There were a number of groups in Iraq opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein.

They can be roughly divided into three groups:

• Shi'a groups in the south
• Kurds in the north, organizing Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991
• Arab opposition groups suppressed in Baghdad

Groups include:

• the umbrella group Iraqi National Congress
• two Kurdish factions:
  • Kurdistan Democratic Party
  • Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
• the monarchist group the Constitutional Monarchy Movement
• the Iraqi National Accord
• the Iran-supported Shiite groups Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and Islamic Dawa Party