Major Iraqi Insurgent Group Jama'at Ansar al-Islam Issues Condolences to Islamic State of Iraq for Killings of its Top Leaders

Logo for Jama'at Ansar al-Islam's media outlet, Al-Ansar.

Jama'at Ansar al-Islam (AI, "Movement of the Partisans of Islam"), an Iraqi Islamist (Muslim political) insurgent group based primarily north of Baghdad, released a statement offering condolences to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) for the killings of its two top leaders, Abu 'Umar al-Baghdadi and Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (Abu Ayyub al-Masri). The statement is respectful of the two, but lacks the proto-caliphal fervor of statements from groups closer to Al-Qa'ida Central's transnational ideology. AI's leadership, led by Abu 'Abdullah al-Shafi'i, declined to join the ISI despite being called upon to do so by top AQC ideologue Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2007.

Background on AI may be found in a previous post HERE.

Background on the ISI and al-Baghdadi and al-Muhajir can be found in my guest editorial, "The Death of a Caliph: Will the Reported Killings of the Islamic State of Iraq's Two Senior Leaders Spell Out the End of the Self-styled Jihadi State?", on Prof. Juan Cole's Informed Comment blog.
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Ansar Al-Islam..Martyrdom of Baghdadi & Muhajir (April 27)
Ansar al-Islam Eulogy