Sunni Awakening | |
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Participant in the Iraq War | |
Active | 2005–2013 |
Groups |
Albu Risha Al-Jaghayfa Al-Jabbour Albu Fahd Albu Nimr Albu Isa Albu Dhiyab Albu Ali Albu Fraj |
Leaders | Sheik Abdul Sattar Buzaigh al-Rishawi (assassinated) Sheikh Ali Hatem Ali Sulaiman Sheikh Abdul-Jabbar Abu Risha Sheikhs of Al-Bu Nimr Sheiks of Al-Bu Issa Saad Ghaffoori (aka Abu Abed) Abu Azzam al Tamimi Adel al-Mashhadani (killed in January 2014) |
Area of operations | Iraq |
Strength | 51,900 (estimated in January 2011) 30,000 (June 6, 2012) |
Allies |
Multinational force in Iraq (ceasefire) Iraqi Army and police |
Opponents | Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn otherwise known as: al-Qaeda in Iraq, which became the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
Battles and wars |
The Sons of Iraq (Arabic: أبناء العراق Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq) were coalitions between tribal Sheikhs in the Al Anbar province in Iraq as well as former Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military officers that united to maintain stability in their communities. They were initially sponsored by the US military.
The Sons of Iraq were virtually nonexistent by 2013 due to former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's unwillingness to integrate them into the security services. Sunnis formerly serving with the group were faced with options including becoming unemployed or joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The Sons of Iraq were also known as Anbar's Salvation (Arabic: إنقاذ الأنبار Inqādh al-Anbār), the National Council for the Salvation of Iraq (Arabic: المجلس الوطني لإنقاذ العراق al-Majlis al-Waṭanī li-Inqādh al-ʻIrāq), the Sunni Salvation movement (Arabic: حركة الإنقاذ السني Ḥarakat al-Inqādh al-Sunnī), the National Council for the Awakening of Iraq (Arabic: المجلس الوطني لصحوة العراق al-Majlis al-Waṭanī li-Ṣaḥwat al-ʻIrāq) and the Sunni Awakening movement (Arabic: حركة الصحوة السنية Ḥarakat al-Ṣaḥwah al-Sunnīyah