MUST READ: THE KURDISTAN BRIGADES: AL QUEDA'S KURDISH HENCHMEN

The Kurdistan Brigades: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish Henchmen
By Lydia Khalil

In the last week, a series of attacks have hit the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. On May 9, a truck bomb exploded outside of the Interior Ministry in Irbil, and on May 13, a truck bomb targeted the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Makhmoor (The Daily Star, May 10). Despite these latest attacks, Kurdistan has been the only part of Iraq in which al-Qaeda has had troubling operating due to the region's robust security forces. Yet, with the establishment of the Kurdistan Brigades from remnants of Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Sunnah and other Kurdish Islamic movements loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the recent attacks show that al-Qaeda is stepping up its operations and is slowly trying to establish a foothold in the fortified Kurdish areas. The Kurdistan Brigades only recently declared itself in a video put out in March of this year and has already carried out a number of operations.

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Pertinent Links:

1) The Kurdistan Brigades: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish Henchmen