Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan

Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
ئەنسارولئیسلام لە کوردستان
LeadersMullah Krekar
Dates of operation2001-2003
Allegiance Islamic Emirate of Kurdistan
MotivesEstablishment of an Islamic state in Kurdistan, and the protection of Kurds
Active regionsIraqi Kurdistan
IdeologyKurdish nationalism
Sunni Islamism
Salafi jihadism
Allies Kurdistan Brigades
Kurdistan Islamic Group
Taliban
 Iran (alleged)
Opponents Peshmerga
 Ba'athist Iraq
Battles and warsIraqi Kurdistan conflict (2001-2003)

Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan (Kurdish: ئەنسارولئیسلام له کوردستان; the Supporters of Islam in Kurdistan), better known as Ansar al-Islam (Kurdish: ئەنسارولئیسلام; AAI), was a Kurdish Salafi jihadist and separatist militant group. It was established in the Islamic Emirate of Kurdistan in 2001 by Mullah Krekar. Its motive was to incorporate all of Kurdistan into an Islamic state, and the protection of Kurds. The group dissolved in 2003 after Operation Viking Hammer. The group was a designated terrorist organization in the United Nations, Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and a known affiliate of al-Qaeda. The group had no connection to Jama'at Ansar al-Islam, another Salafi jihadist group that emerged in 2007, and was modeled after Ansar al-Islam.