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What is Islamic State?

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant



Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant












From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"ISIS" redirects here. For other uses, see Isis (disambiguation).
"ISIL" redirects here. For other uses, see ISIL (disambiguation).
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
الدولة الإسلامية (Arabic)
al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah
Rāyat al-ʻUqab, the "Eagle Banner"; also called the black flag of jihad
FlagCoat of arms
Motto: باقية وتتمدد (Arabic)
"Bāqiyah wa-Tatamaddad" (transliteration)
"Remaining and Expanding"[1][2]
As of 22 September 2014      Areas controlled by ISIS      Areas claimed by ISIS      Rest of Iraq and Syria Note: map includes uninhabited areas.
As of 22 September 2014
     Areas controlled by ISIS     Areas claimed by ISIS     Rest of Iraq and Syria
Note: map includes uninhabited areas.
StatusUnrecognized state
CapitalAr-Raqqah, Syria[3][4]
35°57′N 39°1′E
Governmentclaimed Caliphate
 - Caliph[5]"Ibrahim" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi[6][7]
Establishment
 - Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared3 January 2014[8][9] 
 - Caliphate declared29 June 2014[5] 
Time zoneArabia Standard Time (UTC+3)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
الدولة الإسلامية (Arabic)
Participant in the Iraq War, the Global War on Terrorism, the Iraqi insurgency, and the Syrian Civil War
Active1999–present[10][11] (under various names)[12]
IdeologySalafist jihadism
Takfirism
Sectarianism
Islamic Caliphate
Leaders
HeadquartersAr-Raqqah, Syria
Area of
operations
Iraq
Syria
Lebanon[16][17]
Strength80,000–100,000 (up to 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq) (SOHRest.)[18][19]
20,000–31,500 (CIA est.)[20]
Part ofal-Qaeda (2004[21]–2014)[22]
Originated asJama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (1999-2004)
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004-2006)
Mujahideen Shura Council (2006)
Islamic State of Iraq (2006-2013)
Allies
Opponents
Iraq based opponents
 Iraq
Syria based opponents
Lebanon based opponents
 Lebanon
Multinational coalition (US lead) opponents
Military operations in or over Iraq and/or Syria
Supplying weapons to ground forces
 GCC
  •  Bahrain
  •  Qatar
  •  Saudi Arabia [61]
  •  UAE
 Jordan (pending GCC member) [62]
 Australia [52]
 Finland (arms supply)[63]
 European Commission (coordinating and supporting member states action)
Other State Opponents
 Iran [64][65]
 Russia [66][67]
Other Non-State Opponents
 Arab League (member coordination)
Iranian Kurdish fighters[68]
Note: Opponent's list restricted to a) States and non-State actors with military operations past, present, or pending against ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon b) States directly supplying weapons to ground forces fighting ISIS c) transnational organizations coordinating or supporting such states.
Battles
and wars
The self designated Islamic State (IS; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية‎ al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah), which previously called itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/) or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام‎) and is also known by the Arabic acronym Dāʻish (داعش), is an unrecognized state and a Sunni insurgent group active in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East.[a] In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world and aims to bring most Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control, beginning with territory in the Levant region, which includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and part of southern Turkey.[73][74][75]
The group has been described by the United Nations[76] and the media as a terrorist group, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the group of grave human rights abuses.




ISIS originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999. This group was the forerunner of Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn—commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—a group formed by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in 2004 which took part in the Iraqi insurgency againstAmerican-led forces and their Iraqi allies following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the 2003–2011 Iraq War, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which consolidated further into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) shortly afterwards. At its height it enjoyed a significant presence in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital city. However, the violent attempts by the Islamic State of Iraq to govern its territory led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups in around 2008 which helped to propel the Awakening movement and a temporary decline in the group. In April 2013, the group changed its name to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
As ISIS the group grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, gaining support in Iraq as a result of alleged economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis. After entering the Syrian Civil War, ISIS established a large presence in the Syrian governorates ofAr-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.[77] In June 2014, it had at least 4,000 fighters in its ranks in Iraq.[78] It has claimed responsibility for attacks on government and military targets and for attacks that have killed thousands of civilians.[79] In August 2014, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the number of fighters in the group had increased to 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq,[18] while the CIA estimated in September 2014 that in both countries it had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters.[20] ISIS had close links to al-Qaeda until February 2014 when, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and "notorious intractability".[80][81]
The group's original aim was to establish an Islamic state in the Sunni-majority regions of Iraq, and following ISIS's involvement in the Syrian Civil War this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria.[82] A caliphate was proclaimed on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—now known as Amir al-Mu'minin Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State.[5]

NAMES

The group has had a number of different names since it was formed, including some names that other groups use for it.[10]

Index of names

Links are to names in "History of names".
Translations:
Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn
  • IS: Islamic State
al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah
  • ISI: Islamic State of Iraq
Dawlat al-'Iraq al-Islāmīyah
  • ISIL/Isil: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām
ISIS/Isis: Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
ISIS/Isis: Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham
al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah
Transliterations:
  • al-Dawlah ("the State")
  • al-Dawlat al-Islāmīyah ("the Islamic State" lit. "the State, the Islamic (one))
  • DAʿESH/Daʿesh (variously presented: DAISH/Daish, DAASH/Daash, DAESH/Daesh, DA'ASH/Da'ash, DAAS/Daas, DA'ISH/Da'ish, DĀ'ASH/Dā'ash, DAIISH/Daiish)
based on: al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām
  • JTJ: Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād: Organization of Monotheism and Jihad

History of names

The group was founded in 1999 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi under the name Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād, "The Organization of Monotheism and Jihad" (JTJ).[83]
In October 2004, al-Zarqawi swore loyalty to Osama bin Laden and changed the name of the group to Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn, "The Organization of Jihad's Base in the Country of the Two Rivers" or "The Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia", more commonly known as "Al-Qaeda in Iraq" (AQI).[10][84]
Although the group has never called itself "Al-Qaeda in Iraq", this name has frequently been used for it through its various incarnations, as Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād, Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn and—see below—the Mujahideen Shura Council, the Islamic State of Iraq, and ISIL/ISIS.[12]
In January 2006, AQI merged with several other Iraqi insurgent groups to form the "Mujahideen Shura Council". Al-Zarqawi was killed in June 2006, after which the group's direction shifted again.
On 12 October 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council merged with several more insurgent factions, and on 13 October the establishment of the Dawlat al-ʻIraq al-Islāmīyah, "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI) was announced.[10][85] A cabinet was formed and Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi became ISI's figurehead emir, with the real power residing with the Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri.[86] Al-Baghdadi and al-Masri were both killed in a US–Iraqi operation in April 2010, and the next leader of the ISI was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the current leader of ISIS.
On 8 April 2013, having expanded into Syria, the group adopted the name "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant", also known as "Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham."[87][88][89] These names are translations from the Arabic name al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām with the final word, al-Sham, providing a description of the Levant or Greater Syria.[90][91] The translated names are frequently abbreviated as ISIL / Isil or as ISIS / Isis. The group has also used the names al-Dawlah ("the State") and al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah ("the Islamic State"). These are short-forms of the Arabic name al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām.[92]
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.[93] The debate over which of these acronyms should be used to designate the group, ISIL or ISIS, has been discussed by several commentators.[91][92]
On 29 June 2014, the establishment of a new caliphate was announced, and the group formally changed its name to the "Islamic State" (IS).[5][94][95][b]
The name "Dāʻish"—pronounced /ˈdaːʕiʃ/ and transliterated as "Dāʻish" or "Daʻesh"—is used particularly by ISIS's detractors, such as those in Syria. It is based on the Arabic letters dāl, alif, ʻayn, and shīn, which form the acronym (داعش) of ISIL/ISIS's Arabic name al-Dawlah al-Islamīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām.[93][97] The group considers the term derogatory and reportedly punishes with flogging those who use the acronym in ISIS-controlled areas.[98][99]
In late August 2014, a leading Islamic authority, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah in Egypt, advised Muslims to stop calling the group "Islamic State" and instead refer to it as "Al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria" or "QSIS", because of the militant group's "un-Islamic character".[100][101]

HISTORY

As Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Mujahideen Shura Council (1999–2005)

Main articles: Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn and Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq)
Following the 2003 US-led 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 Iraq insurgency, by not only carrying out attacks on coalition forces but conducting suicide attacks on civilian targets and beheading hostages.[83][102] Al-Zarqawi’s group grew in strength and attracted more fighters, and in October 2004 it officially pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, changing its name to Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في بلاد الرافدين, "Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia"), also known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).[21][103][104] Attacks by the group on civilians, the Iraqi Government and security forces continued to increase over the next two years—see list of major resistance attacks in Iraq.[105] In a letter to al-Zarqawi in July 2005, al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahirioutlined a four-stage plan to expand the Iraq War, which included expelling US forces from Iraq, establishing an Islamic authority—acaliphate—spreading the conflict to Iraq's secular neighbors, and engaging in the Arab–Israeli conflict.[106]
In January 2006, AQI merged with several smaller Iraqi insurgent groups under an umbrella organization called the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC). This was claimed to be little more than a media exercise and an attempt to give the group a more Iraqi flavour and perhaps to distance al-Qaeda from some of al-Zarqawi's tactical errors, notably the 2005 bombings by AQI of three hotels in Amman.[107]
On 7 June 2006, al-Zarqawi was killed in an American airstrike and was succeeded as AQI's leader by the Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri.[108][109]
On 12 October 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council joined four more insurgent factions and the representatives of a number of Iraqi Arab tribes, and together they swore the traditional Arab oath of allegiance known as Ḥilf al-Muṭayyabīn ("Oath of the Scented Ones").[c][110][111]During the ceremony, the participants swore to free Iraq's Sunnis from what they described as Shia and foreign oppression, and to further the name of Allah and restore Islam to glory.[d][110]
On 13 October 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council declared the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), comprising Iraq's six mostly Sunni Arab governorates, with Abu Omar al-Baghdadi being announced as the self-proclaimed state's Emir.[85][105] Al-Masri was given the title of Minister of War within the ISI's ten-member cabinet.[112] The declaration was met with hostile criticism, not only from ISI's jihadist rivals in Iraq, but from leading jihadist ideologues outside the country.[113]

As Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2013)

Main article: Islamic State of Iraq
According to a study compiled by US 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.[114] However, by late 2007, violent and indiscriminate attacks directed by rogue AQI elements against Iraqi civilians had severely damaged its image and caused a loss of support among the population, thus isolating the group. In a major blow to AQI, many former Sunni militants who had previously fought alongside the group started to work with the American forces. The US troops surge supplied the military with more manpower for operations targeting the group, resulting in dozens of high-level AQI members being captured or killed.[115]
Al-Qaeda seemed to have lost its foothold in Iraq and appeared to be severely crippled.[116] During 2008, a series of US and Iraqi offensives managed to drive out the AQI-aligned insurgents from their former safe havens, such as the Diyala and Al Anbar governorates and the embattled capital of Baghdad, to the area of the northern city of Mosul, the latest of the Iraq War's major battlegrounds.[117] By 2008, the ISI was describing itself as being in a state of "extraordinary crisis",[118] which was attributable to a number of factors,[119] notably the Anbar Awakening.
In late 2009, the commander of the US 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".[120] On 18 April 2010, the ISI’s two top leaders, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, were killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid near Tikrit.[121] 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, and that improved intelligence had enabled the successful mission in April that led to the killing of al-Masri and al-Baghdadi; in addition, the number of attacks and casualty figures in Iraq for the first five months of 2010 were the lowest since 2003.[122][123][124]
On 16 May 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was appointed the new leader of the Islamic State of Iraq.[125][126] 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 American forces, 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.[127][128]
In July 2012, al-Baghdadi released an audio statement online announcing that the group was returning to the former strongholds from which US troops and their Sunni allies had driven them prior to the withdrawal of US troops.[129] He also declared the start of a new offensive in Iraq called Breaking the Walls, which was aimed at freeing members of the group held in Iraqi prisons.[129] Violence in Iraq began to escalate that month, and by July 2013 monthly fatalities had exceeded 1,000 for the first time since April 2008.[130] The Breaking the Walls campaign 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.[130][131]

As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–2014)

Declaration and dispute with al-Nusra Front

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.[132] In August 2011, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi began sending Syrian and Iraqi ISI members experienced in guerilla warfare across the border into Syria in order to establish an organization inside the country. Led by a Syrian known as Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, this group began to recruit fighters and establish cells throughout the country.[133][134] On 23 January 2012, the group announced its formation as Jabhat al-Nusra li Ahl as-Sham—Jabhat al-Nusra—more commonly known as al-Nusra Front. Al-Nusra grew rapidly into a capable fighting force with popular support among Syrians opposed to the Assad regime.[133]
In April 2013, al-Baghdadi released an audio statement in which he announced that al-Nusra Front had been established, financed and supported by the Islamic State of Iraq[135] and that the two groups were merging under the name "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham".[87] Al-Jawlani issued a statement denying the merger and complaining that neither he nor anyone else in al-Nusra's leadership had been consulted about it.[136] 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.[137] In the same month, al-Baghdadi released an audio message rejecting al-Zawahiri's ruling and declaring that the merger was going ahead.[138] In October 2013, al-Zawahiri ordered the disbanding of ISIS, putting al-Nusra Front in charge of jihadist efforts in Syria,[139] but al-Baghdadi contested al-Zawahiri's ruling on the basis of Islamic jurisprudence,[138] and his group continued to operate in Syria. In February 2014, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda disavowed any relations with ISIS.[80]
According to journalist Sarah Birke, there are "significant differences" between al-Nusra Front and ISIS. While al-Nusra actively calls for the overthrow of the Assad government, ISIS "tends to be more focused on establishing its own rule on conquered territory". ISIS 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 home-grown group by many Syrians; by contrast, ISIS fighters have been described as "foreign 'occupiers'" by many Syrian refugees.[140] It has a strong presence in central and northern Syria, where it has instituted sharia in a number of towns.[140] 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.[140] Foreign fighters in Syria include Russian-speaking jihadists who were part of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA).[141] In November 2013, the JMA's Chechen leader Abu Omar al-Shishani swore an oath of allegiance to al-Baghdadi;[142] the group then split between those who followed al-Shishani in joining ISIS and those who continued to operate independently in the JMA under new leadership.[14]
In May 2014, Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered al-Nusra Front to stop attacks on its rival ISIS.[143] In June 2014, after continued fighting between the two groups, al-Nusra's branch in the Syrian town of al-Bukamal pledged allegiance to ISIS.[144][145]

Conflicts with other groups

See also: Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
In Syria, rebels affiliated with the Islamic Front and the Free Syrian Army launched an offensive against ISIS militants in and around Aleppo in January 2014.[146][147]

Alleged relations with the Syrian government

In January 2014, The Daily Telegraph said that Western intelligence sources believed that the Syrian government had made secret oil deals with ISIS and al-Nusra Front, saying that the militants were funding their campaign by selling crude oil to the Syrian regime from the oilfields which they had captured. Defectors from al-Qaeda concurred with these reports.[148]
A Western diplomat speaking anonymously confirmed that there is regular contact between regime forces and groups linked to al-Qaeda, but is not sure to what degree. He further stated: "I have no doubt that there are links ... But ISIS' direct assistance to the regime through oil sales, and the regime’s implicit acceptance of ISIS presence in some areas, may just be a tactical alliance that allows both entities to pursue the same short term goals."[149]
Analysts have noted that ISIS bases have remained untouched by the Syrian Army's artillery and the Syrian Air Force. A spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Foreign Office also noted that the lack of ISIS bases being bombed lends credibility to the suspicion of collusion.[150] The Guardian wrote a column agreeing that there is significant evidence pointing to the regime colluding with the Islamic State.[151]

As Islamic State (2014–present)

On 29 June 2014, ISIS removed "Iraq and the Levant" from its name and began to refer to itself as the Islamic State, declaring the territory under its control a new caliphate and naming Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its caliph.[5] On the first night of Ramadan, Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, spokesperson for ISIS, described the establishment of the caliphate as "a dream that lives in the depths of every Muslim believer" and "the abandoned obligation of the era". He said that the group's ruling Shura Council had decided to establish the caliphate formally and that Muslims around the world should now pledge their allegiance to the new caliph.[152][153] The declaration of a caliphate has been criticized and ridiculed by Muslim scholars and rival Islamists inside and outside the occupied territory.[154][155][156][157][158][159]
By that time, many moderate rebels had been assimilated into the group. In August 2014, a high-level IS commander said, "In the East of Syria, there is no Free Syrian Army any longer. All Free Syrian Army people [there] have joined the Islamic State".[160] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the Islamic State recruited more than 6,300 fighters in July 2014 alone, many of them coming from the Free Syrian Army.[161]
Analysts observed that dropping the reference to region in the group's new name widened its scope, and Laith Alkhouri, a terrorism analyst, thought that after capturing many areas in Syria and Iraq, ISIS felt this was a suitable opportunity to take control of the global jihadist movement.[162]
A week before it changed its name to the Islamic State, ISIS had captured the Trabil crossing on the Jordan–Iraq border,[163] the only border crossing between the two countries.[164] ISIS has received some public support in Jordan, albeit limited, partly owing to state repression there,[165] but has undertaken a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia,[166] where tribes in the north are linked to those in western Iraq and eastern Syria.[167] Raghad Hussein, the daughter of Saddam Hussein, now living in opulent asylum in Jordan, has publicly expressed support for the advance of ISIS in Iraq, reflecting the Ba'athist alliance of convenience with ISIS and its goal of return to power in Bagdad.[168]
In June and July 2014, Jordan and Saudi Arabia had 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 ISIS.[61][164] There was speculation that al-Maliki had ordered a withdrawal of troops from the Iraq–Saudi crossings in order "to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia and bring the threat of Isis over-running its borders as well".[167]
In July 2014, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau declared support for the new caliphate and Caliph Ibrahim.[26] In August, Shekau announced that Boko Haram had captured the Nigerian town of Gwoza. Shekau announced: "Thanks be to God who gave victory to our brethren in Gwoza and made it a state among the Islamic states".[169][170] Boko Haram launched an offensive inAdamawa and Borno States in northeastern Nigeria in September, following the example of the Islamic State.[171]
In August 2014, ISIS captured Kurdish-controlled territory[172] and massacred a large number of Yazidis.[173] The US launched an aerial bombing campaign against ISIS and a humanitarian mission to aid the Yazidis.[174]

Notable members


Mugshot of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by US armed forces while in detention atCamp Bucca in 2004
Leaders
Other personnel

