Terrorist groups - home based:
Ansar al-Islam (AAI): aim(s): expel western interests from Iraq and establish an independent Iraqi state based on its interpretation of Sharia area(s) of operation: headquartered in northern Iraq with its heaviest presence in Kirkuk, Tikrit, and Mosul; active in the western and central regions of the country; primarily targets Iraqi government, security, and police personnel for attacks and Iraqi citizens and politicians for kidnappings, executions, and assassinations; operates a paramilitary training camp in Ninawa Province, in the northwest along the border with western Syria; on 1 February 2004, two suicide bombers carried out simultaneous attacks at the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) regional offices in Erbil, where party leaders greeted hundreds of people gathered to attend the KDP and PUK reception to celebrate the beginning of Eid; at least 101 people were killed and over 130 others were injured, including scores of senior KDP and PUK officials; in another high-profile attack, on 21 December 2004, a suicide bomber killed 14 US soldiers, four contractors, and injured 70 more soldiers and civilians when he detonated his vest in Forward Operating Base Marez's mess hall in Mosul; majority of members are Iraqi Kurds or Iraqi Arabs who are Sunni Muslim
Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi (JRTN): aim(s): end external influence in Iraq and, ultimately, overthrow the government of Iraq to install a secular Ba'athist state within the internationally recognized borders of Iraq area(s) of operation: continues to attack Kurds who belong to any of the separatist Kurdish groups, Iraqi Government Military forces and facilities, and foreign military personnel; joined ISIL paramilitary forces in opposition to the Iraqi Government and played a major role in ISIL capturing Mosul from Iraqi security forces in 2014; JRTN and ISIL's relationship collapsed soon after ISIL took control of Mosul, denying JRTN a share in the take over; assessed in 2016 to have fewer than 5,000 members; majority of fighters are Iraqi Sunni Muslims following Naqshabandi Sufi Islam ideals
Kata'ib Hizballah (KH): aim(s): counter US influence and, ultimately, overthrow the Iraqi Government to install a government based on Shia Muslim laws and precepts area(s) of operation: headquartered in the Shia Muslim areas of Baghdad, with fighters increasingly active in Ninawa, Al Anbar, and Babil governorates in response to ISIL's territorial gains; targets mostly ISIL members, Sunni Muslims, and US personnel and interests; when fighting alongside the Iraqi army during the month-long offensive in May-June 2016 to retake the Shia Muslim-dominated city of Fallujah from ISIL, KH was among the Shia Muslim militias accused of beating and executing dozens of Sunni civilians in the recaptured city; until US military forces left the country in December 2011, KH earned a reputation for conducting numerous lethal IED and improvised rocket-assisted mortar (IRAM) attacks against US and coalition forces; an IRAM attack that killed a US civilian on 19 February 2008 at a US military base southeast of Baghdad was the group's first-known attack against anyone; the Iraqi Hizballah group that the late Secretary General Bassem al-MOUSAWI led is frequently confused with KH—the two groups are not affiliated; al-MOUSAWI was killed in early February 2017 in Basra Governorate
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) (Kongra-Gel): aim(s): establish Kurdistan, comprising territory in northern Iraq, eastern and southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, and northwestern Iran area(s) of operation: headquartered in northern Iraq in the Qandil Mountains, where it has strongholds in As Sulaymaniyah and Arbil governorates and on the Iraq-Iran border; stages attacks inside Turkey from Iraq, which has drawn Turkish forces on occasion into Iraq to combat Kurdistan Workers Party fighters; enjoys escalating influence in Iraq in recent years as leaders deepen ties to Iraqi political leaders and religious parties throughout the country, especially in the areas of Sinjar and Rabi'ah in Nineveh Governorate, northwestern Kirkuk, and Tuz Khurmatu District in Salah ad Din Governorate; engages heavily in recruiting Iraqi Kurdish youths

Terrorist groups - foreign based:
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): aim(s): replace the Iraqi Government with an Islamic state and implement ISIL's strict interpretation of Sharia; declared its intention to wipe out the Yazidi community, whose faith is one of the country's oldest area(s) of operation: operationally active throughout most of Iraq, particularly along the Iraq-Syria border; the country's second largest city, Mosul, was ISIL's most significant stronghold until recently; increasingly losing control over all of Mosul, but remained in control of western Mosul in early 2017, with fewer than 2,000 fighters in the city; assessed to have displaced at least 160,000 of the remaining civilians living in the city; 5,000-6,000 fighters had been stationed in Mosul as of late 2016; overall leader Abu Bakr al-BAGHDADI is reportedly based in the north, along with some of the other top leaders; targets religious and ethnic minorities and all groups or governments that oppose ISIL's hardline Sunni jihadist ideology, including perceived Sunni rivals; has killed thousands who refused to convert to Islam; has exploited natural resources, especially oil and wheat, and levied taxes and fees on companies and individuals in areas under its influence; fighters have ransacked and demolished numerous ancient sites that pre-date Islam, denouncing them as idolatrous; an estimated 3 million Iraqis have fled their homes because of ISIL and remained displaced inside Iraq as of early 2017; responsible for the deadliest single attack in Iraq since 2007 when operatives conducting coordinated bombings using IEDs and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices on 3 July 2016 in Karrada District in Baghdad, while the district was teeming with late-night shoppers during Ramadan; at least 320 people were killed, mostly Shia Muslims, and over 225 injured; mass grave sites have been found throughout regions under ISIL's control, some containing hundreds of bodies and others containing thousands; has used mustard and chlorine gas against civilian and military targets in Iraq; senior leaders Attallah Salman 'Abd Kafi al-JABURI and Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-AZAWI are connected with the group's chemical weapons development; recruits heavily in prisons