Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was a Salafi jihadist terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targeted bombing on 7 June 2006 in Hibhib, Iraq by the United States Air Force.

The group was