The Kurdistan Islamist Conflict was a military conflict in Iraqi Kurdistan between the Islamist militant group Ansar al-Islam and the two main Kurdish parties; the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The conflict began in 2001, but subsequently merged with the larger 2003 invasion of Iraq, which led to the defeat of Ansar al-Islam. After the invasion, Ansar al-Islam continued a low level terrorist insurgency against the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.