DESIGNATION AS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

CountryDateAgencyReferences
United Nations United Nations18 October 2004United Nations Security Council[176]
United States United States17 December 2004United States Department of State[177]
Australia Australia2 March 2005Australian Security Intelligence Organisation[178]
Canada Canada20 August 2012Parliament of Canada[179]
Turkey Turkey30 October 2013Grand National Assembly of Turkey[180][181]
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia7 March 2014Royal decree of the King of Saudi Arabia[182]
United Kingdom United Kingdom20 June 2014Home Office[183]
Indonesia Indonesia1 August 2014National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT)[184]
Media sources worldwide have also called IS a terrorist organization.[185][186][187][188][189]
The United Nations Security Council added al-Qaida in Iraq (now known as ISIL in UN documents) to the anti-terrorism UN al-Qaida Sanctions List on 18 Oct. 2004 (amended on 2 Dec. 2004, 5 Mar. 2009, 13 Dec. 2011, 30 May 2013, 13 May 2014, 2 Jun. 2014). The UN Security Council also includes various ISIL leaders on the list.[190]

ANALYSIS

After significant setbacks for the group during the latter stages of the coalition forces' presence in Iraq, by late 2012 it was thought to have renewed its strength and more than doubled the number of its members to about 2,500,[191] and since its formation in April 2013, ISIS grew rapidly in strength and influence in Iraq and Syria. Analysts have underlined the deliberate inflammation of sectarian conflict between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis during the Iraq War by various Sunni and Shia players as the root cause of ISIS's rise. The post-invasion policies of the international coalition forces have also been cited as a factor, with Fanar Haddad, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute, blaming the coalition forces during the Iraq War for "enshrining identity politics as the key marker of Iraqi politics".[192]
By 2014, ISIS was increasingly being viewed as a militia rather than a terrorist group by some organizations.[193] As major Iraqi cities fell to al-Baghdadi's cohorts in June, Jessica Lewis, a former US army intelligence officer at the Institute for the Study of War, described ISIS as "not a terrorism problem anymore", but rather "an army on the move in Iraq and Syria, and they are taking terrain. They have shadow governments in and around Baghdad, and they have an aspirational goal to govern. I don't know whether they want to control Baghdad, or if they want to destroy the functions of the Iraqi state, but either way the outcome will be disastrous for Iraq." Lewis has called ISIS "an advanced military leadership". She said, "They have incredible command and control and they have a sophisticated reporting mechanism from the field that can relay tactics and directives up and down the line. They are well-financed, and they have big sources of manpower, not just the foreign fighters, but also prisoner escapees."[193]
According to the Institute for the Study of War, ISIS's 2013 annual report reveals a metrics-driven military command, which is "a strong indication of a unified, coherent leadership structure that commands from the top down".[194] Middle East Forum's Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi said, "They are highly skilled in urban guerrilla warfare while the new Iraqi Army simply lacks tactical competence."[193] Seasoned observers point to systemic corruption within the Iraq Army, it being little more than a system of patronage, and have attributed to this its spectacular collapse as ISIS and its allies took over large swaths of Iraq in June 2014.[195]
While officials fear that ISIS may either inspire attacks in the United States by sympathizers or by those returning after joining ISIS, American intelligence agencies find there is no immediate threat or specific plots. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sees an “imminent threat to every interest we have”. Daniel Benjamin, former top counterterrorism adviser, derides such alarmist talk as a “farce” that panics the public.[196]
Hillary Clinton has stated: "The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad—there were Islamists, there weresecularists, there was everything in the middle—the failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled."[197]

Conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theorists in the Arab world have advanced rumors that the US is secretly behind the existence and emboldening of ISIS, as part of an attempt to further destabilize the Middle East. After the rumors gained viral status, the US embassy in Lebanon issued an official statement denying the allegations, calling them a complete fabrication.[198] Others are convinced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is an Israeli Mossad agent and actor called "Simon Elliot". The rumors claim that NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden reveal this connection. Snowden’s lawyer has called the story "a hoax".[199][200][201]

IDEOLOGY AND BELIEFS

ISIS is a Sunni extremist group that follows al-Qaeda's hard-line ideology and adheres to global jihadist principles.[202][203] Like al-Qaeda and many other modern-day jihadist groups, ISIS emerged from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s first Islamist group dating back to the late 1920s in Egypt.[204] ISIS follows an extreme anti-Western interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates. Concurrently, ISIS aims to establish a Salafist-orientated Islamist state in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Levant.[203]
However, other sources trace the group's roots not to the more mainstream Islamism and jihadism of al-Qaeda but to Wahhabism. The New York Times wrote:
For their guiding principles, the leaders of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, 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 group’s territory have shown Wahhabi texts plastered on the sides of an official missionary van.[205]
According to scholar Bernard Haykel, Wahhabism is the Islamic State's "closest religious cognate ... For Al Qaeda, violence is a means to an ends; for ISIS, it is an end in itself."[205] 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 denouncing it for its beheading of journalists and aid workers.[205]
ISIS's ideology originates in the branch of modern Islam that aims to return to the early days of Islam, rejecting later "innovations" in the religion which it believes corrupt its original spirit. It condemns later caliphates and the Ottoman Empire for deviating from what it calls pure Islam and hence has been attempting to establish its own caliphate.[206] ISIS's brand of Islam is rooted in Wahhabism. It explicitly embraces Wahhabi principles and uses Saudi religious texts. The use of violence to purify the community of unbelievers comes from the Wahhabi tradition. While ISIS is widely denounced by a broad range of Islamic clerics, it took political pressure to persuade Saudi clerics to issue a formal condemnation.[205][207]
Salafists such as ISIS 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, when it comes to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, since ISIS regards the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas as apostates who have no legitimate authority to lead jihad, it regards fighting Hamas as the first step toward confrontation with Israel.[205][208][209]
Sunni critics, including Salafi and jihadist muftis such as Adnan al-Aroor and Abu Basir al-Tartusi, say that ISIS and related terrorist groups are not Sunnis, but modern-day Kharijites—Muslims who have stepped outside the mainstream of Islam—serving an imperial anti-Islamic agenda.[210][211][212][213] Other critics of ISIS'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 ISIS is a creation of "Zionists, Crusaders and Safavids", and the Jordanian-Palestinian writer Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi who was released from prison in Jordan in June 2014.[213]
In late September 2014, more than 120 Islamic scholars from around the Muslim world signed an open letter to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, explicitly rejecting and refuting his group's interpretations of the Qur'an and hadith to justify their actions.[214] The letter rebukes ISIS for its execution of prisoners, describing the killings as "heinous war crimes" and its persecution of the Yazidis of Iraq as "abominable". It also accuses the group of instigating fitna—sedition—by instituting slavery under its rule in contravention of the anti-slavery consensus of the Islamic scholarly community.[215]

GOALS

Since 2004, the group's goal has been the foundation of an Islamic state in the Levant.[216][217] Specifically, ISIS sought the establishment of a caliphate, a type of Islamic state led by a group of religious authorities under a supreme leader—caliph—who is believed to be the successor to Muhammad.[218] In June 2014, ISIS published a document which it claimed linked ISIS's leaderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi to the prophet.[218] That same month, ISIS removed "Iraq and the Levant" from its name and began to refer to itself as the Islamic State, declaring the territory that it occupied in Iraq and Syria a new caliphate and naming al-Baghdadi as its caliph.[5] By declaring a caliphate, al-Baghdadi was demanding the allegiance of all devout Muslims according to Islamic jurisprudence—fiqh.[219] ISIS has also stated: "The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the khilafah's [caliphate's] authority and arrival of its troops to their areas."[218] ISIS thus rejects the political divisions established by Western powers at the end of World War I in the Sykes–Picot Agreement as it absorbs territory in Syria and Iraq.[220][221][222]

TERRITORIAL CLAIMS

When the group announced the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006, it claimed authority over the Iraqi governorates of Baghdad, Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Ninevehand parts of Babil.[85] Following the expansion of the group into Syria in 2013 and the announcement of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the number of wilayah—provinces—which it claimed increased to 16. In addition to the seven Iraqi wilayah, the Syrian divisions, largely lying along existing provincial boundaries, are Al Barakah, Al Kheir, Ar-Raqqah, Al Badiya, Halab,Idlib, Hama, Damascus and the Coast.[223] After taking control of both sides of the border in mid-2014, ISIS created a new province incorporating both Syrian territory around Albu Kamal and Iraqi territory around Qaim. This new wilayah was named al-Furat—"Euphrates" province.[224][225] In Syria, ISIS's seat of power is in Ar-Raqqah Governorate. Top ISIS leaders, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are known to have visited its provincial capital, Ar-Raqqah.[223]

