Al-Qa’ida agents have begun a large-scale infiltration into Iraqi security organizations, including the Sunni Awakening Councils, Iraqi officials told the London-based daily Al-Hayyat.
The recent high-profile targeting of Deputy Prime Minister Salam A-Zouba’i and Vice-President ‘Adil ‘Abd Al-Mahdi, as well the assassination of the Al-Anbar Awakening Council head, Sittar Abu Reisha, proved Al-Qa’ida’s ability to infiltrate the councils, the officials added.
The American-backed anti-Al-Qa’ida Awakening Councils had been formed by Sunni volunteer fighters, who are working in coordination with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military. American military sources have attributed much of the recent weeks’ reduction of violence in Iraq to the Awakening Councils.
Families living in Baghdad neighborhoods, which are considered by Al-Qa’ida as part of its self-proclaimed Islamic state, told Al-Hayyat they had recently managed to get rid of much of the extremists’ influence. Nevertheless, they said they were still worried Al-Qa’ida, which has gained a presence among them and within the Awakening Councils, would take its revenge against them.
The Awakening Councils’ membership has 72,000 volunteers, most of whom are concentrated in the capital, Baghdad, a top Iraqi security official told Al-Hayyat.