- Title: Islamic State seeking alliance with al Qaeda, Iraqi vice president says
- Date: 18th April 2017
- Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (APRIL 17, 2017) (REUTERS) IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT AYAD ALLAWI SITTING IRAQI FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT, AYAD ALLAWI SAYING: "This is the discussion started now. I don't know exactly when but there's, there are discussions and dialogue between messengers representing Baghdadi (Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi) and representing Zawahiri (Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda)." ALLAWI TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT, AYAD ALLAWI SAYING: "I can't see ISIS (Islamic State) disappearing into thin air. They will remain covertly in sleeping cells, spreading their venom all over the world." ALLAWI TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT, AYAD ALLAWI SAYING: "Without really a roadmap, without an inclusive political process, without building the institutions of the country, it's going to be very difficult to face the post-ISIS era and as we know it is not going to be the end of ISIS. This is a long-haul fight and it will continue for a long time, it will take different shapes, but ISIS has already spread throughout the world and we have had information that now they want to close ranks with al-Qaeda, with Zawahiri." ALLAWI TALKING
- Embargoed: 2nd May 2017 09:26
- Keywords: Iraq Islamic State Al Qaida alliance Vice President Ayad Allawi Mosul
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- City: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
- Reuters ID: LVA0016CXCQ4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Islamic State is talking to al Qaeda about a possible alliance as Iraqi troops close in on IS fighters in Mosul, Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi said in an interview on Monday (April 17).
Allawi said he got the information on Monday from Iraqi and regional contacts knowledgeable about Iraq.
"There are discussions and dialogue between messengers representing Baghdadi and representing Zawahiri," Allawi said, referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda.
Islamic State split from al Qaeda in 2014 and the two groups have since waged an acrimonious battle for recruits, funding and the mantle of global jihad. Zawahiri has publicly criticized Islamic State for its brutal methods, which have included beheadings, drownings and immolation.
Even if Islamic State loses its territory in Iraq, Allawi added, it will not simply go away. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
