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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
الدَّوْلَةُ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةُ فِي الْعِرَاقِ وَالشَّامِ
ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām
FounderAbu Musab al-Zarqawi †[5]
Leaders

[7],Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †,[8] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †[9]

Dates of operation
1999–present
Group(s)
Headquarters
Active regions
ISIL's territory, in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent (May 2015).
Map legend
  •   Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  •   Iraqi government
  •   Syrian government
  •   Lebanese government
  •   Iraqi Kurdistan forces
  •   Syrian Kurdistan forces
  •   Syrian opposition forces
  •   Turkish Armed Forces
  •   Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
  •   Hezbollah
  • Note: Iraq and Syria contain large desert areas with sparse populations. These areas are mapped as under the control of forces holding roads and towns within them.
Detailed current maps
Ideology
AlliesSee section
OpponentsState opponents
Many others

Non-state opponents

Full list...
Battles and warsthe Iraq War (2003–2011), the Iraqi insurgency, the Syrian Civil War, the Iraqi Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the Boko Haram insurgency, the War in North-West Pakistan, the War in Afghanistan, the Yemeni Civil War, and other conflicts
Primary target of Operation Inherent Resolve and of the military intervention against ISIL in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),[86] or Islamic State, (IS)[87][88] is a Islamist militant group. In Arabic it is often called the phrase "Daesh" but it is disliked by the group.[89][90] It operates in Libya,[91] Nigeria,[92] Syria and a small part of northern Iraq. It is influenced by the Wahhabi Sect of Islam.[93][94] It claims the status of independent state for the territories under its control in Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, and Syria. It is opposed to Shiism and has been described as "Shiaphobic".[95][96]

The earliest evolution of the group traces its origins back to the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad group which was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 1999. This group eventually grew and became a centralized network in the early years of the Iraq War and associated itself with Al-Qaeda in 2004. In 2006, the group formed into the Mujahideen Shura Council which was an umbrella organization that was composed of different insurgent groups. On 15 October 2006, the group rebranded itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and appointed Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as its emir. Its aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni majority regions of Iraq, later expanding this to include Syria.[97] In February 2014, after an eight-month power struggle, Al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL.[98]

ISIL is millenarianist,[99] meaning it believes that society is going to change a lot, and everything we know will end soon. The group recruits new members by promising them sex slaves or cheap marriages.[100]

Fighting

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At the height of the Iraq War, ISIL was in the Iraqi provinces of Al Anbar, Ninawa, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad. It claimed Baqubah as its capital.[101][102][103][104] In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, the group has a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo.[105][106]

The group has attacked government and military targets. It has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed thousands of Iraqi civilians.[107] During the time coalition forces were present in Iraq, the group suffered some setbacks. By 2012, it was thought to have regained most of its strength and more than doubled the number of its members to about 2,500.[108]

In 2013, a letter and an audio recording of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, was leaked to Al Jazeera. In it, al-Zawahiri disbanded the Syrian faction of ISIL.[109] The group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, opposed this ruling on the basis of Islamic law.[110] The group has since continued to operate in Syria. Starting in April 2013, it made rapid military gains in large parts of Northern Syria, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described them as "the strongest group".[111] They have sought publicity by releasing videos of the decapitation (beheading) of journalists and other prisoners of war mainly done by member Jihadi John. He was killed in November 2015.

Worldwide caliphate

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In June 2014, it announced a worldwide caliphate. In 2014, ISIL successfully fought in a large-scale offensive in Iraq. After this offensive, ISIL is reported to have seized control of most of Mosul, the second biggest city in Iraq, its surrounding Nineveh province, and the city of Fallujah.[112] In the spring of 2015 ISIL fought for control of Tikrit, the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.[113]

In spring of 2016 the Army of Iraq took back Fallujah. At the end of 2016 the army took back Ramadi in Al Anbar Province, and in early 2017 Iraqi government forces retook Mosul. In October, Raqqa, the former headquarters, fell.

