A spectre has descended over Iraq. The spectre of Islamic fundamentalism. Across the nation, though particularly in Nineveh Province, Tel Kef Province, and Hamdaniya Province. In Mosul a labor union began distributing extremist texts alongside their regular union newsletters, and imams began preaching more and more violent viewpoints.

In Baghdad, en extremist publishing house started printing more radical pamphlets and Al-Anbar province saw a profound rise in people sympathizing with ISIS. Many Sunni groups began organizing “anti-anti-Ba’athist” clubs, where they lamented the state of the country since the deposition of the Ba’athists in 2003. “It was an unfair coup!” said one man, while stroking his long beard that he had grown out in the Salafist style. Another man told AP reporters that “we must be brothers. We cannot let the Shia divide us or the infidel undermine us.” He explained to the reporter that this is why he joined the Muslim Brotherhood.

In Baghdad, one imam was jumped by a roving street gang, who discovered Turkish lira on him as well as an iPhone that was set to Turkish language. The roving street gang, out of good faith, surrendered these to the authorities who tracked down the imam and arrested him, after searching his apartment and finding a paper trail of communication with Turkey’s MIT, as well as several editions of ISIS’ magazine “Dabiq.”

Further investigation led to Turkish connections on a number of the extremist ventures in the country including the Baghdad based publishing house.

While extremism and Ba’athism is on the rise in Iraq, the Iraqi authorities have found a connection to front companies established by Turkey’s MIT.