GOVERNANCE

The group is headed and run by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, called Caliph, with a cabinet of advisers. There are two deputy leaders, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani for Iraq and Abu Ali al-Anbari for Syria, and 12 local governors in Iraq and Syria. Beneath the governors are local councils on finance, leadership, military matters, legal matters—including decisions on executions—foreign 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.[226]
Ar-Raqqah in Syria is the de facto capital of the Islamic State and is said to be a "test case" or "show case" of ISIS governance.[227] As of September 2014, governance in Ar-Raqqah has been under the total control of ISIS where it has rebuilt the structure of modern government in less than a year. Former government workers from the Assad regime maintain their jobs after pledging allegiance to ISIS. Institutions, restored and restructured, are providing 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 ISIS 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. Exporting oil from oilfields that it has captured brings in tens of millions of dollars.[228][229] ISIS runs a soft powerprogram in the areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, which includes social services, religious lectures and da'wah—proselytizing—to local populations. It also performs public services such as repairing roads and maintaining the electricity supply.[230]
British security expert Frank Gardner has concluded that ISIS's prospects of maintaining control and rule are greater in 2014 than they were in 2006. Despite being as brutal as before, ISIS 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.[228][231]
In Mosul, ISIS has implemented a sharia school curriculum which bans the teaching of national history, literature, art, music and Darwin's theory of evolution.[232][233][234] Iraqi parents have largely boycotted schools in which the new curriculum has been introduced.[235]
After capturing cities in Iraq, ISIS issued guidelines on how to wear clothes and veils. ISIS warned women in the city of Mosul to wear full-face veils or face severe punishment.[236][237] A cleric told Reuters in Mosul that ISIS gunmen had ordered him to read out the warning in his mosque when worshippers gathered.[236] ISIS also banned naked mannequins and ordered the faces of both male and female mannequins to be covered.[238] ISIS released 16 notes labeled "Contract of the City", a set of rules aimed at civilians in Nineveh. One rule stipulated that women should stay at home and not go outside unless necessary. Another rule said that stealing would be punished by amputation.[230][239] In addition to banning the sale and use of alcohol—which is customary in Muslim culture—ISIS has banned the sale and use of cigarettes and hookah pipes. It has also banned "music and songs in cars, at parties, in shops and in public, as well as photographs of people in shop windows”.[240]
Christians living in areas under ISIS control who want to remain in the "caliphate" face three options: converting to Islam, paying a religious levy—jizya—or death. "We offer them three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract – involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword", ISIS said.[241] ISIS had already set similar rules for Christians in Ar-Raqqah, Syria, once one of the nation's most liberal cities.[242][243]

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

In early September 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed to send a team to Iraq and Syria to investigate the abuses and killings being carried out by the Islamic State on "an unimaginable scale". Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein of Jordan, who has taken over Navi Pillay's post as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged world leaders to step in to protect women and children suffering at the hands of Islamic State militants, who he said were trying to create a "house of blood". He appealed to the international community to concentrate its efforts on ending the conflict in Iraq and Syria.[244]

War crimes accusations

In July 2014, the BBC reported the United Nations' chief investigator as stating: "Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) may be added to a list of war crimes suspects in Syria."[245]
In August 2014, the United Nations accused the Islamic State of committing "mass atrocities" and war crimes.[246][247]

Religious persecution

ISIS compels people in the areas it controls, under the penalty of death, torture or mutilation, to declare Islamic creed, and live according to its interpretation of Sunni Islam and sharialaw.[186][248] It directs violence against Shia Muslims, indigenous Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac and Armenian Christians, Yazidis, Druze, Shabaks and Mandeans in particular.[249]
Amnesty International has accused ISIS of the ethnic cleansing of minority groups in northern Iraq.[250]

Treatment of civilians

During the Iraqi conflict in 2014, ISIS released dozens of videos showing its ill treatment of civilians, many of whom had apparently been targeted on the basis of their religion or ethnicity. Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned of war crimes being committed in the Iraqi war zone, and disclosed one UN report of ISIS militants murdering Iraqi Army soldiers and 17 civilians in a single street in Mosul. The United Nations reported that in the 17 days from 5 to 22 June, ISIS killed more than 1,000 Iraqi civilians and injured more than 1,000.[251][252][253] After ISIS released photographs of its fighters shooting scores of young men, the United Nations declared that cold-blooded "executions" by militants in northern Iraq almost certainly amounted to war crimes.[254]
ISIS's advance in Iraq in mid-2014 was accompanied by continuing violence in Syria. On 29 May, ISIS raided a village in Syria and at least 15 civilians were killed, including, according toHuman Rights Watch, at least six children.[255] A hospital in the area confirmed that it had received 15 bodies on the same day.[256] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that on 1 June, a 102-year-old man was killed along with his whole family in a village in Hama.[257]
ISIS has recruited to its ranks Iraqi children, who can be seen with masks on their faces and guns in their hands patrolling the streets of Mosul.[258]

Sexual violence allegations

According to one report, ISIS's capture of Iraqi cities in June 2014 was accompanied by an upsurge in crimes against women, including kidnap and rape.[259][260][261] The Guardian reported that ISIS's extremist agenda extended to women's bodies and that women living under their control were being captured and raped.[262] Fighters are told that they are free to have sex and rape non-Muslim captive women.[263] Hannaa Edwar, a leading women’s rights advocate in Baghdad who runs an NGO called Iraqi Al-Amal Association (IAA),[264] said that none of her contacts in Mosul were able to confirm any cases of rape.[265] However, another Baghdad-based women's rights activist, Basma al-Khateeb, said that a culture of violence existed in Iraq against women generally and felt sure that sexual violence against women was happening in Mosul involving not only ISIS but all armed groups.[265]
During a meeting with Nouri al-Maliki, British Foreign Minister William Hague said with regard to ISIS: "Anyone glorifying, supporting or joining it should understand that they would be assisting a group responsible for kidnapping, torture, executions, rape and many other hideous crimes".[266] According to Martin Williams in The Citizen, some hard-line Salafists apparently regard extramarital sex with multiple partners as a legitimate form of holy war and it is "difficult to reconcile this with a religion where some adherents insist that women must be covered from head to toe, with only a narrow slit for the eyes".[267]
Haleh Esfandiari from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has highlighted the abuse of local women by ISIS militants after they have captured an area. "They usually take the older women to a makeshift slave market and try to sell them. The younger girls ... are raped or married off to fighters", she said, adding, "It's based on temporary marriages, and once these fighters have had sex with these young girls, they just pass them on to other fighters."[268] Yazidi girls in Iraq allegedly raped by ISIS fighters have committed suicide by jumping to their death from Mount Sinjar, as described in a witness statement.[269]

PROPAGANDA AND SOCIAL MEDIA


The logo of Al-Hayat Media Center
ISIS is known for its effective use of propaganda.[270] Its creation of a flag and coat of arms that have symbolic meaning for the Muslim world was clearly done with care.[271]
In November 2006, shortly after the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq, the group established the al-Furqan Institute for Media Production, which produces CDs, DVDs, posters, pamphlets, and web-related propaganda products.[272] ISIS's main media outlet is the I'tisaam Media Foundation,[273]which was formed in March 2013 and distributes through the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF).[274] In 2014, ISIS established the Al Hayat Media Center, which targets a Western audience and produces material in English, German, Russian and French.[275][276] In the same year it launched the Ajnad Media Foundation, which releases jihadist audio chants.[277]
In July 2014, ISIS began publishing a digital magazine called Dabiq, in a number of different languages including English. According to the magazine, its name is taken from the town of Dabiq in northern Syria, which is mentioned in a hadith about Armageddon.[278] Harleen K. Gambhir of the Institute for the Study of War considered that while al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's magazine Inspire focuses on encouraging its readers to carry out lone-wolf attacks on the West, Dabiq is more concerned with establishing the religious legitimacy of ISIS and its self-proclaimed caliphate and encouraging Muslims to emigrate there.[279]
ISIS's use of social media has been described by one expert as "probably more sophisticated than [that of] most US companies".[280][281] It regularly takes advantage of social media, particularly Twitter, to distribute its message by organizing hashtag campaigns, encouraging Tweets on popular hashtags, and utilizing software applications that enable ISIS propaganda to be distributed to its supporters' accounts.[282] Another comment is that "ISIS puts more emphasis on social media than other jihadi groups. ... They have a very coordinated social media presence."[283] In August 2014, Twitter administrators shut down a number of accounts associated with ISIS. ISIS recreated and publicized new accounts the next day, which were also shut down by Twitter administrators.[284] The group has attempted to branch out into alternative social media sites, such as Quitter, Friendica and Diaspora; Quitter and Friendica, however, almost immediately worked to remove ISIS's presence from their sites.[285]
On 19 August 2014, a propaganda video showing the beheading of US photojournalist James Foley was posted on the Internet. ISIS claimed that the killing had been carried out in revenge for the US bombing of ISIS targets. The video promised that a second captured US journalist Steven Sotloff would be killed next if the airstrikes continued.[286] On 2 September 2014, ISIS released a video purportedly showing their beheading of Sotloff.[287] In the video the executioner says, "I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people." [288] The next scene shows the same executioner holding the orange jumpsuit of another prisoner, and saying "We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone."[288][289] On 13 September 2014, ISIS released another similar video purportedly depicting the beheading of David C. Haines, a British aid worker they had been holding hostage.[290]

