Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

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"ISIL", "Isil", "ISIS", "Daish", and "Daesh" redirect here. For other uses, see ISIL, Isis, and
Daish.
"Islamic State group" redirects here. For other Islamic states, see Islamic state.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

( Arabic)
ad-Dawlah al-Islmiyah fl-Irq wash-Shm

Participant in: the Syrian Civil War, Iraq War

(20032011), Iraqi insurgency, Second Libyan
Civil War, Boko Haram insurgency, War in
North-West Pakistan, War in Afghanistan,
Yemeni Civil War, and other conflicts

Primary target of: The Global War on Terrorism

and of the Military interventions against ISIL: in
Syria, in Iraq, in Libya, and in Nigeria.

Flag

Motto:
Bqiyah wa-Tatamaddad
"Remaining and Expanding"[1]
Anthem:
Ummat, qad lha fajrun
"My Nation, A Dawn Has Appeared"[2][3]

Military situation as of 13 April 2015, in the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts.

Controlled by Iraqi Government forces
Controlled by Syrian Government forces
Controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Controlled by Iraqi Kurdistan forces
Controlled by Syrian Kurdistan forces
Controlled by Syrian Opposition forces
Controlled by al-Nusra
Note: Iraq and Syria contain large desert areas with limited population.
These areas are mapped as under the control of forces holding roads and
towns within them.
Map of the current military situation in Syria
Map of the current military situation in Iraq
Map of the current military situation in Libya
Map of the current military situation in Yemen

Ar-Raqqah, Syria
Administrative center

(de facto capital)

[4][5][6][7]

3557N 391E

Largest city
Ideology

Type

Military strength & operation

areas

Mosul, Iraq
Wahhabism[8][9]
Salafi jihadism[8][10]
Salafism[8][10]
Sunni Islamism
Rebel group controlling
territory
Current control in
Syria[11]
Iraq[11]
Libya[12]
Nigeria[13][14]
Inside Syria and Iraq
200,000[15] (Kurdish
claim)

20,00031,000 (CIA
estimate)
Outside Syria and Iraq
32,50057,800 (See
Military of ISIL for moredetailed estimates.)
Estimated total
52,500257,800
Leaders
-

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi[16]

Abu Muslim alDeputy leader in Iraq
Turkmani [17][18]
Deputy leader in Syria
Abu Ali al-Anbari[18]
Head of Military Shura
Abu Ayman al-Iraqi[19]
Abu Mohammad alSpokesman
Adnani[20][21]
Field commander
Abu Omar al-Shishani[22]
Establishment
Formation (as Jamat al1999[23]
Tawh d wa-al-Jihd)
Joined al-Qaeda
October 2004
Declaration of an Islamic
13 October 2006
state in Iraq
Claim of territory in the
8 April 2013
Levant
Separated from al-Qaeda[24][25] 3 February 2014[26]
Declaration of Caliphate
29 June 2014
Claim of territory in Libya,
Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia,
13 November 2014
Yemen, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan
Leader

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /asl/; Arabic: ) ,
also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham
(ISIS /ass/)[27] or simply Islamic State,[28] is an Islamic extremist rebel group controlling
territory in at least four countries, including Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria,[14] with operations or
affiliates in Lebanon, Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East,[29] North and West Africa,[13]
South,[30] and Southeast Asia.[30][31] The group is known in Arabic as ad-Dawlah al-Islmiyah flIrq wash-Shm, leading to the acronym Da'ish or DAESH (, Arabic
pronunciation: [dai]), the Arabic equivalent of "ISIL".[27] On 29 June 2014, the group
proclaimed itself to be a worldwide caliphate, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being named its
caliph,[32] and renamed itself "Islamic State" ( , ad-Dawlah al-Islmiyah). The
new name and the idea of a caliphate has been widely criticised and condemned, with the UN,
various governments and mainstream Muslim groups refusing to acknowledge it.[33] As caliphate,
it claims religious, political and military authority over all Muslims worldwide and that "the
legality of all emirates, groups, states, and organisations, becomes null by the expansion of the
khilfah's [caliphate's] authority and arrival of its troops to their areas".[34][35] Many Islamic and
non-Islamic communities judge the group unrepresentative of Islam.

