14/>

Al-Zarqawi's political motives included what he considered the British Mandate for Palestine as a "gift to the Jews so they can rape the land and humiliate our people",<ref name=FRONTLINE,2006 /> the United Nation's support for American "oppressors of Iraq",<ref name=FRONTLINE,2006 /> and the "humiliation [of] our [Muslim] nation".<ref name=bbc19-5-4 />

== History == === In Jordan (1999–2001) === Al-Zarqawi started JTJ with the intention of overthrowing the 'apostate' Kingdom of Jordan,<ref name=winepJune14/> which he considered to be un-Islamic. After toppling Jordan's monarchy, presumably he would turn to the rest of the Levant.<ref name=winepJune14/>

For these purposes he developed numerous contacts and affiliates in several countries. His network may have been involved in the late 1999 plot to bomb the Millennium celebrations in the United States and Jordan.<ref name=twpJune06>{{cite news|title=Al-Zarqawi's Biography|date=8 June 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060800299_2.html?nav=rss_world/africa| first=Craig | last=Whitlock | access-date=27 February 2015}}</ref>

=== In Jordan and Iraq (2001–2002) === [[File:Iraqi insurgents with guns, 2006.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A pair of armed anti-American insurgents in Iraq in 2006]] Following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, al-Zarqawi moved to Iraq, where he reportedly received medical treatment in Baghdad for an injured leg.

Al-Zarqawi was in Baghdad from May until late November 2002, when he traveled to Iran and northeastern Iraq.<ref name="Conclusions"/> The United States 2006 Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq concluded: "Postwar information indicates that Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and that the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward al-Zarqawi."<ref name="Conclusions">{{cite news|title=Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Postwar Findings About Iraq's WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How They Compare with Prewar Assessments. 109th Congress, 2nd Session. |url=http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/phaseiiaccuracy.pdf |access-date=8 February 2015 |publisher=Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq |date=8 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215060854/http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/phaseiiaccuracy.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2015 }}(See III.G, Conclusions 5 and 6, p.109.)</ref>

Al-Zarqawi and his operatives were held responsible by the United States for the assassination of US diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan in October 2002.<ref name=StateDepartment20041015>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/37130.htm|author=Richard Boucher|publisher=United States Department of State|date=15 October 2004|title=Foreign Terrorist Organization: Designation of Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad and Aliases|access-date=26 November 2014}}</ref>

=== Involvement in the Iraq War (2003–2004) === Following the US invasion of Iraq and the ensuing insurgency, Jama'at became a decentralized militant network fighting against the coalition forces and their Iraqi allies. Jama'at included a growing number of foreign fighters<ref name=ChristianScienceMonitor20040514>{{cite news|date=14 May 2004|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0514/p03s01-usfp.html|author=Peter Grier, Faye Bowers|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|title=Iraq's bin Laden? Zarqawi's rise|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill/> and a considerable Iraqi membership, including remnants of Ansar al-Islam.<ref name="Bbc20060815"/><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill/>

Many foreign fighters arriving in Iraq were not initially associated with Jama'at, but once they were in the country they became dependent on al-Zarqawi's local contacts.<ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill>{{cite journal|last1=Gambill|first1=Gary|title=Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi: A Biographical Sketch|journal=Terrorism Monitor|date=16 December 2004|volume=2|issue=24|page=The Jamestown Foundation|url=http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=400&&issue_id=3179|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185929/http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=400&&issue_id=3179|archive-date=30 September 2007|access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref>

Jama'at's tactics included suicide bombings, often using car bombs, kidnappings, the planting of improvised explosive devices, attacks using rocket-propelled grenades, small arms and mortars, and beheading Iraqi and foreign hostages and distributing video recordings of these acts on the Internet.

The group targeted Iraqi security forces and those assisting the occupation, Iraqi interim officials, Iraqi Shia and Kurdish political and religious figures and institutions, Shia civilians, foreign civilian contractors, United Nations and humanitarian workers, and also Sunni Muslim civilians.<ref name=winepJune14/><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill/>

=== Pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda === On 17 October 2004, al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, and the group became known as Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq).<ref name=JamestownFoundation20041018>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=27305#.VBeNlOk9Jy0|title=Zarqawi's pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda: From Mu'Asker Al-Battar, Issue 21|author=Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, translated by Jeffrey Pool|newspaper=Jamestown |date=18 October 2004|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|access-date=16 September 2014}}</ref><ref name=Dawn20041018/><ref name=Msnbc20041018>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6268680 |agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBC News|title=Al-Zarqawi group vows allegiance to bin Laden|date=18 October 2004|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref><ref name=JamestownFoundation20041216GordonCorera>{{cite news|title=Unraveling Zarqawi's al-Qaeda connection|author=Gordon Corera|newspaper=Jamestown |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/tm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=332&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=179&no_cache=1#.VBeNtek9Jy0|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|date=16 December 2004|access-date=16 September 2014}}</ref> Al-Zarqawi died in a US targeted airstrike in June 2006 on an isolated safe house north of Baghdad at 6:15 p.m. local time.

