Shapur Zol Aktaf
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2013
- Messages
- 3,711
- Reaction score
- -6
- Country
- Location
Saudi Arabia may be a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, but the oil-rich kingdom is also the No. 1 supplier of fighters for the Islamic State terror group in Iraq, according to Iraqi military sources.
The Saudi presence in ISIS is very large. What we have left are mainly Iraqis and Saudis,” one high-ranking Iraqi counterterrorism intelligence officer, who requested anonymity, told Fox News.
“The Saudis make up a large number of suicide bombers, as they already have the ground work of radicalization installed in their minds from radical sheikhs in Saudi. And we’ve caught important ISIS commanders.”
According to intelligence officials, Saudis make up as much as 30 percent of ISIS fighters left in Iraq. They are said to have streamed into the conflict-laden nation over the past three years through the previously porous Turkish border, as well as through the border towns of Abu Kamal and Rabia, the latter once known as an Al Qaeda stronghold.
Another Iraqi intelligence source confirmed that Saudis comprise the largest single contingent of ISIS fighters, with Russian Chechens making up the second-largest contingent.
Numerous photographs and documents from ISIS hideouts that were seen by Fox News show identification and credit cards of fighters hailing from Saudi Arabia. Such identification has also been seen on numerous casualties.
At least one ISIS fighter from Saudi Arabia was from Qassim University, which was founded in 2004 by King Saud University and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. When Iraqi forces expelled ISIS from their stronghold of Fallujah last year, a book by the famed Saudi cleric who founded the Wahhabi movement, Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab, was found among the jihadist’s personal effects.
The prominence of Saudi Arabian terrorists not only creates an image issue for the kingdom, but raises questions as to why the U.S continues to deem the nation a close ally. Saudi Arabia is still thought of by many foreign policy experts as the world’s pre-eminent sponsor of Islamic extremism, while the U.S. State Department still calls it a “a strong partner in regional security and counterterrorism efforts, providing military, diplomatic, and financial cooperation.”
A Kurdish official in the Mosul area noted that the Saudi presence within ISIS is indeed significant and reflects Saudi Arabia’s strategic policy of opposing Iran’s influence. Iran has steadily built massive influence over the Baghdad government and continues to weave its Shia brand of Islam through the country, threatening the hegemony of the Sunni-dominant Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.
“Wahhabism was born in Saudi Arabia. Saudi is leading those extremist organizations like ISIS,” said an Iraqi official who requested anonymity. “They have high-ranking officials and fighters among their ranks. Saudi is nothing without U.S. protection; it is only a bite for Iran to eat.”
It is difficult to determine exactly how many ISIS personnel or weapons hail from the kingdom. As early as 2014, regional reports emerged that at least 7,000 Saudi militants had already joined the ISIS fold. However, Saudi officials have downplayed these numbers; late last year officials stated a total of 1,540 citizens were fighting across Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...-nationals-as-its-largest-group-fighters.html
The Saudi presence in ISIS is very large. What we have left are mainly Iraqis and Saudis,” one high-ranking Iraqi counterterrorism intelligence officer, who requested anonymity, told Fox News.
“The Saudis make up a large number of suicide bombers, as they already have the ground work of radicalization installed in their minds from radical sheikhs in Saudi. And we’ve caught important ISIS commanders.”
According to intelligence officials, Saudis make up as much as 30 percent of ISIS fighters left in Iraq. They are said to have streamed into the conflict-laden nation over the past three years through the previously porous Turkish border, as well as through the border towns of Abu Kamal and Rabia, the latter once known as an Al Qaeda stronghold.
Another Iraqi intelligence source confirmed that Saudis comprise the largest single contingent of ISIS fighters, with Russian Chechens making up the second-largest contingent.
Numerous photographs and documents from ISIS hideouts that were seen by Fox News show identification and credit cards of fighters hailing from Saudi Arabia. Such identification has also been seen on numerous casualties.
At least one ISIS fighter from Saudi Arabia was from Qassim University, which was founded in 2004 by King Saud University and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. When Iraqi forces expelled ISIS from their stronghold of Fallujah last year, a book by the famed Saudi cleric who founded the Wahhabi movement, Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab, was found among the jihadist’s personal effects.
The prominence of Saudi Arabian terrorists not only creates an image issue for the kingdom, but raises questions as to why the U.S continues to deem the nation a close ally. Saudi Arabia is still thought of by many foreign policy experts as the world’s pre-eminent sponsor of Islamic extremism, while the U.S. State Department still calls it a “a strong partner in regional security and counterterrorism efforts, providing military, diplomatic, and financial cooperation.”
A Kurdish official in the Mosul area noted that the Saudi presence within ISIS is indeed significant and reflects Saudi Arabia’s strategic policy of opposing Iran’s influence. Iran has steadily built massive influence over the Baghdad government and continues to weave its Shia brand of Islam through the country, threatening the hegemony of the Sunni-dominant Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.
“Wahhabism was born in Saudi Arabia. Saudi is leading those extremist organizations like ISIS,” said an Iraqi official who requested anonymity. “They have high-ranking officials and fighters among their ranks. Saudi is nothing without U.S. protection; it is only a bite for Iran to eat.”
It is difficult to determine exactly how many ISIS personnel or weapons hail from the kingdom. As early as 2014, regional reports emerged that at least 7,000 Saudi militants had already joined the ISIS fold. However, Saudi officials have downplayed these numbers; late last year officials stated a total of 1,540 citizens were fighting across Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...-nationals-as-its-largest-group-fighters.html