FINANCES

A study of 200 documents—personal letters, expense reports and membership rosters—captured from Al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq was carried out by the RAND Corporationin 2014.[291] It found that from 2005 until 2010, outside donations amounted to only 5% of the group’s operating budgets, with the rest being raised within Iraq.[291] In the time-period studied, cells were required to send up to 20% of the income generated from kidnapping, extortion rackets and other activities to the next level of the group's leadership. Higher-ranking commanders would then redistribute the funds to provincial or local cells that were in difficulties or needed money to conduct attacks.[291] The records show that the Islamic State of Iraq was dependent on members from Mosul for cash, which the leadership used to provide additional funds to struggling militants in Diyala, Salahuddin and Baghdad.[291]
In mid-2014, Iraqi intelligence extracted information from an ISIS operative which revealed that the organization had assets worth US$2 billion,[292] making it the richest jihadist group in the world.[293] About three quarters of this sum is said to be represented by assets seized after the group captured Mosul in June 2014; this includes possibly up to US$429 million looted from Mosul's central bank, along with additional millions and a large quantity of gold bullion stolen from a number of other banks in Mosul.[294][295] However, doubt was later cast on whether ISIS was able to retrieve anywhere near that sum from the central bank,[296] and even on whether the bank robberies had actually occurred.[297]
ISIS has routinely practised extortion, by demanding money from truck drivers and threatening to blow up businesses, for example. Robbing banks and gold shops has been another source of income.[185] The group is widely reported as receiving funding from private donors in the Gulf states,[298][299] and both Iran and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of funding ISIS,[300][301][302][303] although there is reportedly no evidence that this is the case.[166][303][304][305]
The group is also believed to receive considerable funds from its operations in Eastern Syria, where it has commandeered oilfields and engages in smuggling out raw materials and archaeological artifacts.[306][307] ISIS also generates revenue from producing crude oil and selling electric power in northern Syria. Some of this electricity is reportedly sold back to the Syrian government.[308]
Since 2012, ISIS has produced annual reports giving numerical information on its operations, somewhat in the style of corporate reports, seemingly in a bid to encourage potential donors.[280][309]

FOREIGN FIGHTERS

There are many foreign fighters in ISIS's ranks. In June 2014, The Economist 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 and perhaps 500 or so more from France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe".[310] Chechen leader Abu Omar al-Shishani, for example, was made commander of the northern sector of ISIS in Syria in 2013.[311][312] According to The New York Times, in September 2014 there were more than 2,000 Europeans and 100 Americans among ISIS's foreign fighters.[313] Foreign recruits are treated with less respect than Arab-speaking Muslims by ISIS commanders, and if they lack otherwise useful skills they are placed in suicide units.[263]

EQUIPMENT

The most common weapons used against US and other Coalition forces during the Iraq insurgency were those taken from Saddam Hussein's weapon stockpiles around the country, these included AKM variant assault rifles, PK machine guns and RPG-7s.[314] ISIS has been able to strengthen its military capability by capturing large quantities and varieties of weaponry during the Syrian Civil War and Post-US Iraq insurgency. These weapons seizures have improved the group's capacity to carry out successful subsequent operations and obtain more equipment.[315] Weaponry that ISIS has reportedly captured and employed include SA-7[316] and Stinger[317] surface-to-air missiles, M79 Osa, HJ-8[318] and AT-4 Spigot[316] anti-tank weapons,Type 59 field guns[318] and M198 howitzers,[319] Humvees, T-54/55, T-72, and M1 Abrams[320] main battle tanks,[318] M1117 armoured cars,[321] truck mounted DShK guns,[316] ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns,[322][323] BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers[315] and at least one Scud missile.[324]
When ISIS captured Mosul Airport in June 2014, it seized a number of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and cargo planes that were stationed there.[325][326] However, according to Peter Beaumont of The Guardian, it seemed unlikely that ISIS would be able to deploy them.[327]
ISIS captured nuclear materials from Mosul University in July 2014. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim 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. International Atomic Energy Agencyspokeswoman Gill Tudor said that the seized materials were "low grade and would not present a significant safety, security or nuclear proliferation risk".[328][329]

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

2003–06 events


The Al-Askari Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, after the first attack by Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2006
  • The group was founded in 1999 and its first leader was the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,[83] who declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network on 17 October 2004.[330] Foreign fighters from outside Iraq were thought to play a key role in its network.[331] The group became a primary target of the Iraqi government and its foreign supporters, and attacks between these groups resulted in more than 1,000 deaths every year between 2004 and 2010.[332]
  • The Islamic State of Iraq made clear its belief that targeting civilians was an acceptable strategy and it has been responsible for thousands of civilian deaths since 2004.[333] In September 2005, al-Zarqawi declared war on Shia Muslims and the group used bombings—especially suicide bombings in public places—massacres and executions to carry out terrorist attacks on Shia-dominated and mixed sectarian neighbourhoods.[334]Suicide attacks by the ISI also killed hundreds of Sunni civilians, which engendered widespread anger among Sunnis.

2007 events

  • Between late 2006 and May 2007, the ISI brought the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad under its control. Numerous Christian families left, unwilling to pay the jizya tax.[citation needed] US efforts to drive out the ISI presence stalled in late June 2007, despite streets being walled off and the use of biometric identification technology. By November 2007, the ISI had been removed from Dora, and Assyrian churches could be re-opened.[335][not in citation given] In 2007 alone the ISI killed around 2,000 civilians, making that year the most violent in its campaign against the civilian population of Iraq.[333]
  • 9 March: The Interior Ministry of Iraq said that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had been captured in Baghdad,[336] but it was later said that the person in question was not al-Baghdadi.[337]
  • 19 April: The organization announced that it had set up a provisional government termed "the first Islamic administration" of post-invasion Iraq. The "emirate" was stated to be headed by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and his "cabinet" of ten "ministers".[112]
Name (English transliteration) and notablepseudonymsArabic namePostNotes
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi
d. 18 April 2010
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi[338] (akaAbu Du'a)[339]		أبو عمر البغدادي، أبو بكر البغدادي الحسيني القرشيEmirAbu Du'a, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,[339] is the second leader of the group.[340]
Abu Abdullah al-Husseini al-Qurashi al-Baghdadiأبو عبدالله الحسيني القرشي البغداديVice Emir[citation needed]
Abu Abdul Rahman al-Falahiأبو عبد الرحمن الفلاحي
ʾAbū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Falāḥī		"First Minister" (Prime Minister)
Abu Hamza al-Muhajir (aka Abu Ayyub al-Masri)
d. 18 April 2010
Al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman (aka Neaman Salman Mansour al Zaidi)		أبو حمزة المهاجرWarIdentity of al-Muhajir with al-Masri suspected. ISI only used former name. Abu Suleiman is the second minister of war.
Abu Uthman al-Tamimiأبو عثمان التميمي
ʾAbū ʿUṯmān at-Tamīmī		Sharia affairs
Abu Bakr al-Jabouri
(aka Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jabouri)
d. 1/2 May 2007		أبو بكر الجبوري
ʾAbū Bakr al-Ǧabūrī

(aka محارب عبد اللطيف الجبوري
Muḥārib ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Ǧabūrī)		Public RelationsCommon spelling variants: al-Jubouri, al-Jiburi.
Abu Abdul Jabar al-Janabiأبو عبد الجبار الجنابيSecurityEstablished "Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice"[341]
Abu Muhammad al-Mashadaniأبو محمد المشهداني
ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Mašhadānī		Information
Abu Abdul Qadir al-Eissawiأبو عبد القادر العيساوي
ʾAbū ʿAbd al-Qādir al-ʿĪsāwī		Martyrs and Prisoners Affairs
Abu Ahmed al-Janabiأبو أحمد الجنابي
ʾAbū ʾAḥmad al-Ǧanābī		Oil
Mustafa al-A'arajiمصطفى الأعرجي
Muṣṭafā al-ʾAʿraǧī		Agriculture and Fisheries
Abu Abdullah al-Zabadiأبو عبد الله الزيديHealth
Mohammed Khalil al-Badriaمحمد خليل البدرية
Muḥammad Ḫalīl al-Badriyyah		EducationAnnounced on 3 September 2007
The names listed above are all considered to be noms de guerre.
  • 3 May: Iraqi sources claimed that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had been killed a short time earlier. According to The Long War Journal, no evidence was provided to support this and US sources remained skeptical.[342] The Islamic State of Iraq released a statement later that day which denied his death.[343]
  • 12 May: In what was apparently the same incident, it was announced that "Minister of Public Relations" Abu Bakr al-Jabouri had been killed on 12 May 2007 near Taji.[verification needed] The exact circumstances of the incident remain unknown. The initial version of the events at Taji, as given by the Iraqi Interior Ministry, was that there had been a shoot-out between rival Sunni militias. Coalition and Iraqi government operations were apparently being conducted in the same area at about the same time and later sources implied that they were directly involved, with al-Jabouri being killed while resisting arrest. (See Abu Omar al-Baghdadi for details.)
  • 12 May: The ISI issued a press release claiming responsibility for an ambush at Al Taqa, Babil on 12 May 2007, in which one Iraqi soldier and four US 10th Mountain Division soldiers were killed. Three soldiers of the US unit were captured and one was found dead in the Euphrates 11 days later. After a 4,000-man hunt by the US and allied forces ended without success, the ISI released a video in which it was claimed that the other two soldiers had been killed and buried, but no direct proof was given. Their bodies were found a year later.[344][345]
  • 18 June: The US launched Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as "a large-scale effort to eliminate Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating in Baquba and its surrounding areas".[346] (See alsoDiyala province campaign.)
  • 25 June: The suicide bombing of a meeting of Al Anbar tribal leaders and officials at Mansour Hotel, Baghdad[347] killed 13 people, including six Sunni sheikhs[348] and other prominent figures. This was proclaimed by the ISI to have been in retaliation for the rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi police.[349] Security at the hotel, which is 100 meters outside the Green Zone, was provided by a British contractor[350] which had apparently hired guerrilla fighters to provide physical security.[351][not in citation given] There were allegations that an Egyptian Islamist group may have been responsible for the bombing, but this has never been proven.[352]
  • In July, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi released an audio tape in which he issued an ultimatum to Iran. He said: "We are giving the Persians, and especially the rulers of Iran, a two-month period to end all kinds of support for the Iraqi Shia government and to stop direct and indirect intervention … otherwise a severe war is waiting for you." He also warned Arab states against doing business with Iran.[353] Iran supports the Iraqi government which many see as anti-Sunni.[citation needed]
  • Resistance to coalition operations in Baqubah turned out to be less than anticipated. In early July, US Army sources suggested that any ISI leadership in the area had largely relocated elsewhere in early June 2007, before the start of Operation Arrowhead Ripper.[354]

