Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (), abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Salafi jihadist militant group. 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

Origins

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.

In Jordan and Iraq (2001–2002)

thumb|upright=1.1|A pair of armed anti-American [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–11)|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.

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.

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

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. 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

Attacks

thumb|upright=1.1|The UN headquarters building in Baghdad after the [[Canal Hotel bombing, on 19 August 2003]]

thumb|right|upright=1.1|[[Iraq War insurgent attacks|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.

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.

On 19 April, there was a failed attempt to explode chemical bombs in Amman, Jordan, which was reportedly financed by JTJ.

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".

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.

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.

On 14 September, a car bomb killed 47 and injured nearly 100 police recruits on Haifa Street in Baghdad.

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.

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.

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, with Al-Zarqawi purportedly declaring an all-out war on Shias, while claiming responsibility for the Shia mosque bombings.

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
22 June 2004: Kim Sun-il, South Korean civilian, executed by beheading.
8 July 2004: Georgi Lazov and Ivaylo Kepov, Bulgarian civilians beheaded
2 August 2004: Murat Yuce, Turkish civilian shot dead, by Abu Ayyub al-Masri. It was shown in Fitna, a LiveLeak film in 2008.
21 September 2004: Jack Hensley, American civilian beheaded. Presumably by Zarqawi and his men.

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".

Legacy

thumb|[[United States Armed Forces|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.

The group may have been linked to the little-known group called "Tawhid and Jihad in Syria", and may have influenced the Palestinian resistance group in Gaza called Tawhid and Jihad Brigades.

References

External links

Brutal kidnappers gaining in popularity The Guardian on 21 September 2004
Profile: Tawhid and Jihad group BBC News on 8 October 2004
Purported Zarqawi letter Coalition Provisional Authority