== Activities == {{see also|Iraq#2003–2007}}

=== Attacks === [[File:UNOfficeofHumanitarianCoordinator-Baghdad (UN DF-SD-04-02188).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The UN headquarters building in Baghdad after the Canal Hotel bombing, on 19 August 2003]] [[Image:WaziriyaAutobombeIrak.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Car bombings were a common form of attack in Iraq during the Coalition occupation]]

=== 2003 === After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the establishment of a governing Provisional Authority, an insurgency quickly emerged. Dozens of insurgent attacks were claimed by, or attributed to, JTJ in the following months.

On 7 August 2003, the Jordanian embassy in Baghadad was bombed, killing 17 and injuring at least 40. The Jamestown Foundation considered Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad responsible.<ref name="JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill" />

On 19 August: the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, the UN headquarters in the city, was bombed, killing 23 people, including the Chief of the United Nations Mission to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 were injured.<ref name="Bbc20060815" /><ref name="JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill" /> Zarqawi claimed responsibility for this attack in April 2004, saying the U.N. "gave Palestine to the Jews so they can humiliate our people" and are "friends of the [American] oppressors".<ref name="FRONTLINE,2006">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/insurgency/etc/script.html 'The Insurgency']. Transcript from a TV program of FRONTLINE from 21 February 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2015.</ref><ref name="CNN7-4-4">{{cite news|date=7 April 2004 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/07/zarqawi.tape/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD |title=CIA: Zarqawi tape 'probably authentic' |publisher=CNN |access-date=22 February 2015 |last=Benson |first=Pam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003001701/http://articles.cnn.com/2004-04-07/world/zarqawi.tape_1_al-zarqawi-zarqawi-organization-abu-musab-zarqawi?_s=PM%3AWORLD |archive-date= 3 October 2012 }}</ref>

On 12 November, a truck bombing in Nasiriyah killed 17 Italian paramilitary policemen partaking in the U.S.-led 'Multi-National Force', as well as 10 civilians. It injured at least 100. The Jamestown Foundation considered JTJ responsible.<ref name="JamestownFoundation20041216GaryGambill" />

=== 2004 === On 2 March 2004, during the holy Day of Ashura, a series of bombings in Baghdad and Karbala killed some about Shia civilians, wounding at least 500. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy held JTJ responsible.<ref name="WashingtonInstitute20051115"> {{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2400|title=Zarqawi's 'Total War' on Iraqi Shiites Exposes a Divide among Sunni Jihadists|author=Emily Hunt|date=15 November 2005|access-date=28 February 2015}}</ref>

On 19 April, there was a failed attempt to explode chemical bombs in Amman, Jordan, which was reportedly financed by JTJ.<ref name="Cbs20040518"> {{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-is-abu-zarqawi/|title=Who Is Abu Zarqawi?|date=18 May 2004|publisher=CBS News|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref>

On 24 April, in a statement published on the Islamist web site Muntada al-Ansar, Zarqawi took responsibility for a series of suicide boat bombings of oil pumping stations in the Persian Gulf.

On 18 May, the Iraqi Governing Council President, Ezzedine Salim, was assassinated in Baghdad by a car bomb. JTJ stated on an Islamist website that they were "determined to lift the humiliation from our nation (...) Another lion has removed the rotten head of those who betray God and sell their religion to the Americans and their allies"''.''<ref name="bbc19-5-4">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3727597.stm |title=Al-Qaeda group claims Salim death |work=BBC News |date=19 May 2004|access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="FoxNews20060608"> {{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198661,00.html|title=Fast facts about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi|date=8 June 2006|publisher=Fox News|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref>

On 18 June, a car bombing suicide attack in Baghdad near an Iraqi Army recruitment center killed 35 civilians, and wounded 145. JTJ was blamed.<ref name="Cnn20040617"> {{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/06/17/iraq.main/index.html|title=Car bomb kills 35 in Baghdad|date=17 June 2004|publisher=CNN|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref>

On 1 August, six churches in Baghdad and Mosul were attacked, killing 12 people and wounding 71. Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, blamed the attacks on Zarqawi.<ref name="BBC2-8-4">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3527032.stm|title=Leaders condemn Iraq church bombs|work=BBC News|date=2 August 2004|access-date=3 January 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070105011256/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3527032.stm| archive-date=5 January 2007| url-status= live}}</ref>

