The military of the Islamic State is the fighting force of the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
(IS). The total force size at its peak was estimated from tens of thousands to over two hundred thousand. ISIL's armed forces grew quickly during its territorial expansion in 2014. The ISIL military, including groups incorporated into it in 2014, openly operates and controls territory in
multiple cities in Libya and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
In October 2016, it
conquered the city of
Qandala
Qandala (also known as Candala, Andala, Bender Chor, Bandar Kor, Bender Kor or Taba Tege) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia.
Overview
Qandala sits on a wadi estuary, which forms a natural protective harbor fo ...
in
Puntland
Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
.
It conquered much of eastern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and western
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
in 2014, territory it lost finally only in 2019. It also has had border clashes with and made incursions into
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. ISIL-linked groups operate in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
and in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
(
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...](_blank)
).
In January 2015, ISIL was also confirmed to have a military presence in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
The Islamic State's military is based on
light infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
mobile units using vehicles such as gun-equipped pick-up trucks (
technicals
Technicals may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict
* TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group
See also
* Technical (disambiguation)
* Cambridge Technicals
Cambridge Tech ...
), motorbikes and buses for fast advances. They have also used artillery, tanks and armored vehicles, much of which they captured from the
Iraqi and
Syrian Armies.
ISIL has a long history of using truck and
car bombs,
suicide bombers
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
, and
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...
s. They have also deployed chemical weapons in Iraq and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
Command structure
![Strikes in Syria and Iraq 2014-09-23 ISIL Command and Control Center in ar-Raqqah, Syria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Strikes_in_Syria_and_Iraq_2014-09-23_ISIL_Command_and_Control_Center_in_ar-Raqqah%2C_Syria.jpg)
According to the
Institute for the Study of War
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a United States–based think tank founded in 2007 by Kimberly Kagan, providing research and analysis regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian War, the Wa ...
, ISIL's 2013 annual report reveals a
metrics
Metric or metrical may refer to:
* Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement
* An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement
Mathematics
In mathema ...
-driven military
command
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
* ...
, which is "a strong indication of a unified, coherent leadership structure that commands from the top down".
Middle East Forum
The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who serves as its president. MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal, the ''Middle East Quarterly''.
A ...
's
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi ( ar, أيمن جواد التميمي, ʾAyman Ǧawād at-Tamīmī) (born 1992) is an Iraqi living in Britain who specialises in the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ...
said, "They are highly skilled in urban
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
while the new
Iraqi Army simply lacks tactical competence."
ISIL's Military Council is made up of numerous former military officers from the
Saddam Hussein era. Commanders have included
Haji Bakr
Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, better known by the pseudonym Haji Bakr and sometimes his '' kunya'' Abu Bakr al-Iraqi, was a senior leader of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), heading its Military Council and leadi ...
, a colonel;
Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi
Adnan Ismail Najm al-Bilawi Al-Dulaimi ( ar, عدنان إسماعيل نجم البيلاوي الدليمي, extra= 1971 – 4 June 2014), better known by the nom de guerre Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi al-Anbari ( ar, أبو عبد الرحمن ا ...
, a captain; and
Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, a lieutenant colonel, who all graduated from the same Iraqi military academy.
[ ]Abu Muslim al-Turkmani
Fadel Ahmed Abdullah al-Hiyali (died 18 August 2015), better known by his noms de guerre Abu Muslim al-Turkmani ( ar, أبو مسلم التركماني), Haji Mutazz, or Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi, was the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) go ...
, al-Baghdadi's former deputy, was a Directorate of General Military Intelligence lieutenant colonel. All these men spent time detained in Camp Bucca
Camp Bucca ( ar, سجن بوكا, Sijn Būkā) was a forward operating base that housed a theater internment facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th ...
during the American occupation of Iraq Abu Omar al-Shishani
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani ( ar, أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, ...
, who was a sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
in the Georgian Army
The Defence Forces of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, tr), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia, tasked with the defense of the nation's indep ...
before leading an ISIL unit in Syria, also became a prominent commander.