The United Nations has held ISIL responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, and
Amnesty International has reported ethnic cleansing by the group on a "historic scale". The
group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, the European Union,
the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Egypt, India, and Russia. Over 60 countries are directly
or indirectly waging war against ISIL.
The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which was renamed Tanzim
Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayncommonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)when the
group pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. As Jama'at and later AQI, beginning in August
2003, the group participated in the Iraqi insurgency, which had followed the March 2003
invasion of Iraq. In January 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen
Shura Council, which in October 2006 proclaimed the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq
(ISI). ISI gained a significant presence in the governorates of Al Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad.
Under the leadership of al-Baghdadi, ISI sent delegates into Syria in August 2011 after the
Syrian Civil War had begun in March 2011. This group named itself Jabhat an-Nusrah
li-Ahli
ash-Shm or al-Nusra Front, and established a large presence in Sunni-majority areas of Syria
within the governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.[36] In April 2013, alBaghdadi announced the merger of his ISI with al-Nusra Front, and announced that the name of
the reunited group was now the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, both Abu
Mohammad al-Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leaders of al-Nusra and al-Qaeda respectively,
rejected the merger. After an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL on 3
February 2014, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence".[26][37]
ISIL is known for its well-funded web and social media propaganda, which includes Internet
videos of the beheadings of soldiers, civilians, journalists and aid workers, as well as the
deliberate destruction of cultural heritage sites.[38]
The group gained notoriety after it drove the Iraqi government forces out of key western cities in
Iraq. In Syria, it conducted ground attacks against both government forces and rebel factions in
the Syrian Civil War. It gained those territories after an offensive, initiated in early 2014, which
senior US military commanders and members of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs
saw as a re-emergence of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda militants. This territorial loss almost
caused a collapse of the Iraqi government that prompted renewal of US military action in Iraq.[39]

Contents

1 Name
2 History
o

2.1 Foundation of the group (19992006)

2.2 As Islamic State of Iraq (20062013)

2.2.1 Syrian Civil War (2011present)

2.3 As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (201314)

2.4 As self-proclaimed Islamic State (June 2014present)

3 Group goals, structure and characteristics

o

3.1 Goals

3.2 Ideology and beliefs

3.2.1 Eschatology

3.2.2 Theological objections

3.3 Territorial claims and international presence

3.3.1 Libyan Provinces

3.3.2 Sinai Province

3.3.3 Algerian Province

3.3.4 Khorasan Province

3.3.5 Sanaa Province

3.4 Other areas of operation

3.5 Leadership and governance

3.6 Non-combatants

4 Designation as a terrorist organisation

5 Human rights abuse and war crime findings

5.1 Religious and minority group persecution

5.2 Treatment of civilians

5.3 Child soldiers

5.4 Sexual violence and slavery

5.5 Attacks on members of the press

5.6 Beheadings and mass executions

5.7 Destruction of cultural and religious heritage

6 Criticism
o

6.1 Islamic criticism

6.2 International criticism

6.3 Criticism of the name "Islamic State" and "caliphate" declaration

6.4 Views of ISIL as Islamic

7 Analysis
o

7.1 Conspiracy theories in the Arab world

8 Countries and groups at war with ISIL

o

8.1 Opposition within Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and other nations

8.2 American-led coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

8.3 Other state opponents

8.4 Other non-state opponents

9 Supporters
o

9.1 Foreign nationals

9.2 Groups with expressions of support

9.3 Allegations of Turkish support

9.4 Allegations of Saudi Arabian support

9.5 Allegations of Syrian support

9.6 Allegations of United States support

10 Military and resources

o

10.1 Military

10.1.1 Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq

10.2 Weapons

10.2.1 Conventional weapons

10.2.2 Non-conventional weapons

10.3 Propaganda and social media

10.4 Finances

10.4.1 Oil revenues

10.4.2 Sale of antiques and artefacts

10.4.3 Taxation and extortion

10.4.4 Donations

11 Timeline of recent events

o

11.1 March 2015

11.2 April 2015

12 See also

13 References

14 Bibliography

15 External links

Name
The group has had various names.[40]
1. The group was founded in 1999 by Jordanian radical Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as Jamat
al-Tawh d wa-al-Jihd, "The Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad" (JTJ).[23]
2. In October 2004, al-Zarqawi swore loyalty to Osama bin Laden and changed the group's
name to Tanzm
Qidat al-Jihd f Bild al-Rfidayn, "The Organisation of Jihad's Base
in Mesopotamia", commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq. (AQI).[40][41] Although the group
has never called itself al-Qaeda in Iraq, this has been its informal name over the years.[42]
3. In January 2006, AQI merged with several other Iraqi insurgent groups to form the
Mujahideen Shura Council.[43] Al-Zarqawi was killed in June 2006.
4. On 12 October 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council merged with several more insurgent
factions, and on 13 October the establishment of the ad-Dawlah al-Iraq al-Islmiyah,
also known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), was announced.[44] The leaders of this group
were Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.[45] After they were
killed in a U.S.Iraqi operation in April 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became the new
leader of the group.
5. On 8 April 2013, having expanded into Syria, the group adopted the name Islamic State
of Iraq and al-Sham, which more fully translates as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.[46][47][48] These names are translations of the Arabic
name ad-Dawlah al-Islmyah fl-Irq wash-Shm,[49][50] al-Shm being a description of
the Levant or Greater Syria.[27] The translated names are commonly abbreviated as ISIL
or ISIS, with a debate over which of these acronyms should be used.[27][50] The
Washington Post concluded that the distinction between the two "is not so great".[27]
6. The name Daish is often used by ISIL's Arabic-speaking detractors. It is based on the
Arabic letters Dl, alif, ayn, and shn, which form the acronym ( )of ISIL's Arabic