Film

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The 2014 film The Blue Man,[114] which is related to The New York Times article titled "Uncovering Iraq's Horrors in Desert Graves" written by John F. Burns,[115] also mentions mass killings of Shia Muslims by the Islamic State between 2003 to 2006.

Other websites

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  • As of now, the WayBack Machine has removed the website.
The flag of the Free Syrian Army is also used by ISIL sometimes

References

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  1. ↑ Gander, Kashmira (7 July 2015). "Isis flag: What do the words mean and what are its origins?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Zelin, Aaron Y. (29 January 2019). "New video message from The Islamic State: "Fulfilling the Promise – Wilāyat al-'Irāq, Kirkūk"".
  3. ↑ "Statement of ISIS – The Battle of Brussels". Investigativeproject.org (in Arabic).
  4. ↑ "ISIS ID CARD". gdb.rferl.org.
  5. ↑ Breslow, Jason M. (17 May 2016). "Who Was the Founder of ISIS?". Frontline. PBS.
  6. ↑ "Islamic State Editorial on New Speech by Spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajir: Translation and Analysis".
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Islamic state confirms death of its leader, names new chief". Reuters. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Islamic State confirms Baghdadi is dead, appoints successor". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Rubin, Alissa J. (5 July 2014). "Militant Leader in Rare Appearance in Iraq". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (24 January 2016). "An Account of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi & Islamic State Succession Lines". Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi's Blog.
  11. ↑ "Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli". Rewards for Justice. United States Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Schmidt, Michael (25 March 2016). "A Top ISIS Leader Is Killed in an Airstrike, the Pentagon Says". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Paton, Callum (10 March 2016). "New Isis leader in Libya – Abdel Qader al-Najdi threatens Daesh invasion of Rome through Africa". IB Times. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Eastern Libyan forces say they killed Islamic State leader". Reuters. 23 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "ISIS Leadership". Frontline. PBS. 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lister, Charles (2014). "Islamic State Senior Leadership: Who's Who" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2016.
  17. ↑ Garland, Chad (14 July 2016). "Islamic State says top commander is dead; Pentagon unsure". Stars and Stripes.
  18. ↑ Worley, Will (13 July 2016). "Isis confirms death of hugely popular 'minister of war' Omar al-Shishani". The Independent.
  19. ↑ Starr, Barbara (15 March 2016). "U.S. assesses ISIS operative Omar al-Shishani is dead". CNN.
  20. ↑ "Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili". Rewards for Justice. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Isis: US-trained Tajik special forces chief Gulmurod Khalimov becomes Isis 'war minister'". International Business Times. 6 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "IS 'minister of war' killed in Syria air attack, claims Russia". Middle East Eye. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  23. ↑ "Gulmurod Khalimov". Rewards for Justice. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Iraqi forces capture deputy of IS slain leader Baghdadi - PM". Reuters. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  25. ↑ "IS confirms death of propaganda chief Abu Mohammed al-Furqan - BBC News". BBC.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  26. ↑ "Here's What We Know About the 'Caliph' of the New Islamic State". Business Insider. AFP. 29 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "ISIS Spokesman Declares Caliphate, Rebrands Group as Islamic State". Jihadist News. SITE Intelligence Group. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  28. ↑ "Pentagon Confirms U.S. Strike in Syria Killed ISIL Leader". DoD News. United States Department of Defense. 12 September 2016.