ISIL's fighters are reportedly organised into seven branches: infantry, snipers, air defence, special forces, artillery forces, the "army of adversity", and the Caliphate Army. This force structure is largely replicated in each of its designated provinces, with the most skilled fighters and military strategists in each area serving in the special forces unit, which is not allowed to redeploy to other provinces. Parallel to this structure is the Caliphate Army, which is directed by ISIL's central command rather than its provincial leadership. Made up overwhelmingly of foreign fighters, it is deployed to assist in battles across the Islamic State. There is also an all-female Al-Khansaa Brigade
The Al-Khansaa Brigade ( ar, لواء الخنساء) was an all-women police or religious enforcement unit of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), operating in its ''de facto'' capital of Raqqa and Mosul.
History
The brigade was formed in ear ...
tasked with enforcing religious laws. According to battle reports, ISIL often operates in small mobile fighting units.
The Islamic State also operates outside areas it largely controls using a clandestine cell system
A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people (such as resistance fighters, sleeper agents, mobsters, or terrorists) such that such people can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization (such as l ...
. An ISIL-linked senior militant commander in Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
told Reuters; "They SIL
SIL, Sil and sil may refer to:
Organizations
* Servis Industries Limited, Pakistan
* Smithsonian Institution Libraries
* SIL International, formerly Summer Institute of Linguistics
* Apex Silver Mines (former American Stock Exchange ticker symb ...
teach us how to carry out operations. We communicate through the internet, ... they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells. They are teaching us how to attack security forces, the element of surprise. They told us to plant bombs then wait 12 hours so that the man planting the device has enough time to escape from the town he is in."
Tactics
The military of IS is organized as a mixture of an irregular insurgent force and a conventional army. In its Syrian and Iraqi territory, the Islamic State organized professional units for specialised tasks, with the "Tank Battalion", the "Artillery Battalion", and the "Platoons of Special Tasks" being among the most important. The first one employed heavy armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...
s, the second heavy artillery, while the last one was used as a rapid intervention force. The three regularly worked in tandem for breakthrough and important defense operations, made possible by a well-organised logistics system that kept operating even under regular bombardments by anti-ISIL forces.
In contrast to these elite forces, most of IS' troops were local militias with few heavy weapons, usually deployed as territorial defense units. Less trained or less valuable troops were sometimes involved with offensive operations, although their tactics were less sophisticated. The Islamic State stood in sharp contrast to some other jihadist organizations such as the Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...
which generally attempted to minimize their own casualties, and became notorious for its willingness to sacrifice many of its fighters. This is especially true in regard to ISIL's callous use of new recruits. Islamic State military training had a reputation for its strong focus on indoctrination, often to the detriment of more pertinent lessons. The organization's high command used inexperienced recruits for swarming and human wave tactics, often resulting in extremely high casualties. One high-ranking ISIL commander known for this approach was Abu Omar al-Shishani
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani ( ar, أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, ...
, who successfully employed swarming tactics during the Siege of Menagh Air Base
The siege of Menagh Air Base (also spelled ''Menegh'', ''Mannagh'', or ''Minakh'') was an armed confrontation between the Free Syrian Army and aligned Islamist rebel groups on one hand, and the Syrian Armed Forces on the other.
Background
Aft ...
and Battle of Al-Tabqa airbase. According to his reasoning, the enemy would eventually be overwhelmed or run out of ammunition regardless of the casualties among ISIL fighters. Regional expert Joanna Paraszuk sarcastically remarked that al-Shishani's tactics were based on the belief that "everyone want to be a Shahid
''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
" (martyr), although not all Islamic State commanders showed such a readiness to sacrifice troops.
Following the Siege of Kobanî
The siege of Kobanî was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 13 September 2014, in order to capture the Kobanî Canton and its main city of Kobanî (also known as Kobanê or Ayn al-Arab) in northern Syria, in the ''de facto'' ...