name al-Dawlah al-Islamyah f al-Irq wa-al-Shm.[51][52] There are many spellings of

this acronym, with DAESH gaining acceptance. ISIL considers the name Da'ish
derogatory, because it sounds similar to the Arabic words Daes, "one who crushes
something underfoot", and Dahes, "one who sows discord".[53][54] ISIL also reportedly
uses flogging as a punishment for those who use the name in ISIL-controlled areas.[55][56]
7. On 14 May 2014, the United States Department of State announced its decision to use
"Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) as the group's primary name.[51] However, in
late 2014, top U.S. officials shifted toward DAESH, since it was the preferred term used
by Arab partners.[53]
8. On 29 June 2014, the group renamed itself the Islamic State (IS) and declared it was a
worldwide "caliphate".[32][57][58] "Accordingly, the 'Iraq and Shm' in the name of the
Islamic State is henceforth removed from all official deliberations and communications,
and the official name is the Islamic State from the date of this declaration." This name
and the idea of a caliphate has been widely criticised, with the UN, various governments,
and mainstream Muslim groups refusing to use it.[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]

History
Part of a series on the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

history

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (19992004)

Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (200406)
Mujahideen Shura Council (2006)
Islamic State of Iraq (200613)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (201314)
Self-proclaimed as the

Islamic State (June 2014present)

By topic

Beheadings

Black Standard

Destruction of cultural heritage

Human rights

List of battles

Members

Military

Territorial claims

Timeline

Caliphate

Administrative divisions

Category

Portal

e
See also: Timeline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant events, Islamic State of Iraq
Timeline, Syrian Civil War Course of events and Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2014

Outline of history with links to content below

As Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad) (19992004)
As Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (al-Qaeda in Iraq) (20042006)
As Mujahideen Shura Council (2006)
As Islamic State of Iraq (20062013)
As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (20132014)
As self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (June 2014present)

Foundation of the group (19992006)

Main articles: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn and
Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq)
Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Jordanian Salafi Jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his
militant group Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, founded in 1999, achieved notoriety in the early
stages of the Iraqi insurgency for the suicide attacks on Shia Islamic mosques, civilians, Iraqi
government institutions and Italian soldiers partaking in the US-led 'Multi-National Force'. AlZarqawi's group officially pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in October
2004, changing its name to Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (
, "Organisation of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia"), also known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq
(AQI).[24][68][69] Attacks by the group on civilians, Iraqi Government and security forces, foreign
diplomats and soldiers, and American convoys continued with roughly the same intensity. In a
letter to al-Zarqawi in July 2005, al-Qaeda's then deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri outlined a
four-stage plan to expand the Iraq War. The plan included expelling US forces from Iraq,
establishing an Islamic authority as a caliphate, spreading the conflict to Iraq's secular
neighbours, and clashing with Israel, which the letter says "was established only to challenge any
new Islamic entity".[70]

Iraqi insurgents in 2006

In January 2006, AQI joined hands with several smaller Iraqi insurgent groups under an umbrella
organisation called the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC). This was claimed by Brian Fishman
in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science to be little more than a
media exercise and an attempt to give the group a more Iraqi flavour and perhaps to distance alQaeda from some of al-Zarqawi's tactical errors, more notably the 2005 bombings by AQI of
three hotels in Amman.[71] On 7 June 2006, a US airstrike killed al-Zarqawi, who was succeeded
as leader of the group by the Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri.[72][73]
On 12 October 2006, MSC united with three smaller groups and six Sunni Islamic tribes to form
the "Mutayibeen Coalition". It swore by Allah "...to rid Sunnis from the oppression of the
rejectionists (Shi'ite Muslims) and the crusader occupiers, ... to restore rights even at the price of
our own lives... to make Allah's word supreme in the world, and to restore the glory of Islam...".
[74][75]
A day later, MSC declared the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which should
comprise Iraq's six mostly Sunni Arab governorates,[76] with Abu Omar al-Baghdadi being
announced as its Emir.[44][77] Al-Masri was given the title of Minister of War within the ISI's tenmember cabinet.[78]

A joint USIraqi training exercise near Ramadi in November 2009. The Islamic State of Iraq had
declared the city to be its capital.