On 14 September, a car bomb killed 47 and injured nearly 100 police recruits on Haifa Street in Baghdad.<ref name="FoxNews20060608" /><ref name="AustralianBroadcastingCorporation20040914"> {{cite news|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |title=Car bomb kills dozens in Baghdad |author=Peter Cave |date=14 September 2004 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1199052.htm |access-date=13 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230000013/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1199052.htm |archive-date=30 December 2007 }}</ref>

On 30 September 2004, a bombing in Baghdad killed 41 people, mostly children. JTJ claimed responsibility for unspecified attacks on that day, but it was unclear if this included the bombing.<ref name="FoxNews20060608" />

JTJ claimed responsibility for an October 2004 massacre of 49 unarmed Iraqi National Guard recruits.<ref name="TheKnowledgeBaseIraq2004"> {{cite web|url=http://www.tkb.org/MorePatterns.jsp?countryCd=IZ&year=2004 |title=Iraq: 2004 overview |publisher=The Knowledge Base |access-date=13 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827174758/http://www.tkb.org/MorePatterns.jsp?countryCd=IZ&year=2004 |archive-date=27 August 2007 }}</ref>

On 3 December 2004, there was a failed attempt to blow up an Iraqi–Jordanian border crossing, for which al-Zarqawi and two of his associates were sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by a Jordanian court in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|last=Aloul|first=Sahar|title=Zarqawi handed second death penalty in Jordan|url=http://beta.inquirer.net/common/print.php?index=1&story_id=60417&site_id=38|publisher=The Inquirer|date=19 December 2005|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029032906/http://beta.inquirer.net/common/print.php?index=1&story_id=60417&site_id=38|archive-date=29 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Inciting sectarian violence === Alleged sectarian attacks by the organization included the Imam Ali Mosque bombing in 2003 and the 2004 Day of Ashura bombings (Ashoura massacre) and Karbala and Najaf bombings in 2004. These were precursors to a more widespread campaign of sectarian violence after the organization transitioned to become al-Qaida in Iraq,<ref name="Atwan"/><ref name="Insurgents">{{cite news|title=Al Qaeda leader in Iraq 'killed by insurgents'|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-01/al-qaeda-leader-in-iraq-killed-by-insurgents/2537000|publisher=ABC News|date=1 May 2007}}</ref> with Al-Zarqawi purportedly declaring an all-out war on Shias,<ref name="aljazeera"/><ref name="NYTimes09/15">{{cite news|title=Another wave of bombings hit Iraq |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028173331/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/africa/web.0915iraq.php |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/africa/web.0915iraq.php |work=International Herald Tribune |date=15 September 2005 |archive-date=28 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while claiming responsibility for the Shia mosque bombings.<ref name="Tavernise">{{cite news|last=Tavernise|first=Sabrina|title=20 die as insurgents in Iraq target Shiites|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/16/news/iraq.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127045649/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/16/news/iraq.php|archive-date=27 January 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 September 2005}}</ref>

=== Beheading/killing non-Iraqi hostages === * 7 May 2004: Nick Berg, American civilian beheaded. A video of the killing was published on the Internet; the CIA said it was likely that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi personally had wielded the knife<ref name=FoxNews20060608/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3712421.stm |title=World | Middle East | 'Zarqawi' beheaded US man in Iraq|work=BBC News|date=13 May 2004|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> * 22 June 2004: Kim Sun-il, South Korean civilian, executed by beheading. * 8 July 2004: Georgi Lazov and Ivaylo Kepov, Bulgarian civilians beheaded<ref name=ChilaDaily20040803> {{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/03/content_357131.htm|title=Turkish hostage shot to death in Iraq|date=3 August 2004|newspaper=China Daily|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref> * 2 August 2004: Murat Yuce, Turkish civilian shot dead, by Abu Ayyub al-Masri.<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> * 13 September 2004: Durmus Kumdereli, Turkish civilian beheaded<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> * 20 September 2004: Eugene Armstrong, American civilian beheaded. Presumably claimed by Zarqawi and his men.<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> Some sources claimed it was done by Al-Zarqawi personally.<ref>[http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/web_site_american_hostage_killed_in_iraq/ ‘Video: American Hostage Eugene Armstrong Beheaded’]. Weblog ‘Outside the Beltway’, 20 September 2004. Retrieved 9 February 2015.</ref> It was shown in Fitna, a LiveLeak film in 2008. * 21 September 2004: Jack Hensley, American civilian beheaded. Presumably by Zarqawi and his men.<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> * 7 October 2004: Kenneth Bigley, British civilian beheaded. Presumably by Zarqawi and his men.<ref name=FoxNews20060608/> * 29 October 2004: Shosei Koda, Japanese civilian beheaded. An Islamist website that was used by al-Zarqawi's group had posted video of Koda shortly after the abduction.<ref name="Beheaded Japanese to be flown home"/> The Turkish translator Aytullah Gezmen was also abducted by Jama'at, but released after "repenting."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkish-hostage-freed-in-iraq/|title=Turkish Hostage Freed In Iraq|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=15 September 2004 |language=en-US|access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref>

