Kirkuk Extremists Vie for Power, Money

Another reason for the fighting has to do with money. Some sources say that part of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s millions were hidden away somewhere between Hawija and his hometown, Awja, and it’s been being used to fund violence and bombing. Other sources say it’s all a spat about ransom money.

The antagonism between the two has gone so far that recently when Ansar al-Sunna was trying to organize some bombs around the Kirkuk province, ISIS provided information to local intelligence agencies about their activities. This led to the arrest of a large number of Ansar al-Sunna members.

Qader was obviously pleased with that outcome. “The differences of opinion between these terrorist groups can only lead to an improvement in the security situation in Kirkuk,” he said.

However Ahmed al-Askari, a Kurdish member of the provincial council and head of the local security committee, says the fight between the two groups was no reason to become complacent. “The conflicts between them are associated with conflicts of their sponsors,” al-Askari told NIQASH. “All of these groups still share one doctrine and there’s no real difference between them. Any conflict is most likely to be short lived so we shouldn’t believe the threat of terrorism has left Kirkuk and its environs.”

(Source: Niqash)