  29. ↑ "Islamic State group names its new leader as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi". BBC News. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  30. ↑ "Islamic State names new leader, confirms death of predecessor". France 24. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  31. ↑ Pool, Jeffrey (16 December 2004). "Zarqawi's Pledge of Allegiance to Al-Qaeda: From Mu'Asker Al-Battar, Issue 21". Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 2, no. 24. Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  32. ↑ "Al-Qaeda disavows ISIS militants in Syria". BBC News. 3 February 2014.
  33. ↑ Holmes, Oliver (3 February 2014). "Al Qaeda breaks link with Syrian militant group ISIL". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  34. ↑ Laskar, Rezaul H. (29 January 2015). "IS announces expansion into AfPak, parts of India". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  35. ↑ Elbagir, Nima; Cruickshank, Paul; Tawfeeq, Mohammed (7 March 2015). "Boko Haram purportedly pledges allegiance to ISIS". CNN.
  36. ↑ Gambhir, Harleen (23 June 2015). "ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia's North Caucasus Region". Institute for the Study of War.
  37. ↑ "ISIS 'essentially moved' its Syria HQ from Raqqa to Deir ez-Zor province". RT. 23 April 2017.
  38. ↑ "Syrian army captures Mayadin from ISIS near Deir ez-Zor". Rudaw. 14 October 2017.
  39. ↑ Benhaida, Sarah; al-Rubaye, Ahmad (26 October 2017). "Iraq forces launch 'last big fight' against IS". Rudaw.
  40. ↑ "Anti-IS forces converge on Syria border town". Agence France-Presse. 4 November 2017 – via Yahoo News.
  41. ↑ "Syrian army & allies capture last major ISIS held town in Syria". RT. Russia: TV-Novosti. 4 November 2017.
  42. ↑ Bussoletti, Francesco (29 June 2018). "Syria, the Isis pockets of resistance at Deir Ezzor are reduced to two". Difesa & Sicurezza.
  43. ↑ Aboufadel, Leith (13 December 2018). "Breaking: SDF captures Daesh's de facto capital in Syria". Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  44. ↑ "US-backed fighters seize east Syria village from ISIS". The National.
  45. ↑ Aboufadel, Leith (24 January 2019). "ISIL's reign over eastern Euphrates nearing its end – map". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  46. ↑ Callimachi, Rukmini (24 January 2019). "Down to Its Last 2 Villages in Syria, ISIS Still Fights Back". The New York Times.
  47. ↑ Aboufadel, Leith (7 February 2019). "ISIS squeezed into last areas as SDF troops capture 2 villages east of the Euphrates (MAP)". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  48. ↑ Hussein, Rikar (9 February 2019). "US-backed Fighters Launch Final Push to Defeat IS in Syria". Voice of America.
  49. ↑ "US-allied Syrian force declares victory over Islamic State". The Washington Post. 23 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  50. ↑ 50.00 50.01 50.02 50.03 50.04 50.05 50.06 50.07 50.08 50.09 50.10 50.11 50.12 50.13 50.14 50.15 50.16 50.17 50.18 50.19 50.20 50.21 50.22 50.23 50.24 50.25 50.26 50.27 50.28 50.29 50.30 50.31 50.32 50.33 "México aparece entre los países amenazados por el ISIS" [Mexico appears among the countries threatened by ISIS]. El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Prisa. 25 November 2015.
  51. ↑ Farmer, Ben; Mehsud, Saleem (15 July 2018). "ISIS targets Taliban in fight for Afghanistan". Thenational.ae.
  52. ↑ Khettab, Djamila Ould (30 December 2015). "Algeria a 'symbolic target' for ISIL". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera Media Network.
  53. ↑ "OKRA Home". Global Operations. Department of Defense – Government of Australia. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  54. ↑ Porter, Tom (13 September 2014). "Isis Use Picture of \'Cyclops Baby\' to Recruit Fighters for Apocalyptic Battle". International Business Times.
  55. ↑ Stonington, Joel (9 September 2014). "Is This Cyclops Baby the Muslim Antichrist?". Vocativ. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  56. ↑ Romero, Simon; Schmidt, Michael (1 August 2016). "As ISIS Posts in Portuguese, U.S. and Brazil Bolster Olympics Security". The New York Times.
