Reuters

Who is the U.S. targeting in Iraq air strikes?

Fighters of the Islamic State threaten to take Erbil in northern Iraq. Who is the man behind IS and what are his aims?

Targeted air strikes Friday followed President Obama's authorization late Thursday. With the purpose of safeguarding American interests in Iraq, the U.S. hit mobile forces of the Islamic State militant group.  

The Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State quickly conquered Iraqi cities in the north, and continue their press forward toward cities in the south.

The President alluded that Erbil would be left defenseless, and that the U.S. would aid the Yazidi people of Iraq who are in immediate danger from Islamic State rebels in the Sinjar Mountains.

The man behind the Sunni insurgency is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, someone with a $10 million bounty on his head.

Bagdadi is a native Iraqi, born Ibrahim al-Samarrai some 50 miles north of Baghdad in the city of Samarra. Baghdadi claims to trace his lineage to the Prophet Muhammad, giving him added legitimacy as a religious leader.

In 2005, he was captured by U.S. forces and was believed to be a middle-ranked militant in the Sunni insurgency. After his release, he took over as head of al-Qaeda's Iraq branch. The leader at the time, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, was killed in a U.S.-led raid.

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's road to caliph in the newly declared Islamic State can best be understood in light of the splintering of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Last year, he openly defied the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri when he joined forces with Jabhat al-Nusra, a militia fighting in Syria.

Al Jazeera obtained a letter from Zawahiri ordering Baghdadi to keep the groups separate. But Baghdadi pressed forward and brought most of the Nusra forces under his control, along with a vast territory that spans parts of northern Iraq and Syria.

Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?

What does his claim of being a descendant of Muhammad mean in terms of his leverage and influence? 

What are the aims of the Islamic State and what is its influence in the region?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.

Laith Kubba

Laith Kubba is the director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment of Democracy. He has had extensive involvement in Iraqi politics, including in 2005 being a senior adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and a spokesman for the Iraqi government. From 1993 to 1998, he was the director of international relations at Al-Khoei Foundation in London. 

Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?

Laith Kubba: He has emerged out of 10 years in occupation in Iraq. He is very intelligent and now represents a phenomenon where he merges all the tools of political Islam with all the tools of Al-Qaeda. Baghdadi is not just someone who is a basic politician or ideologue nor violent like a member of Al-Qaeda but a hybrid of both. And within a very short period of time, he has not only demonstrated leadership skills, but he has a vision and is acting on it.

Baghdadi declared a caliphate, and anyone who knows theology and the background would realize that this declaration, according to traditional fiqh, puts an obligation of anyone who is religiously observant to declare allegiance. There hasn't been a caliph for 100 years, the last one was during the Ottoman Empire. Even Saudi Arabia doesn't declare themselves a caliph. No one does. 

Baghdadi has delivered, changing the name from the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant to the Islamic State. Declaring himself a caliph and asking people to pledge allegiance. We are not only looking at a person, which is very important, but more important, the message and what he delivers in a very short period of time is beginning to concern people.

There will be thousands of people joining him as either fighters or sending him money.

Mohamed Ghilan

In 2007, Mohamed Ghilan began his full time studies in the Islamic tradition after making connections with several Muslim scholars. In the past few years, he has been traveling to intensively study aspects of Islam relating to theology, creed, jurisprudence, hadith, foundational principles, Arabic, poetry, spiritual purification and Quranic sciences.

What does his claim of being a descendant of Muhammad mean in terms of his leverage and influence?

Mohamed Ghilan: In order to gain the position of a caliph or leader and both Sunni and Shia support for his ISIL cause — he would have leverage to being elected as leader. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi does not have the ability to sway opinion. This is where he is facing some difficulty. Some of his commanders have gone astray for unknown reasons. They may go and organize themselves if Baghdadi doesn't shape up. They all go back to the same source but neglect the fact that they all have a different understanding of that fact. That is why Baghdadi said in his weekend sermon, "If you see me on the right path, help me. If you see me on the wrong path, advise me and halt me."

Judith Yaphe

Judith Yaphe is an adjunct professor at the Elliott School and a senior research fellow and the Middle East project director for the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Before joining the INSS in 1995, she served for 20 years as a senior analyst on Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf issues in the office of Near Eastern and South Asian analysis at the CIA.

What is the connection to Al-Qaeda? Where does the divide come in between the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda?

Judith Yaphe: The original Al-Qaeda was run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was very active in the first Iraqi intifada. He was killed sometime in 2006 or 2007. Zarqawi did a lot of terrorism in Jordan and then moved to Iraq.

The ISIL was taken over by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi when he got out of prison. He has built it into a very well organized and functional group. They are well prepared. ISIL or IS's successes are due either to a military prowess or the collapse of the Iraqi army. It was able to build support and knowledge of those Iraqis in previous government administrations who left in anger and disgrace. 

Baghdadi's goals are different. He is interested in global caliphate. You don't need borders if it's one state.

Al-Qaeda does steer away from anti-Shia violence. This sentiment was gaining support, but Baghdadi told them to end the sentiment and to attack them as well. Even Osama bin Laden did not target Shias. When leaders of Al-Qaeda refused to follow the demand to attack Shias, Baghdadi told them he will not take orders from the terrorist organization anymore.

Baghdadi believes the Shia are apostates and they must be eradicated, provoking a civil war with the Shia. After blowing up the shrine in Samarra, Baghdadi has his sights on Najaf and Karbala, the dens of Shia iniquity.

The above panel was assembled for the broadcast of “Inside Story” to discuss.

For future hard-hitting conversations, find Al Jazeera America on your TV.

This article has been updated from one previously posted July 7, 2014 to reflect breaking news.

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Related

Places
Iraq, Syria
Topics
ISIL

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