, which resulted in large losses among its veterans and commanders (including 2,000 militants killed), IS was forced to promote several inexperienced commanders and to rely even more than before on new recruits. As result, the tactics of the Islamic State's military became cruder. Paraszuk noted that the jihadists' strategies and tactics sometimes broke down completely due to this. For example, some troops were essentially ordered to "just run towards the nemyand fight or whatever" during the 2015 Battle of Hasakah, even though they were targeted by massive aerial bombardments and their attacks had no apparent strategic value.
Technicals play an important role for IS in a variety of combat purposes, ranging from quick-reaction forces, to tank equivalents, to self-defendable car bombs that can attack heavily defended targets.
In addition to suicide bomber attacks, IS also employs the use of special units called Inghimasi
Inghimasi ( ar, اِنْغِمَاسِيّ, Inġimāsīy, "become immersed"), also called shahid ( ar, شَهِيد, "martyr") and istishhadi ( ar, إِسْتِشْهَادِيّ, "martyrdom seeker"), are forlorn hope or suicide attack shock t ...
(Arabic for "become immersed"), who utilise both conventional firearms and suicide bombs, attacking enemy positions with their firearms, and then detonating their suicide bombs when they run out of ammunition or believe they are trapped. Their goal is specifically to inflict as many casualties as they can upon the enemy before dying, acting as a form of shock troops. Inghimasi are also deployed against civilians, such as in the November 2015 Paris attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
. Inghimasi may sometimes be deployed ''en masse'' but are usually deployed in small teams.
Troops
Troops in Iraq and Syria
In June 2014, the Islamic State had at least 4,000 fighters in Iraq. By September 2014, the CIA estimated that the group had grown to 20,000–31,500 fighters in Iraq and Syria, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put its estimate at around 80,000–100,000 total (up to 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq) by August 2014. An Iraqi Kurdish leader even estimated in November 2014 that the Islamic State's military had 200,000 fighters. The group's rapid growth was partially facilitated by IS forcing other rebel groups to fight for it, as well as conscripting individuals. In general, a large part of ISIL's Iraqi and Syrian armies consisted of local militias whose loyalty was generally somewhat dubious. These local forces were put under commanders from ISIL's core group, and only those groups who proved themselves trustworthy were provided with better weaponry. In 2015, Reuters quoted "jihadist ideologues" as claiming that IS has 40,000 fighters and 60,000 supporters. As a result of suffering major defeats from 2017 to 2019, the strength of IS was greatly reduced in the Middle East. By 2021, the group was estimated to field about 10,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, although it still possessed a far greater network of supporters and sympathizers which could potentially enable it to rapidly swell its ranks in the future.
Ethnically, the Islamic State's military is dominated by Sunni Arabs. However, the group also recruited Kurds in Iraq and Syria. However, IS became increasingly anti-Kurdish over time, and even began to use anti-Kurdish racism as recruiting tool.
Foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria
There are many foreign fighters in ISIL's ranks. In June 2014, ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' reported that "ISIS may have up to 6,000 fighters in Iraq and 3,000–5,000 in Syria, including perhaps 3,000 foreigners; nearly a thousand are reported to hail from Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
and perhaps 500 or so more from France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe." Chechen leader Abu Omar al-Shishani
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani ( ar, أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, ...
, for example, was made commander of the northern sector of ISIL in Syria in 2013. According to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', in September 2014 there were more than 2,000 Europeans and 100 Americans among ISIL's foreign fighters. As of mid-September 2014, around 1,000 Turks had joined ISIL, and as of October 2014, 2,400–3,000 Tunisians had joined the group. An ISIL deserter alleged that foreign recruits were treated with less respect than Arabic-speaking Muslims by ISIL commanders and were placed in suicide units if they lacked otherwise useful skills. According to a UN report, an estimated 15,000 fighters from nearly 70 countries have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join militant groups, including ISIL.
''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
'' has stated that according to jihadist ideologues, 10 percent of ISIL's fighters in Iraq and 30 percent of its fighters in Syria are from outside those countries.
