In a November 2006 Al Jazeera interview, spokesman Ibrahim al-Shamary expanded on who the IAI considers foreign troops, "There are two occupations in Iraq. Iran on one side through the militias which they control and through direct involvement with the national guard and the intelligence services, that causes the killing and destruction of the Sunnis. ... And then there is the American occupation which destroys the Iraqi people." The group has released several joint statements with other groups such as Islamic Resistance Movement and the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance, which are known to be of an ikhwan background. In one of these joint statements, six groups (including the IAI) called for Iraqis to participate in the referendum on the October 2005 constitution by voting against it. (This was in conspicuous contrast to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which said that simply participating in voting is a compromise of the fundamentals of Islam, even if one were to vote against it.) When rumours spread in Iraq of the alleged demolition of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in April 2005, the IAI announced the formation of the "al-Aqsa Support Division." This group was to support Palestine in the armed struggle against Israel. The current status of the al-Aqsa Support Division is unknown, leading people to believe that the statement was merely rhetoric. The group has shown support for the Free Syrian Army and its fight against the Syrian government and allied Shiite paramilitary groups like Hezbollah, in June 2013 the Islamic Army in Iraq released a statement advising the FSA in methods in fighting. Foreign hostages The group was responsible for the abduction of the following persons who were released unharmed: Fereidoun Jahani, Iranian Consul. Georges Malbrunot (41) and Christian Chesnot (37), French journalists. Marwan Ibrahim al-Kassar and Mohammed Jawdat Hussein, Lebanese electrical workers. Angelo dela Cruz, Filipino truck driver. Rosidah Anom and Rafikan Binti Amin, female Indonesian nationals. The IAI is believed responsible for the execution of the following foreigners: Enzo Baldoni, Italian journalist killed on or about August 26, 2004. Raja Azad (49), engineer, and Sajad Naeem (29), his driver, Pakistani nationals working in Iraq for a Kuwaiti-based firm killed on or about July 28, 2004. Dalibor Lazarevski, Dragan Marković, and Zoran Naskovski, nationals of Republic of Macedonia, working for United Arab Emirates-based Soufan Engineering on contracts and subcontracts for the U.S. military and its private contractors. The three were seized in