"We hail and join hands with all Iraqi jihadist groups to continue the
path of jihad," the group said. "We say to you that you have brothers in
religion and nationality that raised the flag of jihad [and] resistance and
kept up an Islamic jihadist front against the enemy."
Turkmens are non-Arab Muslims who came from neighboring Turkey.
Turkmens, who live around Kirkuk, have complained of being harmed by the
Kurdish autonomous government and militias in northern Iraq.
Ankara has sought to protect the rights of Turkmens, particularly in
their claim of crude oil reserves in northern Iraq. Turkmens were said to
number around three million, making them the third largest ethnic group --
after Arabs and Kurds — in Iraq.
On Feb. 15, the Martyr Saighan Battalion released its first communique,
which pledged to expel the coalition. The group said Turkmen young men have
organized an insurgency network in Kirkuk to stop the U.S. exploitation of
Iraqi oil reserves.
"Together we will defeat the infidels as we did a century ago," the
Martyr Saighan Battalion said. "We will work with you to restore the ummah's
glory and become one nation under one caliphate again."
In August 2007, the Al Qaida-aligned Islamic State of Iraq praised
Turkmen insurgents. So far, no attacks by the Turkmen have been reported.
"The Iraqi government's continuous negligence with respect to Turkmen
claims of unjust treatment can be expected to encourage more Turkmen to ally
themselves with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq," Abdul Hameed Bakier, a
Jordanian-based counter-insurgency expert, said.