== U.S. fighting Jama'at == In September 2004, the U.S. conducted many airstrikes targeting Al-Zarqawi, calling the hunt for Al-Zarqawi its "highest priority".<ref>{{cite web |author=Brian Ross |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=131414 |title=Tracking Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi |publisher=ABC News |date=24 September 2004 |access-date=27 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128205514/http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=131414 |archive-date=28 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Legacy == [[File:US Navy 041117-N-4388F-004 Construction Electrician 3rd Class Joe Tank mans a turret mounted M-240B machine gun atop a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) to provide security while Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile.jpg|thumb|U.S. soldiers in Fallujah in November 2004 pursuing Al-Zarqawi's network]] The group pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in a letter in October 2004 and changed its name to ''Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn''.<ref name=JamestownFoundation20041018/><ref name=Dawn20041018>{{cite news|title=Zarqawi pledges allegiance to Osama|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/397409/zarqawi-pledges-allegiance-to-osama |date=18 October 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229020549/http://www.dawn.com/2004/10/18/top7.htm|archive-date=29 December 2007|agency=Agence France-Presse|work=Dawn|url-status=live|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref><ref name=Msnbc20041018/>

That same month, the group, now popularly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), kidnapped and killed Japanese citizen Shosei Koda. In November, al-Zarqawi's network was the main target of the US Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, but its leadership managed to escape the American siege and subsequent storming of the city.

The Lebanese-Palestinian militant group Fatah al-Islam, which was defeated by Lebanese government forces during the 2007 Lebanon conflict, was linked to AQI and led by al-Zarqawi's former companion Mustafa Ramadan Darwish who had fought alongside him in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fatah Islam: Obscure group emerges as Lebanon's newest security threat|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/20/africa/ME-GEN-Lebanon-Violence-Militants.php|work=International Herald Tribune|date=20 May 2007|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525035308/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/20/africa/ME-GEN-Lebanon-Violence-Militants.php|archive-date=25 May 2007}}</ref>

The group may have been linked to the little-known group called "Tawhid and Jihad in Syria",<ref name=InternationHeraldTribune20070528>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/28/africa/ME-GEN-Syria-Al-Qaida.php |title=Al-Qaida inspired militant group calls on Syrians to kill country's president |agency=Associated Press |work=International Herald Tribune |date=28 May 2007 |access-date=6 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601162448/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/28/africa/ME-GEN-Syria-Al-Qaida.php |archive-date= 1 June 2007 }}</ref> and may have influenced the Palestinian resistance group in Gaza called Tawhid and Jihad Brigades.<ref name=AsiaMedia20070417>{{cite news|url=http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-world.asp?parentid=67903|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715015944/http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-world.asp?parentid=67903|archive-date=15 July 2010|title=Palestine: Reporter is dead, claims terror group|work=The Straits Times|date=17 April 2007|access-date=6 August 2014}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links == * [https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,3604,1309256,00.html Brutal kidnappers gaining in popularity] The Guardian on 21 September 2004 * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3677658.stm Profile: Tawhid and Jihad group] BBC News on 8 October 2004 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160120134429/http://www.cpa-iraq.org/transcripts/20040212_zarqawi_full.html Purported Zarqawi letter] Coalition Provisional Authority

{{Armed Iraqi Groups in the Iraq War and the Iraq Civil War}} {{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} {{Militant Islamism in the Middle East}}

Category:Al-Qaeda allied groups Category:Anti-Israeli sentiment in Asia Category:Anti-Shi'ism Category:Defunct Islamic organizations Category:Defunct organizations designated as terrorist Category:Factions in the Iraq War Category:Foreign hostages in Iraq Category:Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) Category:Jihadist groups in Iraq Category:Salafi Jihadist groups Category:Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Category:History of the Islamic State Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Iraq Category:Sunni Islamist groups Category:Qutbist organisations Category:Defunct organizations designated as terrorist in Asia Category:Islamic organizations established in 1999 Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by Malaysia Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Kyrgyzstan Category:1999 establishments in Jordan Category:2004 disestablishments in Jordan Category:2004 disestablishments in Iraq Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Russia