The group was founded in Zarqa, Jordan in 1993 when Zarqawi helped al-Maqdisi gather a group of veteran Afghan Arab mujahedeen fighters to stage a coup to overthrow the Jordanian government.
The group was established in Zarqa, Jordan in 1993 under the leadership of Zarqawi and al-Maqdisi. They gathered veteran Afghan Arab mujahedeen fighters to initiate an attempt to overthrow the Jordanian government.