As of September 29, 2015, the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
estimated that 30,000 foreign fighters had come to join ISIL. As of October 2015, 21% came from Europe, 50% from Western Asia or North Africa, and 29% from elsewhere; according to the Global Terrorism Index
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), and was developed by IT entrepreneur and IEP's founder Steve Killelea. The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global ...
and other sources, they were of the following nationalities:
List of nationalities of foreign fighters in ISIL
This is a list of nationalities of foreign fighters who joined ISIL from June 2014 to June 2018. This list does not include citizens of Syria, or Iraq. This list includes women and children who joined ISIL, some of whom may have been noncombatants. In total, 41,490 non-Iraqis and non-Syrians joined ISIL's main branch in these countries (32,089 were adult men), of whom 7,366 (5,930 were adult men) returned to their countries of departure, sometimes to face charges; most of the rest are presumed dead.
* : 5,000 (380 returnees)
* : 4,000 (900 returnees)
* : 3,950 (250 returnees)
* : 3,244 (760 returnees)
* : 3,000 (900 returnees)
* : 2,500
* : 1,910 (398 returnees)
* : 1,699 (236 returnees)
* : 1,502 (147 returnees)
* : 1,000
* : 960 (303 returnees)
* : 900
* : 900 (49 returnees)
* : 863 (63 returnees)
* : 850 (425 returnees)
* : 800 (183 returnees)
* : 600 (113-128 returnees)
* : 600
* : 600
* : 500
* : 498 (123 returnees)
* : 359 (133 returnees)
* : 323 (56 returnees)
* : 311 (150 returnees)
* : 300 (60 returnees)
* : 278 (87)
* : 272 (40 returnees)
* : 254 (94 returnees)
* : 214 (40 returnees)
* : 208 (30 returnees)
* : 200
* : 200 (17 returnees)
* : 155 (72 returnees)
* : 154 (8 returnees)
* : 150 (6 returnees)
* : 144 (44 returnees)
* : 145 (72 returnees)
* : 140 (11 returnees)
* : 140 (2 returnees)
* : 130
* : 129 (11 returnees)
* : 122 (43 returnees)
* : 120
* : 110
* : 100
* : 100 (40 returnees)
* : 100 (17 returnees)
* : 100
* : 100
* : 75 (11 returnees)
* : 70
* : 70 (14 returnees)
* : 60 (10 returnees)
* : 59 (7 returnees)
* : 50
* : 40 (25 returnees)
* : 32
* : 30
* : 11
* : 27 (10 returnees)
* : 23
* : 15
* : 15
* : 100
* : 15 (2 returnees)
* : 10
* : 10
* : 10 (2 returnees)
* : 6
* : 9
* : 8
* : 40
* : 3
* : 1–3
* : 7
* : 8
* : 3
* : 1
* : 1
* : 2
* : 2
* : 1
* : 1
* : 1
* : 1
* : 1
* : 1
* : 1
Allegiance to ISIL from groups outside Iraq and Syria
* '' Wilayat Algeria'' formed from the Algerian Jund al-Khilafah
Under the early Caliphates, a ''jund'' ( ar, جند; plural ''ajnad'', اجناد) was a military division, which became applied to Arab military colonies in the conquered lands and, most notably, to the provinces into which Greater Syria (the L ...
after it pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* '' Wilayat Barqa and others'' formed from the allegiance of Libyan militants like the Shura Council of Islamic Youth, and defectors formerly associated with Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.
* '' Wilayat Sinai'' formed from the majority of the membership of Egypt's Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM; ar, أَنْصَارُ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِس, Anṣār Bayt al-Maqdis, lit=Supporters of the Holy House), or Ansar Al-Quds (), was a jihadist, extremist militant group based in Egypt.
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis ...
* '' Wilayat Yemen'' formed from militants in Yemen, including defectors from Ansar al-Sharia Ansar al-Sharia or Ansar al-Shariah is a name used by a collection of radical or militant Islamist groups or militias, in at least eight countries. While they share names and ideology, they lack a unified command structure.
*Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen ...
and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
.
* '' Wilayat Najd and others'' formed from unidentified militants in Saudi Arabia.
* '' Wilayat Khorasan'' formed from the allegiance of militants from groups based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Jundallah, ''Tehreek-e-Khilafat'', the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU; uz, Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати/Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati; russian: Исламское движение Узбекистана ) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 ...
and dissident commanders formerly associated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...
.
* '' Wilayat Gharb Afriqiya'' formed from Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
pledging allegiance to ISIL.
* '' Wilayat al-Qawqaz'' formed from dissident militants of the Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...
in Chechnya and Dagestan who switched their allegiance to ISIL.
* Militants of the group ''Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade
The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade ( ar, لواء الشيخ عمر حديد, Liwāʾ ash-Shaykh ʿUmar Ḥadīd), also known as Islamic State in Gaza, is an Islamist militant group affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant that is ac ...
'' (Palestinian Territories) pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* Militants of the group Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based i ...
under Isnilon Totoni Hapilon
Isnilon Totoni Hapilon (March 10, 1968 – October 16, 2017), also known by the '' nom de guerre'' Abu Abdullah al-Filipini, was a Moro Filipino Islamist militant affiliated with ISIS. He was formerly leader of Abu Sayyaf Group, before its b ...
and Radullan Sahiron
Radullan Sahiron is a Moro Islamic militant who is the leader of Abu Sayyaf. He is said to have taken command of the organization following the death of Khadaffy Janjalani in September 2006.
History
Sahiron was born in Kabbon Takas, Patikul, J ...
(Philippines, Malaysia). pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* Militants of the group ''Sons of the Call for Tawhid and Jihad'' (Jordan) pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* Militants of the group ''Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade
The Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade, also known as the Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade, was a Sunni jihadist group active in Lebanon. It first rose to prominence in November 2013 when it retaliated against the Shia Islamist group Hezbollah, afte ...
'' (Lebanon) pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* The group ''Islamic State of the Maldives'' pledged allegiance to ISIL in July 2014.
* Members of Ansar Khalifah Philippines pledged allegiance to ISIL. And they start using ISIL props in their training.
* Some Bangladeshi terrorist cells pledged allegiance to ISIL and starts attacking civilians and bloggers.
* Some members of Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid
Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid or Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (literally ''Helpers of Tawhid Congregation'', abbreviated as JAT) is a splinter cell of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and the United States ...
, including leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir ( ; ar, أبو بكر باعشير, ʾAbū Bakr Bāʿašīr; ; ; born 17 August 1938) also known as Abu Bakar Bashir, Abdus Somad, and Ustad Abu ("Teacher Abu") is an Indonesian Muslim cleric and leader of Jamaah Ansharut Tau ...
and Mujahidin Indonesia Timur pledged allegiance.
* '' Abnaa ul-Calipha'' was formed by some Al-Shabaab dissidents in Puntland
Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...
, led by Abdul Qadir Mumin
Abdul al-Qādir Mū‘min (born possibly early 1960s) is a Somali islamist and he is the leader of the Islamic State in Somalia. He was formerly a senior religious authority in Al-Shabaab (militant group), al-Shabab.
History
Born in Qandala, Pu ...
, who pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2015. Since then, Al-Shabaab has unsuccessfully attempted to kill these defectors.
* Jabha East Africa, an Islamist group operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and Uganda, defected from Al-Qaeda and pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* In 2016, Abu-Walid al-Sahraoui and dissidents from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في بلاد المغرب الإسلامي, Tanẓīm al-Qā'idah fī Bilād al-Maghrib al-Islāmī), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to o ...
pledged allegiance to ISIL creating the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The group operates in Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...](_blank)
* Katibat Salman Al-Farisi (Salman the Persian
Salman the Persian or Salmān al-Fārsī ( ar, سَلْمَان ٱلْفَارِسِيّ), born Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān ( fa, ), was a Persian companion (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was raised as a Zoroastrian in Sasanian Persia, t ...