2009–12 events

  • In the 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings 155 people were killed and at least 721 were injured,[355] and in the 8 December 2009 Baghdad bombings at least 127 people were killed and 448 were injured.[356] The ISI claimed responsibility for both attacks.
  • The ISI claimed responsibility for the 25 January 2010 Baghdad bombings that killed 41 people, and the 4 April 2010 Baghdad bombings that killed 42 people and injured 224. On 17 June 2010, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on the Central Bank of Iraq that killed 18 people and wounded 55.[357] On 19 August 2010, in a statement posted on a website often used by Islamist radicals, the ISI claimed responsibility for the 17 August 2010 Baghdad bombings.[358] It also claimed responsibility for the bombings in October 2010.[verification needed]
  • According to the SITE Institute,[359] the ISI claimed responsibility for the 2010 Baghdad church attack that took place during a Sunday Mass on 31 October 2010.[360]
  • 8 February 2011: According to the SITE Institute, a statement of support for Egyptian protesters—which appears to have been the first reaction of any group affiliated with al-Qaeda to the protests in Egypt during the 2011 Arab Spring Movement—was issued by the Islamic State of Iraq on jihadist forums. The message addressed to the protesters was that the "market of jihad" had opened in Egypt, that "the doors of martyrdom had opened", and that every able-bodied man must participate. It urged Egyptians to ignore the "ignorant deceiving ways" ofsecularism, democracy and "rotten pagan nationalism". "Your jihad", it went on, is in support of Islam and the weak and oppressed in Egypt, for "your people" in Gaza and Iraq, and "for every Muslim" who has been "touched by the oppression of the tyrant of Egypt and his masters in Washington and Tel Aviv".[361]
  • 23 July 2012: About 32 attacks occurred across Iraq, killing 116 people and wounding 299. The ISI claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took the form of bombings and shootings.[362]
  • In August 2012, two Iraqi refugees who have resided in Kentucky were accused of assisting AQI by sending funds and weapons; one has pleaded guilty.[363]

2013 events


2012–14 Iraqi protests: Iraqi Sunni demonstrators protesting against the Shia-led government.
  • Starting in April 2013, the group made rapid military gains in controlling large parts of Northern Syria, where according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights they were the "the strongest group".[364]
  • 11 May: Two car bombs exploded in the town of Reyhanlı in Hatay Province, Turkey. At least 51 people were killed and 140 injured in the attack.[365] The attack was the deadliest single act of terrorism ever to take place on Turkish soil.[366] Along with the Syrian intelligence service, ISIS was suspected of carrying out the bombing attack.[367]
  • By 12 May, nine Turkish citizens, who were alleged to have links with Syria's intelligence service, had been detained.[368] On 21 May 2013, the Turkish authorities charged the prime suspect, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency. Four other suspects were also charged and 12 people were charged in total.[clarification needed] All suspects were Turkish nationals whom Ankara believed were backed by the Syrian government.[369]
  • In July, the Free Syrian Army's battalion chief Kamal Hamami—better known by his nom de guerre Abu Bassir Al-Jeblawi—was killed by the group'sCoast region emir after his convoy was stopped at an ISIS checkpoint in Latakia's rural northern highlands. Al-Jeblawi was traveling to visit the Al-Izz Bin Abdulsalam Brigade operating in the region when ISIS members refused his passage, resulting in an exchange of fire in which Al-Jeblawi received a fatal gunshot wound.[370]
  • Also in July, ISIS organised a mass break-out of its members being held in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. British newspaper The Guardian reported that over 500 prisoners escaped, including senior commanders of the group.[371][372] ISIS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for the prison break, describing the operation as involving 12 car bombs, numerous suicide bombers and mortar and rocket fire.[371][372] It was described as the culmination of a one-year campaign called Breaking the Walls, which was launched on 21 July 2012 by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; the aim was to replenish the group's ranks with comrades released from the prison.[373]
  • In early August, ISIS led the final assault in the Siege of Menagh Air Base.[374]
  • In September, members of the group kidnapped and killed the Ahrar ash-Sham commander Abu Obeida Al-Binnishi, after he had intervened to protect members of a Malaysian Islamic charity; ISIS had mistaken their Malaysian flag for that of the United States.[375][376]
  • Also in September, ISIS overran the Syrian town of Azaz, taking it from an FSA-affiliated rebel brigade.[377] ISIS members had attempted to kidnap a German doctor working in Azaz.[378] In November 2013, Today's Zaman, an English-language newspaper in Turkey, reported that Turkish authorities were on high alert, with the authorities saying that they had detailed information on ISIS's plans to carry out suicide bombings in major cities in Turkey, using seven explosive-laden cars being constructed in Ar-Raqqah.[379]
  • From 30 September, several Turkish media websites reported that ISIS had accepted responsibility for the attack and had threatened further attacks on Turkey.[380][381][382][383]
  • In November, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated: "ISIS is the strongest group in Northern Syria—100%—and anyone who tells you anything else is lying."[364]
  • In December, there were reports of fighting between ISIS and another Islamic rebel group, Ahrar ash-Sham, in the town of Maskana, Aleppo in Syria.[384]
  • In December, ISIS began an offensive in Anbar province in Iraq, changing insurgency there into a regional war which involved the United States and most of the states in the area.[citation needed]

2014 events

See Timeline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant events in 2014 for a full list of 2014 events.
See also: Anbar clashes (2013–14), Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014), Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014), 2014 military intervention against ISIS and 2014 US-Coalition intervention in Syria

Current military situation (September 2014):
  Controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
  Controlled by other Syrian rebels
  Controlled by Syrian government
  Controlled by Iraqi government
  Controlled by Syrian Kurds
  Controlled by Iraqi Kurds
----------------------------------------------------
  (under Israeli occupation)
Some of the most recent events are shown below:

September 2014

  • 1 September: The German government's Cabinet decision to arm the Kurdish Peshmerga militia was ratified in the Bundestag by a "vast majority" of votes, after an emotional debate.[385]
  • 2 September: The IS released a video showing the beheading of a man whom they identified as American journalist Steven Sotloff.[386][387]
  • 4 September: A member of the Islamic State issued a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin, vowing to oust him over his support of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.[388][389]
  • 5 September: The German Bundeswehr dispatched the first of a planned series of cargo planes to Iraq, loaded with helmets, vests, radios, and infrared night-vision rifle scopes. After a three-hour stopover in Baghdad for inspection, the aircraft will deliver the equipment to German personnel already in Erbil for distribution to the Kurdish fighters.[390] Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, has been to the Iraqi city of Amirli, to work with the United States in pushing back militants of the Islamic State.[391][392][393]
  • 8 September: The Islamic State carried out a double suicide attack in a town north of Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 70 others.[394]
  • 10 September: After ISIS had outraged American opinion by beheading two American journalists and had seized control of large portions of Syria and Iraq in the face of ineffective opposition from American allies, President Obama decided on a new objective for a rollback policy in the Middle East. He announced: "America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy."[395]
  • 13 September: UK humanitarian aid worker David Cawthorne Haines, whose life had been threatened by Jihadi John in the Steven Sotloff video, was purportedly beheaded in a video titled "A Message to the Allies of America".[396]
  • 15 September: The Battle of Suq al Ghazi ended with a US–Iraqi win.[citation needed]
  • 18 September: The Australian Federal Police, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Queensland Police and New South Wales Police launched the largest counterterrorism operation in Australian history. The targets were ISIS-linked networks thought to be planning to behead an Australian at home and launch mass-casualty attacks in populated areas. Fifteen people were arrested in the raids by police and intelligence organizations, with one being charged with terrorism offenses.[397][398]
  • 20 September: The hostages from the Turkish consulate in Mosul who had been captured on 11 June 2014 were released.[399]
  • 21 September: Islamic State forces overrun Iraqi military base in Anbar province.[400]
  • 21 September: Official spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani released a speech, titled "Indeed, You Lord (sic) is Ever Watchful", encouraging Muslims around the world to kill non-Muslims.[401][not in citation given]
  • 23 September: Aerial operations began over Syria. Cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs struck ISIS targets in Syria,[402] and military aircraft from Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates participated in the airstrikes against ISIS.[403] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that about 400 ISIS fighters died in the airstrikes.[404]

SEE ALSO

Portal iconIraq portal
Portal iconSyrian Civil War portal
Portal iconTerrorism portal
Portal iconIslam portal
Portal iconSyria portal
Portal iconArab World portal

NOTES

  1. Jump up^ The Islamic State is widely known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), alternately called the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham[72](referring to Greater Syria; Arabic: الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام‎ al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām). The group is also known by the Arabic acronym DAʿESH (Arabic: داعش‎ Dāʻish). These names continue to be used.
  2. Jump up^ "Accordingly, the "Iraq and Shām" 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."[96]
  3. Jump up^ According to classical Islamic sources, Hilf al-Mutayyabin was an oath of allegiance taken in pre-Islamic times by several clans of the Quraysh tribe, in which they undertook to protect the oppressed and the wronged. The name "oath of the scented ones" apparently derives from the fact that the participants sealed the oath by dipping their hands in perfume and then rubbing them over the Kaʻbah. This practice was later adopted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and incorporated into Islam.[110]
  4. Jump up^ During this ceremony, the participants declared: "We swear by Allah...that we will strive to free the prisoners of their shackles, to end the oppression to which the Sunnis are being subjected by the malicious Shi'ites and by the occupying Crusaders, to assist the oppressed and restore their 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..."[110]



There is hope
Even as the tears fall on your lips
Even as you take another sip
And cough from all you smoked the night before
Didn't lose the war
So stand back up and be a man
Hold yourself complete again
And say the words

I am free, I am free
It's the sound of peace
There is laughs
Even when all you got is a box of flowers
They gave you as they held you to the crown

But over the hills call out sounds,
Spill up, break heavy grounds
Angels dress, they dance around
You can hear it, you can feel it
The sounds say


I am free, I am free
It's the sound of peace
Yeah, I am free, I am free
It's the sound of peace

And it's freedom, sweet freedom
I was so dumb
They held me to the ground
But now im free now
I'm free now, oh I...
I...and now I'm free...

