Ansar al-Islam Targets PUK Leadership

Assassination attempts late March 13 of two high-ranking officials of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were timed within minutes of each other in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. These attacks are the latest in a string of assassination attempts — and successes — by the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Islam, and represent a concerted effort to behead PUK leadership in Iraq.