  57. ↑ "Operation IMPACT". National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  58. ↑ Osbourne, Samuel (1 March 2017). "Isis threatens China and vows to 'shed blood like rivers'". The Independent.
  59. ↑ "Germany to strip dual-nationals who fight for Isis of citizenship". Financial Times.[full citation needed]
  60. ↑ Kalmouki, Nikoleta (25 September 2014). "Greece Brings War Against the Islamic State".
  61. ↑ "L'Italia pronta a bombardare Isis in Iraq. La Difesa: ipotesi da valutare". Corriere della Sera. 6 October 2015.
  62. ↑ Kumenov, Almaz (14 May 2019). "Kazakhstan evacuates citizens from Syria, arrests some". Eurasianet.
  63. ↑ "Pro-Isis hackers attack North Korean airline Facebook page". The Guardian. AFP. 14 January 2015.
  64. ↑ Paraszczuk, Joanna (15 March 2015). "Kyrgyzstan Bans IS, Designates It As Terror Group". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  65. ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (20 July 2018). "Malaysia launches crackdown on Isis after threats to kill the king and prime minister". The Guardian.
  66. ↑ Ucko, David H. (28 December 2017). "Trouble in Paradise: Mauritus Tries to Ward off Islamic Radicalization". World Politics Review.
  67. ↑ "Islamic State group: Nicaragua arrests four suspected members". BBC News. 26 June 2019.
  68. ↑ Johnson, Bridget (30 December 2018). "Barcelona Terror Alert Coincides with New Spanish-Language ISIS Threats". Homeland Security Today.
  69. ↑ "Sri Lanka bombings: Isis claims responsibility for deadly church and hotel attacks on Easter Sunday". The Independent. 23 April 2019.
  70. ↑ Callimachi, Rukmini; Kramer, Andrew E. (31 July 2018). "Video Purports to Show Tajikistan Attackers Pledging Allegiance to ISIS". The New York Times.
  71. ↑ McAdams, John (7 August 2017). "The President of Turkmenistans Anti-ISIS Propaganda Video is Straight out of an '80s Action Movie". Wide Open Spaces.
  72. ↑ "Uzbekistan to receive and rehabilitate 148 women and children from ISIS". AlShahidWitness.com. 3 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
  73. ↑ Juan Guaidó [@jguaido] (4 September 2019). "Desde la @AsambleaVE hemos declarado a la disidencia de las FARC, ELN, Hamas, Hezbollah e ISIS como grupos terroristas, ordenándoles a todos los cuerpos de seguridad del Estado proteger nuestra soberanía e integridad territorial frente a la amenaza que representan estos grupos" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  74. ↑ "Badr Organization Destroys ISIS Car Bomb". Military.com. 5 June 2015.
  75. ↑ Illingworth, Andrew (22 December 2017). "Combat footage: Iraqi forces battle ISIS in east Syria". Al Masdar News. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  76. ↑ Musa, Rami (10 June 2015). "Al-Qaida-linked militants attack IS affiliate in Libya". Military Times.
  77. ↑ Farmer, Ben (24 January 2019). "Taliban agree Isil and Al-Qaeda will be barred from Afghanistan in major concession during talks with US". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited.
  78. ↑ Cockburn, Patrick (16 November 2014). "War with Isis: Islamic militants have army of 200,000, claims senior Kurdish leader". The Independent.
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 Gartenstein-Ross-ROSS, Daveed (9 February 2015). "How many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?". War on the Rocks.
  80. ↑ "Saddam's former army is secret of Baghdadi's success". Reuters. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  81. ↑ "Operation Inherent Resolve and other overseas contingency operations" (PDF). US Department of Defense. 31 December 2018.
  82. ↑ "Briefing With Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy for the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS Ambassador James Jeffrey". state.gov. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  83. ↑ Shinkman, Paul D. (27 December 2017). "ISIS By the Numbers in 2017". U.S. News & World Report.