As Islamic State of Iraq (20062013)

Main article: Islamic State of Iraq
According to a study compiled by U.S. intelligence agencies in early 2007, the ISI also known
as AQI planned to seize power in the central and western areas of the country and turn it into a
Sunni Islamic state.[79] The group built in strength and at its height enjoyed a significant presence
in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital
city.[80][81][82][83]
The U.S. troops surge of 2007 supplied the U.S. military with more manpower for operations
targeting the group, resulting in dozens of high-level AQI members being captured or killed.[84]
Between July and October 2007, al-Qaeda in Iraq or ISI seemed to have lost their secure military
bases in Anbar province and the Baghdad area.[85] During 2008, a series of U.S. and Iraqi
offensives managed to drive out the AQI-aligned insurgents from their former safe havens, such
as the Diyala and Al Anbar governorates, to the area of the northern city of Mosul, the latest
major battleground against ISI.[86]
By 2008, the ISI was describing itself as being in a state of "extraordinary crisis".[87] Its violent
attempts to govern its territory led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups
and a temporary decline in the group, which was attributable to a number of factors,[88] notably
the Anbar Awakening.
In late 2009, the commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, stated that the ISI
"has transformed significantly in the last two years. What once was dominated by foreign
individuals has now become more and more dominated by Iraqi citizens".[89] On 18 April 2010,
the ISI's two top leaders, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, were killed in a joint
U.S.-Iraqi raid near Tikrit.[90] In a press conference in June 2010, General Odierno reported that
80% of the ISI's top 42 leaders, including recruiters and financiers, had been killed or captured,
with only eight remaining at large. He said that they had been cut off from al-Qaeda's leadership
in Pakistan.[91][92][93]
On 16 May 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was appointed as the new leader of the Islamic State of
Iraq.[94][95] Al-Baghdadi replenished the group's leadership, many of whom had been killed or

captured, by appointing former Ba'athist military and intelligence officers who had served during
the Saddam Hussein regime. These men, nearly all of whom had spent time imprisoned by the
U.S. military, came to make up about one-third of Baghdadi's top 25 commanders. One of them
was a former Colonel, Samir al-Khlifawi, also known as Haji Bakr, who became the overall
military commander in charge of overseeing the group's operations.[96][97]
In July 2012, al-Baghdadi released an audio statement online announcing that the group was
returning to the former strongholds from which U.S. troops and their Sunni allies had driven
them in 2007 and 2008.[98] He also declared the start of a new offensive in Iraq called Breaking
the Walls, aimed at freeing members of the group held in Iraqi prisons.[98] Violence in Iraq had
begun to escalate in June 2012, primarily by AQI's car bomb attacks, and by July 2013, monthly
fatalities had exceeded 1,000 for the first time since April 2008.[99]
Syrian Civil War (2011present)
In March 2011, protests began in Syria against the government of Bashar al-Assad. In the
following months, violence between demonstrators and security forces led to a gradual
militarisation of the conflict.[100] In August 2011, al-Baghdadi began sending Syrian and Iraqi ISI
members experienced in guerilla warfare across the border into Syria to establish an organisation
inside the country. Led by a Syrian known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, this group began to
recruit fighters and establish cells throughout the country.[101][102] On 23 January 2012, the group
announced its formation as Jabhat al-Nusra li Ahl as-ShamJabhat al-Nusramore commonly
known as the al-Nusra Front. Al-Nusra grew rapidly into a capable fighting force, with popular
support among Syrians opposed to the Assad government.[101]

As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (201314)

Main article: Timeline of events related to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Islamic State fighters in 2014, seen here in Anbar province, with Abu Waheeb in the foreground.
On 8 April 2013, al-Baghdadi released an audio statement in which he announced that the alNusra Front had been established, financed, and supported by the Islamic State of Iraq,[103] and
that the two groups were merging under the name "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham".[46] AlJawlani issued a statement denying the merger, and complaining that neither he nor anyone else
in al-Nusra's leadership had been consulted about it.[104] In June 2013, Al Jazeera reported that it
had obtained a letter written by al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, addressed to both leaders,
in which he ruled against the merger, and appointed an emissary to oversee relations between
them to put an end to tensions.[105] The same month, al-Baghdadi released an audio message
rejecting al-Zawahiri's ruling and declaring that the merger was going ahead.[106] The ISIL

campaign to free imprisoned ISIL members culminated in July 2013, with the group carrying out
simultaneous raids on Taji and Abu Ghraib prison, freeing more than 500 prisoners, many of
them veterans of the Iraqi insurgency.[99][107] In October 2013, al-Zawahiri ordered the disbanding
of ISIL, putting al-Nusra Front in charge of jihadist efforts in Syria,[108] but al-Baghdadi contested
al-Zawahiri's ruling on the basis of Islamic jurisprudence,[106] and his group continued to operate
in Syria. In February 2014, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda disavowed any
relations with ISIL.[37]
According to journalist Sarah Birke, there are "significant differences" between the al-Nusra
Front and ISIL. While al-Nusra actively calls for the overthrow of the Assad government, ISIL
"tends to be more focused on establishing its own rule on conquered territory". ISIL is "far more
ruthless" in building an Islamic state, "carrying out sectarian attacks and imposing sharia law
immediately". While al-Nusra has a "large contingent of foreign fighters", it is seen as a homegrown group by many Syrians; by contrast, ISIL fighters have been described as "foreign
'occupiers'" by many Syrian refugees.[109] It has a strong presence in central and northern Syria,
where it has instituted sharia in a number of towns.[109] The group reportedly controlled the four
border towns of Atmeh, al-Bab, Azaz and Jarablus, allowing it to control the entrance and exit
from Syria into Turkey.[109] Foreign fighters in Syria include Russian-speaking jihadists who were
part of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA).[110] In November 2013, the JMA's Chechen leader
Abu Omar al-Shishani swore an oath of allegiance to al-Baghdadi;[111] the group then split
between those who followed al-Shishani in joining ISIL and those who continued to operate
independently in the JMA under new leadership.[112]
In January 2014, rebels affiliated with the Islamic Front and the U.S.-trained Free Syrian
Army[113] launched an offensive against ISIL militants in and around the city of Aleppo in Syria.
[114][115]
In May 2014, Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered al-Nusra Front to stop its attacks on its rival,
ISIL.[116] In June 2014, after continued fighting between the two groups, al-Nusra's branch in the
Syrian town of Al-Bukamal pledged allegiance to ISIL.[117][118] In mid-June 2014, ISIL captured
the Trabil crossing on the JordanIraq border,[119] the only border crossing between the two
countries.[120] ISIL has received some public support in Jordan, albeit limited, partly owing to
state repression there,[121] but ISIL has undertaken a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia,[122] where
tribes in the north are linked to those in western Iraq and eastern Syria.[123]

As self-proclaimed Islamic State (June 2014present)

See also: ISIL beheading incidents, American-led intervention in Syria, American-led
intervention in Iraq (2014present), Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014present), Military
intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)
and Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
On 29 June 2014, the organisation proclaimed a Worldwide Caliphate.[124] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
known by his supporters as Amir al-Mu'minin, Caliph Ibrahimwas named its Caliph, and
the group renamed itself the "Islamic State".[32] As a "Caliphate," it claims religious, political and
military authority over all Muslims worldwide.[35][125] The concept of a Caliphate and the name
"Islamic State" has been rejected by governments and Muslim leaders worldwide.[59][60][61][62][63][64]
[65][66][67]

In June and July 2014, Jordan and Saudi Arabia moved troops to their borders with Iraq, after
Iraq lost control of, or withdrew from, strategic crossing points that had then come under the
control of ISIL, or tribes that supported ISIL.[120][126] There was speculation that Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki had ordered a withdrawal of troops from the IraqSaudi crossings in
order "to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia and bring the threat of ISIS over-running its borders
as well".[123]
In July 2014, ISIL recruited more than 6,300 fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, some of whom were thought to have previously fought for the Free Syrian Army.
[127]
Also, on 23 July 2014, Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon swore loyalty to al-Baghdadi in a
video, along with the rest of the organisation, giving ISIL a presence in the Philippines.[31][128] In
September 2014, the group began kidnapping people for ransoming, in the name of ISIL.[129]

Yazidi refugees and American aid workers on Mount Sinjar in August 2014
On 3 August 2014, ISIL captured the cities of Zumar, Sinjar, and Wana in northern Iraq.[130] The
need for food and water for thousands of Yazidis, who fled up a mountain out of fear of
approaching hostile ISIL militants, and the threat of genocide to Yazidis and others as announced
by ISIL, in addition to protecting Americans in Iraq and supporting Iraq in its fight against the
group, were reasons for the U.S. to launch a humanitarian mission on 7 August 2014, to aid the
Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar[131] and to start an aerial bombing campaign in Iraq on 8
August.
On 11 October 2014, ISIL dispatched 10,000 militants from Syria and Mosul to capture the Iraqi
capital city of Baghdad,[132] and Iraqi Army forces and Anbar tribesmen threatened to abandon
their weapons if the U.S. did not send in ground troops to halt ISIL's advance.[133] On 13 October,
ISIL fighters advanced to within 25 kilometres15.5 milesof Baghdad Airport.[134]
At the end of October 2014, 800 radical militants gained control of the Libyan city of Derna and
pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, thus making Derna the first city outside Syria
and Iraq to be a part of the "Islamic State Caliphate."[135] On 2 November 2014, according to the
Associated Press, in response to the coalition airstrikes, representatives from Ahrar ash-Sham
attended a meeting with the al-Nusra Front, the Khorasan Group, ISIL, and Jund al-Aqsa, which
sought to unite these hard-line groups against the U.S.-led coalition and moderate Syrian rebel
groups.[136] However, by 14 November 2014, it was revealed that the negotiations had failed.[137]
On 10 November 2014, a major faction of the Egyptian militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis also
pledged its allegiance to ISIL.[138]

In mid-January 2015, a Yemeni official said that ISIL had "dozens" of members in Yemen, and
that they were coming into direct competition with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with their
recruitment drive.[139]
In January 2015, Afghan officials confirmed that ISIL had a military presence in Afghanistan,[140]
recruiting over 135 militants by late January. However, by the end of January 2015, 65 of the
militants were either captured or killed by the Taliban, and ISIL's top Afghan recruiter, Mullah
Abdul Rauf, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in February 2015.[141][142][143]
In late January 2015, it was revealed that ISIL members infiltrated the European Union and
disguised themselves as civilian refugees who were emigrating from the war zones of Iraq and
the Levant.[144] An ISIL representative said that ISIL had successfully smuggled 4,000 fighters,
and that the smuggled fighters were planning attacks in Europe in retaliation for the airstrikes
carried out against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. However, experts believe that the claim of
4,000 was exaggerated to boost their stature and spread fear, although they acknowledged that
some Western countries were aware of the smuggling.[145]
In early February 2015, ISIL militants in Libya managed to capture part of the countryside to the
west of Sabha, and later, an area encompassing the cities of Sirte, Nofolia, and a military base to
the south of both cities.
In February 2015, it was reported that the majority of Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen had dissented
from al-Qaeda and pledged allegiance to ISIL.[146]
On 16 February 2015, Egypt began conducting airstrikes in Libya, in retaliation against ISIL's
beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. By the end of that day, 64 ISIL militants in Libya had been
killed by the airstrikes, including 50 militants in Derna.[147]
By early March 2015, ISIL had captured additional territory in Libya, including a city to the west
of Derna, additional areas near Sirte, a stretch of land in southern Libya, some areas around
Benghazi, and an area to the east of Tripoli.
On 7 March 2015, Boko Haram swore formal allegiance to ISIL, giving ISIL an official presence
in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.[13][148][149] On 13 March 2015, the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan swore allegiance to ISIL.[150] On 30 March 2015, the senior sharia official of Ansar
al-Sharia in Libya, Abdullah Al-Libi, defected to ISIL.[151]
From March through mid-April 2015, advances by Iraqi forces into ISIL-controlled territory
were focused on Tikrit and the Saladin Governorate.[152]

Group goals, structure and characteristics

Goals
Since at least 2004, a significant goal of the group has been the foundation of an Islamic state.[153]
[154]
Specifically, ISIL has sought to establish itself as a Caliphate, an Islamic state led by a group

of religious authorities under a supreme leaderthe Caliphwho is believed to be the successor

to Muhammad.[155] In June 2014, ISIL published a document in which it claimed to have traced
the lineage of its leader al-Baghdadi back to Muhammad,[155] and upon proclaiming a new
Caliphate on 29 June, the group appointed al-Baghdadi as its caliph. As Caliph, he demands the
allegiance of all devout Muslims worldwide, according to Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).[156]
When the Caliphate was proclaimed, ISIL stated: "The legality of all emirates, groups, states and
organisations becomes null by the expansion of the khilafah's [caliphate's] authority and arrival
of its troops to their areas."[155] This was a rejection of the political divisions in the Middle East
that were established by Western powers during World War I in the SykesPicot Agreement.[157]
[158][159]

Ideology and beliefs

Main article: Ideology of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
ISIL is a Salafi group.[160][161] It follows an extreme interpretation of Islam, promotes religious
violence, and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates.[10]
According to Hayder al Khoei, ISIL's philosophy is represented by the symbolism in the Black
Standard variant of the legendary battle flag of Muhammad that it has adopted: the flag shows
the Seal of Muhammad within a white circle, with the phrase above it, "There is no God but
Allah".[162] Such symbolism has been said to point to ISIL's belief that it represents the restoration
of the caliphate of early Islam, with all the political, religious and eschatological ramifications
that this would imply.[163]
According to some observers, ISIL emerged from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, the
first post-Ottoman Islamist group dating back to the late 1920s in Egypt.[164] It adheres to global
jihadist principles and follows the hard-line ideology of al-Qaeda and many other modern-day
jihadist groups.[10][26]
However, other sources trace the group's roots not to the Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood
and the more mainstream jihadism of al-Qaeda, but to Wahhabism. The New York Times wrote:
For their guiding principles, the leaders of the Islamic State ... are open and clear about their
almost exclusive commitment to the Wahhabi movement of Sunni Islam. The group circulates
images of Wahhabi religious textbooks from Saudi Arabia in the schools it controls. Videos from
the groups territory have shown Wahhabi texts plastered on the sides of an official missionary
van.[165]
ISIL aims to return to the early days of Islam, rejecting all innovations in the religion, which it
believes corrupts its original spirit. It condemns later caliphates and the Ottoman Empire for
deviating from what it calls pure Islam,[166] and seeks to revive the original Wahhabi project of
the restoration of the caliphate governed by strict Salafist doctrine. Following Salafi-Wahhabi
tradition, ISIL condemns the followers of secular law as disbelievers, putting the current Saudi
government in that category.[167]

Salafists such as ISIL believe that only a legitimate authority can undertake the leadership of
jihad, and that the first priority over other areas of combat, such as fighting non-Muslim
countries, is the purification of Islamic society. For example, ISIL regards the Palestinian Sunni
group Hamas as apostates who have no legitimate authority to lead jihad and it regards fighting
Hamas as the first step toward confrontation with Israel.[165][168]
Eschatology
One difference between ISIL and other Islamist and jihadist movements is its emphasis on
eschatology and apocalypticism, and its belief that the arrival of the Mahdi is imminent. ISIL
believes it will defeat the army of "Rome" at the town of Dabiq in fulfilment of prophecy.[169]
Theological objections
According to The New York Times, "All of the most influential jihadist theorists are criticizing
the Islamic State as deviant, calling its self-proclaimed caliphate null and void" and have
denounced it for its beheading of journalists and aid workers.[165] ISIL is widely denounced by a
broad range of Islamic clerics, including al-Qaeda-oriented and Saudi clerics.[8][165]
Sunni critics, including Salafi and jihadist muftis such as Adnan al-Aroor and Abu Basir alTartusi, say that ISIL and related terrorist groups are not Sunnis, but modern-day Khawarij
Muslims who have stepped outside the mainstream of Islamserving an imperial anti-Islamic
agenda.[170][171] Other critics of ISIL's brand of Sunni Islam include Salafists who previously
publicly supported jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda, for example the Saudi government official
Saleh Al-Fawzan, known for his extremist views, who claims that ISIL is a creation of "Zionists,
Crusaders and Safavids", and the Jordanian-Palestinian writer Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the
former spiritual mentor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was released from prison in Jordan in
June 2014 and accuses ISIL of driving a wedge between Muslims.[171]

Territorial claims and international presence

Main article: ISIL territorial claims

Areas controlled (as of 6 April 2015)

Remaining territory in countries with ISIL presence

In Iraq and Syria, ISIL uses many of the existing Governorate boundaries to subdivide its
claimed territory; it calls these divisions wilayah or provinces.[172] As of February 2015, it claims
a total 24 provincial divisions divided between Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), Saudi

Arabia, Yemen, Algeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of these countries, it controls territory in
Iraq, Syria, Sinai, and eastern Libya.[173][174] ISIL also has members in Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan,
Turkey, Israel and Palestine, but it does not control territory in these areas.[173]
Libyan Provinces
Main article: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya
ISIL divides Libya into three historical provinces, claiming authority over Cyrenaica in the east,
Fezzan in the desert south, and Tripolitania in the west, around the capital.[175][176]
On 5 October 2014, the Shura Council of Islamic Youth and other militants in Libya were
absorbed and designated the Cyrenaica Province of ISIL.[177][178] There are 800 fighters reported
to be operating within Libya. The Libyan branch of ISIL has been the most active and successful
out of all the ISIL branches outside of Iraq and Syria. They appear to be active mainly in the
eastern urban centres of Derna and Benghazi. ISIL forces in Libya have also seized control of the
city of Derna.[179] On 4 January 2015, ISIL forces in Libya seized control of the eastern
countryside of Sabha, executing 14 Libyan soldiers in the process.[180][181]
Sinai Province
On 10 November 2014, many members of the group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis took an oath of
allegiance to al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL.[138] ISIL supporters from the group describe
themselves as "Sinai Province" (Arabic: Wilayat Sinai).[182][183] A faction of the Sinai
group also operates in the Gaza Strip, which has renamed itself to the Islamic State in Gaza.[184]
When Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was dissolved, a large Sinai-based part of the group pledging
allegiance to ISIL, assuming the designation Sinai Province of ISIL or Wilayat Sinai.[177][185] They
are estimated to have 1,0002,000[31] fighters.[186]
Algerian Province
Members of Jund al-Khilafah swore allegiance to ISIL in September 2014.[29] ISIL in Algeria
gained notoriety when it beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel in September 2014. Since then,
the group has largely been silent, with reports that its leader Khalid Abu-Sulayman was killed by
Algerian forces in December 2014.[187]
Khorasan Province
In November 2014, Jundallah,[188] Tehreek-e-Khilafat,[31] and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar[31] pledged
allegiance to ISIL, giving the organization an active presence in Pakistan. However, on 12 March
2015, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar left ISIL and rejoined Tehrik-i-Taliban.[189]
On 29 January 2015, Hafiz Saeed Khan and Abdul Rauf swore an oath of allegiance to alBaghdadi, the leader of ISIL. Khan was named as the Wli (Governor) of the Wilayat (Province)

and Rauf as his deputy. The province includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, and "other nearby lands".
[190][191][192]

