World | al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq Plots Comeback as US Departs Disgruntled Awakening forces offered raises to switch sides again By Kevin Spak Posted Aug 11, 2010 7:00 AM CDT Copied In this Saturday, March 28, 2009 file photo Awakening Council members stand guard in the Dora area of southern Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Loay Hameed, File) Al-Qaeda in Iraq is trying to make a comeback, by luring Awakening Council fighters to defect. Awakening leaders tell the Guardian that the terrorist group is offering to pay its fighters more than the $300 a month militia members get from the government. One says he believes 100 of his 1,800 fighters have defected, because they haven’t claimed their salaries in two months. For al-Qaeda, the time is ripe. The US is leaving, and the country’s politicians still haven’t formed a government, even though the election was five months ago. The mostly Sunni Awakening fighters, meanwhile, have frequently felt neglected by the Shiite-dominated government. “It is an easy market for al-Qaeda now,” says another Awakening leader. “The Iraqi government has disappointed them, and it is an easy choice to rejoin the terrorists.” Read These Next Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Report an error