But now I'm free, oh

There is hope
Even as the tears fall on my lips
Even as I take another sip
And cough from all I've smoked the night before
I didn't lose the war
I'll stand back up and be the man
Hold myself complete again
And say the words
I am free
I am free
It's the sound of peace

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Watch this English-speaking ISIL fighter 

explain how a 98-year-old colonial map 

created today's conflict

















IN 1916, TWO MEN FROM FRANCE AND THE UK DREW BORDERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEREIN LIES THE PROBLEM.

Isis fighter englishENLARGE
(YouTube)
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, just announcedthe borders of its new Islamic State, and it looks like this:

(Simran Khosla/GlobalPost)













It's fitting that ISIL is drawing a new map of the Middle East, since the group faults an older map of the Middle East for today's violence in Iraq and Syria.
That's the subject of the following video, "The End of Sykes-Picot," starring an ISIL fighter who goes by the name Abu Safiyya. Hailing from Chile and speaking excellent, accented English, Safiyya slams the "imaginary borders" established by Western powers in the early 20th century, literally walks across a strip of barren land that serves as the supposed border between Iraq and Syria, and mocks the failed US war in Iraq while standing next to a Ford F-350 pickup truck.
He seems to kind of know what he's talking about. (Although he loses some credibility when he starts insisting that most of ISIL's prisoners worship Satan.)
It's really hard to think of ISIL as both a militant group so violent that even Al Qaedadisavowed them AND as a group of individuals with historical knowledge and strategic interests beyond just causing death and destruction. But you might start thinking that way after watching the video. 
Here's what Safiyya is talking about.
In terms of national borders, the Middle East we know today was largely created in 1916, when two diplomatic advisers — Britain's Sir Mark Sykes and France's Francois Georges Picot — got together in secret, looked at a map, and made plans for the region, which they hoped to win from the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.
There were plenty of French and British experts who might have known something of ethnic identities, tribal cultures, and theological divisions in the Middle East. Sykes and Picot were not those experts. And their goals in dividing the territories had less to do with establishing peaceful, stable Arab nations and more to do with furthering their own nation's ambitions and strategic interests. Britain was particularly interested in access to petroleum in Iraq. France, for their part, wanted access to Mediterranean harbor cities like Beirut.
Their secret map, known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement or the Asia Minor Agreement,established the geography of French and British colonial rule and influence. And it established national borders.
The reverberations have been felt in the region since.
"The artificiality of state formation has caused numerous conflicts over the last few decades,"said Henner Fürtig, director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at GIGA research institute in Hamburg. "These questions haven't been solved for a century and burst open again and again, in a cycle, like now with the ISIS advance in northern Iraq."
For decades, the cobbled-together Sykes-Picot map was maintained through a combination of authoritarian rule and outside influence. But that's all been exploded, a result of many factors including the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Arab Spring.
Fareed Zakaria, writing recently for the Washington Post, described this complex and unfolding history this way:
If you had looked at the Middle East 15 years ago, you would have seen a string of strikingly similar regimes — from Libya and Tunisia in the west to Syria and Iraq in the east. They were all dictatorships. They were all secular, in the sense that they did not derive their legitimacy from religious identity. Historically, they had all been supported by outside powers — first the British and French, then the superpowers — which meant that these rulers worried more about pleasing patrons abroad than currying favor at home. And they had secure borders.
Today, across the region, from Libya to Syria, that structure of authority has collapsed and people are reaching for their older identities — Sunni, Shiite, Kurd. Sectarian groups, often Islamist, have filled the power vacuum, spilling over borders and spreading violence. In Iraq and elsewhere, no amount of U.S. military power can put Humpty Dumpty back together.
And now we have ISIL creating a new map. They say they want to undo the legacy of Western colonialism, but they sure are wreaking a lot of havoc in the process. And it's hard to believe anything from people who play football with the decapitated heads of their enemies. 
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140701/watch-english-speaking-isil-fighter-blames-violence-iraq-an

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The charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at 

