Mujahideen Army

Mujahideen Army (also known as Jaish al-Mujahideen) is a Sunni terrorist group operating in Iraq. The terrorist group is believed to have an ideology similar to that of fellow Iraqi insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI).

The Mujahideen Army is one of the founding members of the Jihad and Reform Front as well as a member of the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance (PCIR).

Ideology and leadership:
In May 2006 the Mujahideen Army released a statement condemning Iraq‘s ethnic and sectarian infighting and urged Iraqis to work “with a sense of national and religious responsibility for the sake of future generations.”

In late January 2006, the Mujahideen Army issued a communique calling for attacks against Denmark and Norway, in response to the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in several Danish newspapers.

They also threatened with attacks following controversial comments made by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006. They announced their intention to “destroy their cross in the heart of Rome and to hit the Vatican.”

The Mujahideen Army have also taken unique step of appealing directly to the American public via several English-language videos purportedly produced and distributed by the group.

In October 2005, the U.S. military announced that it had captured Ahmad Ni’mah Khudayyir Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Shihab), a group “lieutenant and propaganda chief” in the Abu Ghraib district west of Baghdad.

In a January 2006 statement urging the Mujahideen Army to join the then-fledgling Mujahideen Shura Council, al-Qaida in Iraq identified the emir of the Mujahideen Army as “The Leaping Lion.”

The intelligence analyst Malcolm Nance claims that Mujahideen Army of Iraq was a liaison between former Baath militias like the fedayeen and the Islamists. However, most Mujahideen Army commanders appear to be former soldiers who were anti-Baathist politically and became Islamist mujahidin after they left army service and the United States invaded.

Mujahideen Army spokespeople like Abdul-Rahman Qaisi and Abdullah Umari have been critical of the Baath and want to turn Iraq into an Islamic emirate free of control from occupation.

Terrorist Attacks:
The Mujahideen Army has taken credit for numerous attacks against American forces in Iraq. The majority of these claims are issued in communiqués or videos posted on mujahideen websites.

Some notable attacks in which the Mujahideen Army has claimed responsibility are:

-Shooting down an American Apache helicopter in January 2006.

-The January 2007 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad.