Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Suleiman joined the Iraqi insurgency. His own tribe formed the nucleus of the resistance/insurgency against US forces and Shiite government forces in Iraq, due to the bombing of Fallujah and the targeting of Sunnis in Baghdad. However, in 2006 he and his armed tribesmen turned against Al-Qaeda, due to their often indiscriminate use of violence, as well as the fact that Al-Qaeda did not give enough respect to Anbar's sheikhs. Suleiman joined the Sons of Iraq movement, although he looked down on its leader, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, due to the small size of the Abu Risha tribe.