Battalion) was formed by a group of Iranian ISIL fighters in Iran to fight the Iranian government
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
.
* The ''City of Monotheism and Monotheists'' group, operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, has pledged allegiance to ISIL.
* ISIL claimed their first ever attack in Kashmir Valley that left one police officer dead. Afterwards, a video surfaced of an ISIL soldier named Abu al-Baraa al-Kashmiri pledging allegiance to ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
and forming the group Wilayat Kashmir. Abu al-Baraa is probably the leader of the group. In the video Abu al-Baraa called on Muslims in the Kashmir Valley to fight the Pakistani and the Indian governments and criticized the Islamic movement of Hizb-Lashkar-Jaish-Tehreek, declaring takfir
''Takfir'' or ''takfīr'' ( ar, تكفير, takfīr) is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ...
and jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
on it. He called on members of other insurgent groups operating in Kashmir (such as Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind
Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind ( ur, ) is an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militant group active in Kashmir. The group's stated objective is to impose Sharia law in Jammu and Kashmir and jihad against India.
Background
Zakir Rashid Bhat was an Is ...
and its leader Zakir Musa
Zakir Rashid Bhat (also known as Zakir Musa) was an Sunni Pan-Islamist, Kashmiri-separatist militant who became the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the killing of Burhan Wani and Sabzar Bhat, who were the former commanders of the same ...
) to pledge allegiance to ISIL, accusing the leaders of other insurgent groups of working for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
.
Child soldiers
ISIL is reported to employ child soldiers, known as " Cubs of the Caliphate", for both combat and propaganda purposes.
Weapons
Conventional weapons
The most common weapons used against US and other Coalition forces
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
during the Iraq insurgency were those taken from Saddam Hussein's weapon stockpiles around the country. These included AKM
The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior.
Introduc ...
variant assault rifles, PK machine gun
The PK (russian: Пулемёт Калашникова, transliterated as ''Pulemyot Kalashnikova'', or "Kalashnikov's machine gun"), is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
Designed in the ...
s and RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...
s. IS has been able to strengthen its military capability by capturing large quantities and varieties of weaponry during the Syrian Civil War and the post-withdrawal Iraqi insurgency Iraqi insurgency may refer to:
* Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), part of the Iraq War
** Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006), 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency
** Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), multi-sided civil war in Iraq
* Iraqi insurgency (20 ...
. These weapons seizures have improved the group's capacity to carry out successful subsequent operations and obtain more equipment. Weaponry that ISIL has reportedly captured and employed include SA-7 and Stinger
A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal.
An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of v ...
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s, M79 Osa
The M79 Osa ( sr, Оса; "wasp") is a Yugoslav-made portable 90 mm anti-tank weapon made of fibre-reinforced plastics. It resembles the French portable anti-tank launcher 89 mm LRAC F1. It consists of the launcher, a CN-6 sighting pi ...
, HJ-8
The HJ-8 or Hongjian-8 and Baktar Shikan (Pakistani version) () is a second generation tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided anti-tank missile system which was originally deployed by China's People's Liberation Army since the late 1980s.
...
and AT-4 Spigot
The 9K111 ''Fagot'' (russian: Фагот; "bassoon") is a second-generation tube-launched semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) wire-guided anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union for use from ground or vehicle mounts. The 9K111 F ...
anti-tank weapon
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and Military tactics, tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapon ...
s, Type 59 field guns and M198 howitzer
The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped ...
s, Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
s, T-54/55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
, T-72
The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...
, and M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s, M1117
The M1117 Guardian, also denoted Armored Security Vehicle (''ASV''), is an internal security vehicle based on the V-100 and V-150 Commando series of armored cars. It was developed in the late 1990s for service with the United States' Military ...
armoured cars, truck-mounted DShK
The DShK 1938 ( Cyrillic: ДШК, for russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, links=no, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped bu ...
guns, ZU-23-2
The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13.