On 9 February 2015, Mullah Abdul Rauf was killed by a NATO airstrike.[193] On 18 March 2015,
Hafiz Wahidi, ISIL's replacement deputy Emir in Afghanistan, was killed by the Afghan Armed
Forces, along with 9 other ISIL militants who were accompanying him.[194]
On 13 March 2015, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan swore allegiance to ISIL.[150]
Sanaa Province
On 13 November 2014, unidentified militants in Yemen pledged allegiance to ISIL,[29] who were
designated as part of the Sanaa Province in Yemen, which was named after the Yemeni capital
city of Sana'a.[195] By December 2014, it was revealed that ISIL already had an active presence
inside of Yemen, with their recruitment drive bringing them into direct competition with alQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[139] By February 2015, the majority of the non-AQAP members
of Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen had pledged allegiance to ISIL, boosting the groups's strength to
hundreds of fighters.[146]

Other areas of operation

Boko Haram (West Africa) - pledged allegiance to ISIL.[13][148][149][196][197]

Unidentified militants in Saudi Arabia pledged allegiance to ISIL - designated as a
province of ISIL.[29]

The Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade (Lebanon) pledged allegiance to ISIL.[31]

Sons of the Call for Tawhid and Jihad (Jordan) pledged allegiance to ISIL.[198]

Abu Sayyaf (Philippines)[199] - pledged allegiance to ISIL.[31]

Almost all of the commanders of the Caucasus Emirate in Chechnya and Dagestan
have switched their allegiance to ISIL.[200]

Leadership and governance

Further information: List of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members

Mugshot of al-Baghdadi by U.S. armed forces while in detention at Camp Bucca in 2004

The group is headed and run by al-Baghdadi, with a cabinet of advisers. There are two deputy
leaders, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani (KIA) for Iraq and Abu Ali al-Anbari for Syria, and 12 local
governors in Iraq and Syria. Beneath the leaders are councils on finance, leadership, military
matters, legal mattersincluding decisions on executionsforeign fighters' assistance, security,
intelligence and media. In addition, a Shura council has the task of ensuring that all decisions
made by the governors and councils comply with the group's interpretation of sharia.[201] The
majority of the ISIL's leadership is dominated by Iraqis, especially among former members of
Saddam Hussein's regime.[202][203] It has been reported that Iraqis and Syrians have been given
greater precedence over other nationalities within ISIL due to the fact that the group need the
loyalties of the local Sunni populations in both Syria and Iraq in order to be sustainable.[204][205]
Other reports have indicated however that Syrians are at a disadvantage to foreign members of
ISIL, with some native Syrian fighters resenting alleged 'favoritism' towards foreigners over pay
and accommodation.[206][207]

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul (July 2014)
The Wall Street Journal estimated in September 2014 that eight million Iraqis and Syrians live in
areas controlled by ISIL.[208] Ar-Raqqah in Syria is the de facto headquarters, and is said to be a
test case of ISIL governance.[209] As of September 2014, governance in Ar-Raqqah has been
under the total control of ISIL where it has rebuilt the structure of modern government in less
than a year. Former government workers from the Assad government maintained their jobs after
pledging allegiance to ISIL. Institutions, restored and restructured, provided their respective
services. The Ar-Raqqah dam continues to provide electricity and water. Foreign expertise
supplements Syrian officials in running civilian institutions. Only the police and soldiers are ISIL
fighters, who receive confiscated lodging previously owned by non-Sunnis and others who fled.
Welfare services are provided, price controls established, and taxes imposed on the wealthy. ISIL
runs a soft power programme in the areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, which includes
social services, religious lectures and da'wahproselytisingto local populations. It also
performs public services such as repairing roads and maintaining the electricity supply.[210]

British security expert Frank Gardner has concluded that ISIL's prospects of maintaining control
and rule are greater in 2014 than they were in 2006. Despite being as brutal as before, ISIL has
become "well entrenched" among the population and is not likely to be dislodged by ineffective
Syrian or Iraqi forces. It has replaced corrupt governance with functioning locally controlled
authorities, services have been restored and there are adequate supplies of water and oil. With
Western-backed intervention being unlikely, the group will "continue to hold their ground" and
rule an area "the size of Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future", he said.[172][211] Further
solidifying ISIL rule is the control of wheat production, which is roughly 40% of Iraq's
production. ISIL has maintained food production, crucial to governance and popular support.[212]

Non-combatants
Although the Isil attracts extremists from different parts of the world by promoting the image of
holy war, not all of them end up in combatant roles. There have been several cases of new
recruits who expected to be mujihadeen that returned from Syria disappointed by the everyday
jobs that had been assigned to them, like drawing water or cleaning toilets, or by the ban
imposed on use of mobile phones during military training sessions.[213]
ISIL also publishes material directed to women. Although women are not allowed to take up
arms, media groups encourage them to play supportive roles within ISIL: providing first aid,
cooking, nursing and sewing, to become "good wives of jihad".[214]