Ansar al-Sunna (Defenders of the Tradition) is an outgrowth of Ansar al-Islam [Defenders of Islam], a group with ties to Iran and which administration officials have linked to al-Qaeda.

Ansar al-Sunna, which officially declared its existence in a September 20, 2003 Internet statement, evolved from the coalescence of Kurdish Ansar al-Islam operatives, foreign al-Qaeda terrorists, and newly mobilized Iraqi Sunnis.

Ansar al-Sunna presents itself as a pan-Islamic movement. Its founding declaration states that "jihad in Iraq has become an individual duty of every Muslim after the infidel enemy attacked the land of Islam" and that its members "deriv[e] their jihad program and orders from the instructions of the holy Koran and the Prophet [Muhammad]'s Sunna (tradition)." The goal of Ansar al-Sunna is to achieve in Iraq "the Muslims' hope of an Islamic country where Islam and its people are strong."

Following are some of the attacks for which Ansar al-Sunna claims responsibility:

14 October 2003: car bomb attack against the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad, killing the driver and one bystander.

20 November 2003: car bomb attack on the PUK headquarters in Kirkuk, killing six.

29 November 2003: ambush of two vehicles carrying Spanish intelligence officers, killing seven. Ansar al-Sunna's claim of responsibility credited the hamzah sariyah squadron of the al-Mansurah brigade. The group later showed the Spaniards' identity documents on video.

12 December 2003: car bomb attack on a US facility in Ramadi which killed one soldier.

5 January 2004: Alleged ambush and killing of Canadian and British citizens. Ansar al-Sunna showed captured identification and credit cards and lambasted the Coalition for failing to acknowledge the operation, which Ansar al-Sunna says it videotaped.

31 January 2004: Bombing of the al-Taqafah police center in Mosul, killing nine.

23 February 2004: Bombing of the Rahimawa police station in Kirkuk which killed 13 (Ansar al-Sunna claimed the attack killed 30.

9 March 2004: Launched Katyusha rockets at the Kirkuk airport.

27 February through 17 March 2004: Ansar al-Sunna claimed fifteen lethal attacks in or around Mosul, most involving assassinations of Iraqi "collaborators."

28 March 2004: Ambush of British and Canadian contractors near Mosul. Ansar al-Sunna published photos of their victims' identity cards and passports.

Ansar al-Sunna militant group claimed responsibility for the slaughter of twelve Nepalese construction workers at the beginning of September.

The same group beheaded last month three Iraqi Kurds who were members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.