(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) - Jonathan Schanzer Ansar al-Islam, an al Qaeda affiliate active in Iraqi Kurdistan since September 2001, is a textbook example of the ongoing challenges posed by the war on terror. Following a visit by several Kurdish Islamist leaders to the al Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan in August 2001, Ansar al-Islam was created using $300,000 to $600,000 in al Qaeda seed money, in addition to funds from Saudi Arabia. Today, Ansar operates in fortified mountain positions along the Iran-Iraq border known as "Little Tora Bora." There, the group's Kurdish, Iraqi, Lebanese, Jordanian, Moroccan, Syrian, Palestinian, and Afghan members train in a wide array of guerrilla tactics. The U.S. State Department has yet to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
2003-01-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive