The Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) was an umbrella group of Sunni Islamist groups that existed from January to October 2006. It united al-Qaeda in Iraq with other Sunni groups during the Iraq War, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri served as its leaders during its short existence. In October 2006, the groups formed the Islamic State of Iraq, led by Emir Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, and the MSC disbanded in favor of the ISI.