  84. ↑ Jones, Seth G.; Dobbins, James; Byman, Daniel; et al. (2017). "Rolling Back the Islamic State". RAND Corporation. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  85. ↑ Zelin, Aaron Y. (June 2014). The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement (PDF). Research Notes (Report). Vol. 20. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  86. ↑ Arabic: الدَّوْلَةُ الْاسْلَامِيَّةُ فِي الْعِرَاقِ وَالشَّامِ ad-Dawlat al-Islāmiyya fī’l-‘Irāq wa’sh-Shām
  87. ↑ Lizie Dearden (23 September 2014). "Isis vs Islamic State vs Isil vs Daesh: What do the different names mean – and why does it matter?". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  88. ↑ Ian Black (21 September 2014). "The Islamic State: is it Isis, Isil – or possibly Daesh?". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  89. ↑ Tooth, John-Paul (18 November 2015). "Why Does Islamic State Hate Being Called 'Daesh'?". Forces Network. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  90. ↑ "What Does 'Daesh' Mean and Why Does ISIS Hate It?". NBC News. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  91. ↑ "How a Libyan city joined the Islamic State group". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  92. ↑ "ISIS accepts Boko Haram pledge, says would-be recruits can go to Nigeria - CBC News". CBC. Associated Press. 13 March 2015 [last update 2:43 AM ET].
  93. ↑ therearenosunglasses (18 May 2014). "The dangerous spread of Wahhabi "Holy Fascism" | ThereAreNoSunglasses". Therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  94. ↑ "Profile: Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)". 7 January 2014. BBC. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  95. ↑ Ashraf, Afzal (16 September 2014). "Viewpoint: Why Islamic State will not endure" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  96. ↑ Rise of ISIS: a threat we can't ignore - p 8, Jay Sekulow - 2014.
  97. ↑ Cockburn, Patrick (9 June 2014). "Battle to establish Islamic state across Iraq and Syria". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  98. ↑ Liz Sly (3 February 2014). "Al-Qaeda disavows any ties with radical Islamist ISIS group in Syria, Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  99. ↑ Wood, Graeme C.A. March 2015. The Atlantic What ISIS really wants
  100. ↑ Kibble, David G. "Dabiq, the Islamic State's Magazine: A Critical Analysis." Middle East Policy 23.3 (2016): 133-143
  101. ↑ Situation called dire in west Iraq. The Washington Post, 2006-SEP-10.
  102. ↑ "Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker". The Washington Post, 28 November 2006
  103. ↑ "Reporting under al-Qaida control". MSNBC. 27 December 2006. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  104. ↑ Engel, Richard (17 January 2007). "Dangers of the Baghdad plan". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  105. ↑ "Iraq jailbreak highlights al-Qaeda affiliate's ascendancy". The Washington Post. 23 July 2013.
  106. ↑ "Islamic law comes to rebel-held Syria". The Washington Post. 23 July 2013.
  107. ↑ "Al Qaeda tightens grip on western Iraq in bid for Islamic state". Reuters. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  108. ↑ Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Iraq, In depth, Continued armed conflict after USA's troop withdrawal from Iraq, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=77&regionSelect=10-Middle_East# Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  109. ↑ "Zawahiri disbands main Qaeda faction in Syria". 8 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  110. ↑ "Iraqi al-Qaeda chief rejects Zawahiri orders". Al Jazeera. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  111. ↑ Gul Tuysuz, Raja Razek, Nick Paton Walsh (6 November 2013). "Al Qaeda-linked group strengthens hold in northern Syria". CNN. Retrieved 3 December 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  112. ↑ "Sunni militants drive Iraqi Army out of Mosul". The New York Times. 10 June 2014.
  113. ↑ "Iraq city of Tikrit falls to ISIL fighters". Al Jazeera. 11 June 2014.
  114. ↑ "The Blue Man" – via www.imdb.com.
  115. ↑ Burns, John F. (6 June 2006). "Uncovering Iraq's horrors in desert graves". The New York Times.
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