Beersheba

Tuesday 30 October 2007 by Robyn Van-Dyk. 2 comments
Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, The Light Horse
The battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza. The final phase of this all day battle was the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. Commencing at dusk, members of the brigade stormed through the Turkish defences and seized the strategic town of Beersheba. The capture of Beersheba enabled British Empire forces to break the Ottoman line near Gaza on 7 November and advance into Palestine.
British and Turkish lines prior to Allenby’s attack on Gaza October, 1917.British and Turkish lines prior to Allenby’s attack on Gaza October, 1917.
The mounted troops spent the summer of 1917 after the second battle of Gaza in constant reconnaissance and in preparation for the offensive to come. The Turkish forces held the line from Gaza near the coast to Beersheba, about 46 kilometres to its south-east. The Allied forces held the line of the Wadi Ghuzzer from its mouth to El Gamly on the East. The positions were not continuous trench lines but rather a succession of strong posts. Both sides kept their strength in front of the city of Gaza.
Allenby, Chauvel, Chetwode & HRH The Duke of ConnaughtAllenby, Chauvel, Chetwode & HRH The Duke of ConnaughtA02746A
The newly arrived British commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, General Sir Edmund Allenby used plans prepared by Lieutenant General Sir Phillip Chetwode. The plan was to attack Beersheba by using mounted troops from the east whilst the infantry attacked Beersheba from the south west. The preparation also involved persuading the Turkish forces that the offensive would again be against Gaza. Chetwode was in command the 20th Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps was under Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel.
Esani, Palestine. c.1916 Light Horsemen watering their horsesEsani, Palestine. c.1916 Light Horsemen watering their horsesH16048
The greatest problem for Chauvel was to find sufficient water in the Beersheba area for his mounted troops. Information from reconnaissance revealed that there was none other than at Esani which was too far to the west to be of any use for a surprise attack. Chauvel, through studying the records of the Palestine Exploration Fund and after questioning local Arabs, knew that the larger ancient towns in the area to the south and south-west of Beersheba must have had existing water supplies. At Asluj the old wells were found and a fortnight’s work put them into working order. This made the attack on Beersheba a feasible operation.
A Light Horse unit digs to locate a water supply outlet at Asluj.A Light Horse unit digs to locate a water supply outlet at Asluj.H03769
Various deceptions were employed to keep the enemy thinking the attack was going to be at Gaza including keeping the Infantry strength there until the last minute. Beersheba’s defences were held by 1,000 Turkish riflemen, nine machine guns and two aircraft. The position was extended through a series of trenches and redoubts placed on commanding positions with good zones of fire; but on the east and south the trenches were not protected by barbed wire. The Turkish forces were relying on the forbidding open terrain as well as the absence of water to defend Beersheba. Calculating that the attack was most likely to be upon Gaza they were also not prepared for a force such as Allenby’s which was moving on 30 October.
Rough terrain south of Beersheba - Nov 1917Rough terrain south of Beersheba - Nov 1917H11639
Chauvel’s orders when he left Asluj early on the evening of the 30 October were for Major General Chaytor's ANZAC Mounted Division to close the Beersheba Road at Sakati (almost 10 kilometres north-east of the town) in order to prevent Turkish reinforcements from coming in and also to cut-off escape from the town. Once the road was secured, he was to storm Beersheba using Major General Hodgson's Australian Mounted Division. Allenby had insisted that Beersheba must be captured on the first day of operations. On the night of 30 October about 40,000 allied troops moved towards Beersheba, including most of Chetwode's 20th Corps and Chauvel's the Desert Mounted Corps, in a night march of over 40 kilometres.
Light Horsemen advance on Beersheba.Light Horsemen advance on Beersheba.J06574
Trekking since October 28 via Esani members of the 12th Light Horse Regiment arrived at Asluj on 30 October. Corporal Harold Gleeson mentions in his diary that he obtained no water at Asluj and at 6pm on 30 October recorded moving on towards Beersheba, marching all night on a “very weary and dusty ride of 30 miles.” Private Hunter in his diary wrote “The dust was terrible. One could not see beyond his horses head. The horses braved the journey which was about 36 miles. Walked at my horses head for about 10 miles of flat country giving him a rest.” The horses were carrying heavy packs on average of about 120 kilograms and their riders knew that there was no water available until Beersheba fell into their hands. Private Keddie: “On this stunt we have been told we would have to live on what rations we had for a few days.”
4th LH Brigade horses resting prior to charging at Beersheba4th LH Brigade horses resting prior to charging at BeershebaA01742
On the morning of 31 October, Chetwode's three British divisions attacked the Turkish positions around Beersheba from the west and south supported by a sustained artillery bombardment of over 100 guns. By 1 pm they had driven the Turks from their defences to the west and south west of Beersheba, but the wells of the town were still in Turkish hands. The 4th Light Horse Brigade waited, scattered over a wide area as a precaution against bombing, to the south-east of the town. Private Hunter: “The Turks immediately started shelling us with heavies. Good cover and tact on our part prevented casualties”. Their horses were unsaddled, watered and fed. William Grant was the Brigade’s new commander following Brigadier General Meredith, who had been invalided home to Australia.
Trenches at Tel-es-Saba: objective of the NZ Mounted Rifle BrigadeTrenches at Tel-es-Saba: objective of the NZ Mounted Rifle BrigadeA00404
The wells of Beersheba were vital for the welfare of the Desert Mounted Corps’ horses, many of whom had been without water for several days. Enemy resistance at Tel El Saba, three kilometres to the east of the town, had been stronger than expected and it took a stiff day of fighting for Chaytor’s force to capture this strong redoubt protecting Beersheba's eastern flank. The fall of Tel El Saba at 3:15 pm meant that the 1st and 3rd Light Horse Brigades were free to attack Beersheba from the East.
4th LH Regiment moving into action at the battle of Beersheba4th LH Regiment moving into action at the battle of BeershebaA02789
At 3:30 pm there was only a few hours of day light remaining and orders were issued for the final phase of the struggle, the occupation of Beersheba. Chauvel decided to put Grant’s 4th Light Horse Brigade straight at the remaining trenches, from the south-east. Chauvel knew that he must take the town before dark in order to secure the wells for Allenby's large force. Private Keddie recorded: “We began to talk among ourselves saying Beersheba will be taken and us not doing anything when about 5 o’clock our major came and said that Beersheba had not been captured but we were going in.” Chauvel: “owing to the constant attacks from aeroplanes, which had devoted a good deal of attention to my own headquarters, it took some time to assemble them and push them off”. General Grant gave the order personally to the 12th Light Horse Regiment: “men you’re fighting for water. There’s no water between this side of Beersheba and Esani. Use your bayonets as swords. I wish you the best of luck”. The Light Horse were equipped with rifles and held their bayonets as swords, which would have been more suited to a cavalry style charge. Fortuitously their bayonet tips had been sharpened on the orders of Major General Hodgson, on 26 October.
Beersheba Situation Map (pre-charge)Beersheba Situation Map (pre-charge)
Brigadier General William GrantBrigadier General William GrantH00020
Grant made the decision to order his light horsemen to charge cavalry-style, when they would normally have ridden close to an objective then dismounted to fight. Trooper Edward Dengate: “we got mounted, cantered about a quarter of a mile up a bit of a rise lined up along the brow of a hill paused a moment, and then went atem, the ground was none too smooth, which caused our line to get twisted a bit . . . Captain Davies let out a yell at the top of his voice . . . that started them all we spurred our horses . . . the bullets got thicker…three or four horses came down, others with no riders on kept going, the saddles splashed with blood, here and there a man running toward a dead horse for cover, the Turk’s trenches were about fifty yards on my right, I could see the Turk’s heads over the edge of the trenches squinting along their rifles, a lot of the fellows dismounted at that point thinking we were to take the trenches, but most of us kept straight on, where I was there was a clear track with trenches on the right and a redoubt on the left, some of the chaps jumped clear over the trenches in places, some fell into them, although about 150 men got through and raced for the town, they went up the street yelling like madmen.” Captain Robey was at their head.
Major Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh, by George LambertMajor Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh, by George LambertART02753
Captain Jack Davies followed Robey’s men towards the town and shouted when three miles away: “Come on boys Beersheba first stop”. Major Fetherstonhaugh’s horse fell shot and was himself shot through the leg. The major put his horse out of its misery then got down behind his dead horse and fired his revolver until he ran out of ammunition. Fetherstonhaugh wrote to Davies congratulating him. In the letter he also mentioned his own injury: “I got a bullet through both thighs, it made a clean hole through the left but opened out a bit and made a large gash through the back of the right which will take a little while to fix up”.
While the 4th Light Horse Regiment dismounted at the trenches and tackled their objective on foot many in the 12th Light Horse Regiment were able to get straight through and take the town, Keddie: “we were all at the gallop yelling like mad some had bayonets in their hand others their rifle then it was a full stretch gallop at the trenches . . . the last 200 yards or so was good going and those horses put on pace and next were jumping the trenches with the Turks underneath . . . when over the trenches we went straight for the town.”
Main street of Beersheba shortly after its captureMain street of Beersheba shortly after its captureP01668.005
Sergeant Charles Doherty wrote that the horsemen who cleared all the trenches came up to an open plane which “was succeeded by small wadies and perpendicular gullies, surrounding which scores of sniper’s nests or dugouts each were holding seven or eight men. After progressing another quarter of a mile, we turned to the right at an angle of 45 degrees to converge on Beersheba. The enemy’s fire now came from the direction of the town and a large railway viaduct to the north. The limited number of entrances to the city temporarily checked us but those in front went straight up and through the narrow streets. Falling beams from fired buildings, exploding magazines and arsenals and various hidden snipers were unable to check our race through the two available streets that were wide enough for 2 to ride abreast.” Private Keddie had a near miss: “I felt a bullet go past my ear and thought if that bullet had been a few more inches to one side” as did Trooper Dengate: “I suppose you heard about the capture of Beersheba by the 4th Brigade, well I was right in it, and came through safe, and with my skin intact, I got a bullet through the leg of my breeches, just above the knee, grazed my leg but didn’t make it bleed.”
Locomotive & well at Beersheba, blown up by retreating Turkish forcesLocomotive & well at Beersheba, blown up by retreating Turkish forcesP03463.001
The success of the charge was in the shock value and sheer speed in which they took the town before it could be destroyed by a retreating Turkish force. Harry Langtip described Beersheba: “The town is small but has some very nice buildings with tiled roofs. The water scheme is grand. We got into the army stores and helped ourselves to grain for the horses & got bivy sheets and peg posts. We got all the Turkish stores, there was everything from a telephone to a pack saddle. We got lots of horses and bullocks. There was rifles and gear lying everywhere. The Turks left bombs and if you kicked one up it went. One Tommie got both his eyes blown out by a bottle. He just kicked it out of the way and it must have been full of explosives.”
Watering horses from a large reservoir after Beersheba was capturedWatering horses from a large reservoir after Beersheba was capturedP02041.012
Sergeant Charles Doherty: “The first party sent across to the large cement troughs had just finished when from the east came an unexpected fusillade of bullets. Through this assault made it appear that we had been cleverly ambushed, we retained control over the prisoners and secured what cover there was until further support arrived. Between 8 & 9:30 pm the 11LHR arrived and the 4th MG Squadron came in. Then a complete chain of outposts was established while the main body of prisoners, together with many scattered lots from the various redoubts were taken back to Brigade HQ.”
Motor ambulances waiting near the Beersheba town mosqueMotor ambulances waiting near the Beersheba town mosqueP01668.004
31 light horsemen were killed in the charge and 36 were wounded. Some originals from the Brigade who had enlisted in 1914 such as Edward Cleaver and Albert “Tibbie” Cotter, the famous Australian cricketer, were killed. The next morning Private Keddie rode over the ground to see if any of the horses could be found roaming but he recorded only seeing dead carcases. Keddie: “We were sent looking for the horses whose riders were killed so we made for the other side of the town where several other light horse regiments were . . . met some friends in the first light horse and yarned for a while they asked me what it was like in the charge gave them a full account”. At least 70 horses died. The Turkish defenders suffered many casualties and between 700 and 1,000 troops were captured.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade into Beersheba.
Robyn
Sources:
Private records

Captain Charles Lydiard Abbott 12th Light Horse PR86/300

Private William Henry Best 12th Light Horse PR01038

Private Stan Broome 12th Light Horse PR91/053

Major Philip Arthur Chambers 12th Light Horse 1DRL/0196

General Sir Henry George Chauvel commander of the Desert Mounted Corp PR00535

Trooper Edward R Cleaver 4th Light Horse 3DRL/4114

Trooper Ernest J Craggs 12th Light Horse 3DRL/7812

Trooper Edward C Dengate 12th Light Horse 3DRL/7678

Corporal Roy J Dunk 3rd Light Horse PR00469

Lieutenant Robert Clive Hunter 12th Light Horse 1DRL/0367

Private Albert Victor Hunter 12th Light Horse PR01259

Private Walter Mundell Keddie 12th Light Horse PR03724

Sergeant Harry Langtip 4th Light Horse PR00053

Captain Charles Lydiard Abbott 12th Light Horse PR86/300

Lieutenant Arthur Talbot Scott 12th Light Horse 1DRL/0005

Private Arthur West 12th Light Horse 1DRL/0601
Notes on the Battle of Beersheba from Ashley Ekins Head, Military History Section
Official Records

Australian Army war diaries - First World War
Published

Henry Gullett, The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914–1918 (10th edition, 1941)Elsie Ritchie Crusaders of the Southern Cross: the Australian Light Horse in the Middle East from the letters of Colonel Jack Davies([Leichhardt, N.S.W. : Roland Nigel Davies],c1998.)

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font                      redaction              awm.gov.au/blog/2007/10/30/the-charge-of-the-4th-light-horse-brigade-at-beersheba

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