Rebel Soup: 'Multiple groups may be joining ISIS jihadists in fight against Iraqi govt'

``Of course the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is experienced, it's composed of many hardened fighters. What also makes this interesting and what raises a lot of questions about what's going on is that there are many forces fighting under the name of ISIS. What we are seeing is that the fighters are fighting under the banner of ISIS, and at the same time, it seems there are other groups. You have the forces of the former vice president of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is of the Naqshbandi, the Sufi order. You have Iraqi officers who are from Saddam Hussein's army, who come from the Tikrit area and the Mosul area, and probably that explains [how] military tactics were used, because these were very effective. There was professional planning here. Also, the Baathists, the former Baathists, may also have been involved, as well as the tribes. These people have a common stand against Prime Minister Maliki. They're all opposed to Maliki. At the same time, I don't think these groups have the same objectives. For example, ISIS wants to have an Islamic caliphate. I don't think this is necessarily shared by some of the Sufi groups, and it wouldn't be shared by the former Iraqi army officers, or the Baath Party. Nevertheless, right now, they may be working together against Maliki.''