SUMMARY

IMK (Islamic Movement of Kurdistan) originally emerged in 1987, led by Mulla Osman bin Abdulaziz (sometimes called Mulla Uthman Abd al Aziz). Abdulaziz declared a wholy war against the Iraqi government in the 1980s but there are no reports that the group would at any point have been involved in the state based conflict. The Sunni Muslim dominated IMK emerged instead as an Islamic political movement and gained supporters among those in northern Iraq that had been against the Kurdish nationalist groups, such as PUK (Yeketî Niştîmanî Kurdistan, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party). The formation of the group was supported by Iran, but Abdulaziz also had connections with Saudi Arabia through the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Iran had started to support the emergence of an Islamic movement in Iraqi Kurdistan during the Iran-Iraq war. The support from Iran also stretched further than the initial formation of the group, at times Iran assisted IMK military operations with artillery fire.

The bulk of popular support for IMK came from the city of Halabja. Not only did Abdulaziz stem from this city but following the Iraqi government’s chemical attacks against the population in 1988 IMK was able to also gain the support of those that had previously been against the Kurdish nationalist movements. In the 1991 parliamentary elections in Kurdistan the party received some 5 per cent of the votes but did not get parliamentary seats due to the 7 per cent threshold.

The IMK has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.