Ansar al-Sunnah
| Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna جماعة أنصار السنة |
|
|---|---|
| Participant in Iraq War, Iraqi insurgency | |
 |
|
| Active | September 2003–December 2007 (Subsequently operated under name of Ansar al-Ahlu Sunnah) |
| Ideology | Sunni Islam, Sufism |
| Leaders |
Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i Abu Wayil |
| Area of operations |
 Iraq
|
| Strength | 1,000+ |
| Originated as | Ansar al-Sunnah |
| Became |
Ansar al Ahlu Sunnah, Ansar al-Islam |
| Allies |
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order 1920 Revolution Brigade Jaish al-Rashideen Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance Hamas of Iraq Jeish Muhammad |
| Opponents |
Mahdi Army, Iraqi Armed Forces |
Jamaat Ansar al-Sunnah (Arabic: جماعة أنصار السنه Jama‘at ‘Anṣār as-Sunnah, "Assembly of the Helpers of Sunnah"), also known as Jaish Ansar al-Sunna, was an Iraqi Sunni insurgent group that fought against US Troops and their local allies during the Iraq War. The group was primarily based in northern and central Iraq, and included mostly Iraqi (Both Sunni Arab and Sunni Kurdish) fighters. In 2007, it split into two groups in 2007; one began operating under the name Ansar al-Islam, and the second group called itself Ansar al-Sunnah Shariah Comitee, before changing its name to Ansar al-Ahlu Sunnah in 2011.
The group has been a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000 since October 2005.
The group was founded in September 2003, as an umbrella organization for guerrillas, with former members of Ansar al-Islam who had fled to Iran after a 2003 joint operation by Iraqi and US forces. Their goal was to expel U.S. occupation forces from Iraq.
Following the twin Sunni and Shiite uprisings of the spring and summer of 2004, and the subsequent decrease in U.S patrols and the creation of "no-go" areas in the Sunni Triangle, Ansar al-Sunna was believed to be part of a loose coalition of insurgent groups (also including guerrillas from al-Tawhid wal Jihad) controlling the Sunni cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarra, and Baquba (U.S. offensives later largely wrested control from Baquba, Fallujah, and Samarra, although underground guerrilla resistance forces still had a strong presence in those cities).
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