Ansar al-Islam

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 Sunni Islamist 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.

Name