Developm ...
anti-aircraft guns, BM-21 Grad
The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first com ...
multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
s, and at least one Scud missile.
ISIL shot down an Iraqi helicopter in October 2014, and claims to have shot down "several other" helicopters in 2014. Observers fear that they have "advanced surface-to-air missile systems" such as the Chinese-made FN-6
FN-6 or Feinu-6 () is a third-generation passive infrared homing (IR) man portable air defence system (MANPADS). Development from HN-5 missile, FN-6 missile is an export-oriented product and China's most advanced surface-to-air missile offered o ...
, which are thought to have been provided to Syrian rebels by Qatar and/or Saudi Arabia, and purchased or captured by ISIL.
Aircraft
ISIL also captured many inoperable fighter aircraft after capturing the Syrian airbase of Al-Tabqa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported in October 2014 that former Iraqi pilots were training ISIL militants to fly captured Syrian jets. Witnesses reported that MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
and MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...
jets were flying over al-Jarrah military airport, but the US Central Command said it was not aware of flights by ISIL-operated aircraft in Syria or elsewhere. On 21 October, the Syrian Air Force claimed that it had shot down two of these aircraft over al-Jarrah air base while they were landing.
Non-conventional
ISIL has a long history of using truck and car bombs, suicide bombers
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
, and improvised explosive devices
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
. It has become especially adept at the construction and use of truck and car bombs, most notably quite sophisticated models which were fitted with armour, machine guns, and/or firing port
A firing port, sometimes called a pistol port, is a small opening in armored vehicles, fortified structures like bunkers, or other armored equipment that allows small arms to be safely fired out of the vehicle at enemy infantry, often to cover v ...
s. These are mixtures of car bombs and technicals ("suicide bomber technical") that can approach heavily defended targets, suppressing the enemy while being protected from small-arms fire. Sometimes, ISIL even used armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
s as chassis for car bombs, or fitted them with unguided rockets to clear the path to the intended target.
ISIL captured nuclear materials from Mosul University
The University of Mosul is a public university located in Mosul. It is one of the largest educational and research centers in the Middle East, and the second largest in Iraq, behind the University of Baghdad.
The University of Mosul was closed b ...
in July 2014. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
, Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim
Dr. Mohamed Ali Alhakim ( ar, محمد علي الحكيم; born 1952 in Najaf, Iraq) is an Iraqi politician and diplomat. He was the foreign minister of Iraq from October 25, 2018 to May 12, 2020 in the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdel ...
said that the materials had been kept at the university and "can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction". Nuclear experts regarded the threat as insignificant. The International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
said that the seized materials were "low grade and would not present a significant safety, security or nuclear proliferation risk".
Chemical weapons
Reports suggested that ISIL captured Saddam-era chemical weapons from an Iraqi military base, and the group also forcibly enlisted the aid of scientists living in its territories to produce their own chemical weapons. ISIL managed to produce its own mustard gas, and employed it on battlefields in Iraq and Syria. According to one scientist involved in the project, the main value of the mustard gas to ISIL was not its impact on actual combat, but its effect in psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
. The production of chemical weapons slowed greatly from early 2016, however, as the United States and the Iraqi government targeted production facilities and killed or captured the leaders of the programme. Regardless, it is generally believed that ISIL remains in possession of hidden data and equipment to restart the production of chemical weapons in the future.
ISIL deployed mustard gas and chlorine gas
Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is ...
against forces of the Iraqi government, the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition, as well as unidentified chemical weapons against the Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
. According to the US military, ISIL used the chemical weapons effectively on a tactical level, but never managed to employ them in a way that impacted the larger strategic situation. The group produced not enough chemical weapons, being hampered not just by airstrikes and raids, but also lack of skilled personnel and equipment.
See also
* Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
* Military equipment of ISIL
* List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents.
Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic ...
* Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War
Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war have been numerous and serious, with United Nations reports stating that the war has been "characterized by a complete lack of adherence to the norms of international law" by the warring partie ...
References
Works cited
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Of ISIL
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant