Iraq, Syria blast caliphate declaration

In this Sunday, June 29, 2014 photo an Iraqi refugee leaves his hometown Mosul, walking towards Irbil, on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. The al-Qaida breakaway group that has seized much of Syria and Iraq has formally declared the establishment of a new Islamic state, demanding allegiance from Muslims worldwide in a move that could further strain relations with other militant groups. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, June 29, 2014 photo an Iraqi refugee leaves his hometown Mosul, walking towards Irbil, on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. The al-Qaida breakaway group that has seized much of Syria and Iraq has formally declared the establishment of a new Islamic state, demanding allegiance from Muslims worldwide in a move that could further strain relations with other militant groups. (AP Photo)

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

BAGHDAD -- A militant group's declaration of an Islamic state in territory it controls in Syria and Iraq touched off celebrations among its followers but drew condemnation and even ridicule from rivals and officials in Baghdad and Damascus.

The declaration of a caliphate was a bold move by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, not just announcing its own state governed by Shariah law but also claiming legitimacy as a successor to the first Islamic rule created by the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula 14 centuries ago.

In an announcement Sunday, the group proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to be the caliph and demanded all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him.

The move risks straining alliances with other Iraqi Sunnis who helped the militants seize control of large parts of the country's north and west last month.

Through brute force and meticulous planning, the Sunni extremist group -- which said it was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant -- has carved out a large chunk of territory that has effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria and laid the foundations of its proto-state. Along the way, it has battled Syrian rebels, Kurdish militias, and the Syrian and Iraqi militaries.

After the announcement, Islamic State fighters in their northern Syrian stronghold of Raqqa paraded through the city. Some of the revelers wore traditional robes and waved the group's black flags in a central square, while others zoomed around in pickups against a backdrop of celebratory gunfire.

The Islamic State expelled rival rebel groups from Raqqa in the spring, turning the city of 500,000 along the banks of the Euphrates River into an image of the state it envisions. Activists from Raqqa say music has been banned, Christians must pay an Islamic tax for protection, and violators of the strict interpretation of Islamic law are killed in the main square.

It is unclear whether the Islamic State's declaration heralds the imposition of the same rules elsewhere. So far, the group has taken a more moderate approach in cities under its control in Iraq, including the northern city of Mosul and the central city of Tikrit, choosing to overlook some practices it considers forbidden. But the extremist faction was also more lenient in towns in Syria before eventually tightening its hold.

The announcement was greeted with condemnation and disdain elsewhere in Syria, including from rival rebel groups that have been fighting the Islamic State since January.

"The gangs of al-Baghdadi are living in a fantasy world. They're delusional. They want to establish a state, but they don't have the elements for it," said Abdel-Rahman al-Shami, a spokesman for the Army of Islam, an Islamist rebel group. "You cannot establish a state through looting, sabotage and bombing."

The Islamic State has formed a loose alliance with other Sunni radicals in Iraq as well as former members of former leader Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, which has provided extra muscle to its assault.

Aymenn al-Tamimi, an analyst who specializes in Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, said he expects some of those allies will be disillusioned by the declaration.

"Now the insurgents in Iraq have no excuse for working with ISIS if they were hoping to share power with ISIS," he said, using one of several acronyms for the Islamic State. "The prospect of infighting in Iraq is increased for sure."

The militant offensive has seized upon widespread grievances among Iraq's Sunni minority and opposition to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

The offensive has prompted Shiite militias to reconstitute themselves, deepening fears of a return to the sectarian bloodletting that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

The government, which has long tried to portray the broader Sunni insurgency it faces as solely a terrorist threat, pointed to the Islamic State's declaration to back up its claims.

"This is what we have been saying, that this origination is a terrorist one that should be fought, but regrettably, there are some people, the tribal revolutionaries, who are providing cover for it," government spokesman Ali al-Moussawi said. "The world now bears a big and ethical responsibility to fight those terrorists who made Iraq and Syria their battlefield. We are fighting them not for the sake of Iraq only, but for the sake of the whole world."

Information for this article was contributed by Sinan Salaheddin, Sameer N. Yacoub and Qassim Abdul-Zahra of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/01/2014