Mapping Militant Organizations
| Formed | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Disbanded | September 1, 2001 |
| Updated | August 6, 2015 |
The Second Soran Unit (SSU) was a predominantly Kurdish, Salafi militant group formed in 1998 after a group of approximately 350-400 fighters split from the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (IMK). [1] This splinter group, led by As'ad Muhammad Hasan (more commonly known as Aso Hawleri), was largely comprised of Kurdish, in addition to roughly 50-60 Arab, veterans of the Afghanistan War against the Soviet Union. [2] The SSU split from the IMK in response to the IMK’s 1997 truce with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), its subsequent cooperation with the PUK and Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), and the SSU’s perception that Iranian influence over the IMK leadership was increasing. The SSU was vehemently opposed to both the KDP and PUK because of their secular ideologies and to Iran because of its Shiite faith. [3]
Soon after its inception in 1998, the SSU took control of the IMK’s historic stronghold in Biyara, from where it based its operations for the next three years. The SSU possessed advanced small firearms as well as a vast arsenal of modern large munitions, making it one of the best-armed and most capable Kurdish militant groups in Iraq. [4] The SSU is thought to have carried out military operations against the KDP and PUK between 1998-2001, although no documentation of specific attacks exists and the group did not publically claim responsibility for any incidences of violence. [5]
In September 2001, the SSU merged with two other splinter groups of the IMK, the al-Tawhid Islamic Front and Kurdish Hamas (unrelated to Hamas Iraq or to the Palestinian Hamas), to form Jund al-Islam. Shortly thereafter, Jund al-Islam merged with several other Salaf organizations to form Ansar al-Islam. [6]
The Second Soran Force is a radical Salafi militant organization that is fervently anti-secular and anti-Shiite. [8] [9] The SSU sought to impose strict Shariah law over Iraqi Kurdistan, and eventually over the entirety of Iraq. [10]
The SSU was never designated as a foreign terrorist organization; however, Ansar al-Islam was listed by the U.S. as a terrorist group in 2004. [12]
The SSU reportedly possessed highly advanced artillery and heavy weaponry, most notably surface-to-surface missiles known as Daushkas and 106mm artillery shells. However, it remains unclear who funded the group or how it obtained these arms. [13]
The SSU operated almost exclusively within Iraq and it is unclear if was in contact with any groups or governments outside of the country. Many of its members, however, were veterans of the Afghan Mujahedeen of the 1980s, and thus had received training Afghanistan. [14]
The SSU operated predominantly in Iraqi Kurdistan and was headquartered in the city of Biyara near the Iranian border. [15]
Very little is known about the SSU’s targets or tactics. However, it was widely known that the group possessed a large arsenal of heavy weaponry. [16]
The SSU was a primarily militant group and does not appear to have taken part in large-scale political activities until after joining Jund al-Islam. However, in 1998, Hawleri created a political activist group called the Central Islamic Faction (CIF). The group was led by Hawleri and a Turkoman named Abu Khubayi Barachak, who was later imprisoned by the KDP on terrorism charges. The CIF’s activities were largely undocumented and thus its purpose and connection to the SSU remain unclear. [17]
Although the SSU is known to have violently opposed the KDP and PUK, there is no documentation of any specific attacks conducted by the group. [18] [19]
The SSU split from the IMK in 1998 because it objected to the IMK’s cooperation with the largely secular KRG. In 2001, the SSU merged with the al-Tawhid Islamic Front and Kurdish Hamas to form Jund al-Islam, which became the largest founding member of Ansar al-Islam later that year. [20]