Sons of Iraq
former Iraqi military group
The Sons of Iraq (Arabic: أبناء العراق Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq), also known as al-Sahwah (Arabic: الصحوة, lit. 'the awakening'), were a coalition in the Al Anbar governorate in Iraq between Sunni tribal leaders as well as former Saddam-era Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. A moderate group, they received extensive funding from the US. The group's creation was spearheaded by US General David Petraeus to defeat AQI in Al Anbar by providing hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to tribal leaders and fighters.
After arriving into power, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relied on sectarian policies to consolidate his power. Maliki denounced the Sons of Iraq as a national threat, actively dismantling them and refusing to integrate them into Iraqi security services. Sunnis formerly serving with the group were faced with options including becoming unemployed or joining the Islamic State. This turn of events is considered a key factor that contributed to the failure of Iraq to stabilize, ultimately leading to the War in Iraq (2013–17).
Other names
The Sons of Iraq were also known by numerous names:
Anbar's Salvation (Arabic: إنقاذ الأنبار Inqādh al-Anbār) or Anbar Salvation Council (Arabic: مجلس إنقاذ الأنبار majlis inqadh al-Anbār). In Arabic the council is known as Sahawa Al Anbar (Arabic: صحوة الأنبار), abbreviated SAA when referred to by the US Army. The council has become a model for awakening movements across Iraq, though the Iraqi Defense Ministry has said that it plans to disband the Awakening groups due to concerns about their origins and future intent.
National Council for the Salvation of Iraq (Arabic: المجلس الوطني لإنقاذ العراق al-Majlis al-Waṭanī li-Inqādh al-ʻIrāq)
Sunni Salvation movement (Arabic: حركة الإنقاذ السني Ḥarakat al-Inqādh al-Sunnī)
National Council for the Awakening of Iraq (Arabic: المجلس الوطني لصحوة العراق al-Majlis al-Waṭanī li-Ṣaḥwat al-ʻIrāq)
Sunni Awakening movement (Arabic: حركة الصحوة السنية Ḥarakat al-Ṣaḥwah al-Sunnīyah)
Awakening movements in Iraq are also referred to as:
"Mercenaries" (Maliki aide, al-Qa'eda)
U.S. military/Government of Iraq:
"Concerned Local Citizens" – CLC
"Sons of Iraq" – SOIZ
"Very Worried Iraqis"
"Critical Infrastructure Security" – CIS
"Abna Al-Iraq" – AAI
"Sahwa" militia
"Former Sunni insurgents" – CFR Senior Fellow Steven Simon
Overview
The movement started among Sunni tribes in Al Anbar governorate in 2005 to become an ad hoc armed force across the country in less than a year.
The public source identifies “Sons of Iraq” as former Iraqi military group. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sons, Iraq and former.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2420193. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2005 and 2013.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sons of Iraq” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.