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The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and by their Arabic acronym Daesh, are a transnational Salafi jihadist group. Their origins were in the Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah organization founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004. The organization affiliated itself with Al-Qaeda, so IS was originally a branch of Al-Qaeda and fought alongside them during the Iraqi insurgency. IS eventually split, and gained global prominence in 2014, when their militants successfully captured large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the ongoing Syrian civil war. Notorious for their perpetration of war crimes and extensive human rights violations, IS have engaged in the persecution of Christians, Mandaeans, Shia Muslims, and Sufi Sunnis, and published videos of beheadings and executions of journalists and aid workers. By the end of 2015, they ruled an area with an estimated population of 12 million people, where they enforced their extremist interpretation of Islamic law, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters.
Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri, commonly known by his nom de guerreAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant who was the first caliph of the Islamic State (IS) from 2014 until his death in 2019.
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, known by his nom de guerreAbu Omar al-Shishani or Omar al-Shishani, was a Chechen-Georgian jihadist who served as a commander for the Islamic State, and was previously a sergeant in the Georgian Army.
Ahmad Abousamra, known also as Abu Sulayman ash-Shami and Abu Maysarah ash-Shami, was a Syrian-American Islamic militant and ideologue who served as the chief editor of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Dabiq magazine. In 2013, he was placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's 'most wanted list' and made the subject of a $50,000 reward because of his connections to a Massachusetts terrorism investigation centering on his alleged close associate Tarek Mehanna, who was arrested in 2009 and convicted of terrorism-related charges in a Boston court in late 2011. He was featured on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list for allegedly attempting to obtain military training in his trips to Yemen and Pakistan for the purpose of killing American soldiers overseas.
Shaker Wahib al-Fahdawi al-Dulaimi, better known as Abu Waheeb, was an Iraqi militant jihadist who was the leader of the Islamic State in Anbar, Iraq. He killed three Syrian truck drivers in Iraq in the summer of 2013, and was himself killed, with three others, in a United States-led coalition airstrike in May 2016, according to the US Department of Defense.
Taha Sobhi Falaha, better known by his nom de guerreAbu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, was a Syrian militant leader who was the official spokesperson and a senior leader of the Islamic State. He was described as the chief of its external operations. He was the second most senior leader of the Islamic State after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Media reports in August 2016 suggested he was in charge of a special unit, known as the Emni, that was established by IS in 2014 with the double objective of internal policing and executing operations outside IS territory.
On 22 September 2014, the United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war with the stated aim of fighting the terrorist organization ISIS in support of the international war against it, code named Operation Inherent Resolve. The US currently continues to support the Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces opposed to both the Islamic State and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The Khorasan group, sometimes known simply as Khorasan, is an alleged group of senior al-Qaeda members operating in Syria. The group is reported to consist of a small number of fighters who are all on terrorist watchlists, and coordinates with al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. At an intelligence gathering in Washington, D.C., on 18 September 2014, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that "in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as ISIS."
Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, better known as Abu Ali al-Anbari, was the governor for territories held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. Considered the ISIL second-in-command, he was viewed as a potential successor of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the United States military's operational name for the international war against the Islamic State, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely related campaign in Libya. Through 18 September 2018, the U.S. Army's III Armored Corps was responsible for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF—OIR) and were replaced by the XVIII Airborne Corps. The campaign is primarily waged by American and British forces in support of local allies, most prominently the Iraqi security forces and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Combat ground troops, mostly special forces, infantry, and artillery have also been deployed, especially in Iraq. Of the airstrikes, 70% have been conducted by the military of the United States, 20% by the United Kingdom and the remaining 10% being carried out by France, Turkey, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Jordan.
Adnan Latif Hamid al-Suwaydawi al-Dulaymi, also known by his noms de guerre Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi, Abu Abdul Salem, and Haji Dawūd was a top commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the former head of its Military Council.
Kayla Jean Mueller was an American human rights activist and humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, Arizona, United States. She was taken captive in August 2013 in Aleppo, Syria, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital. Media reported that a 26-year-old American aid worker was being held by ISIS without naming her, at her family's request. In 2015, she was killed in uncertain circumstances. The operation that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was named Operation Kayla Mueller, in her honor.
Junaid Hussain was a British black hat hacker and propagandist under the nom de guerre of Abu Hussain al-Britani who supported the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Hussain, who was raised in Birmingham in a family originally from Pakistan, was jailed in 2012 for hacking Tony Blair's accounts and posting his personal information online. Hussain left the UK around 2013 for Syria.
Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi, better known by his noms de guerre Abu Nabil al-Anbari, Abul Mughirah al-Qahtani or Abu Yazan al-Humairi was a commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the leader of its Libyan branch. Al-Anbari was killed by a US military airstrike on 13 November 2015.
Thaher Salim Mohammad Al-Shahiri known by his nom de guerre Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir was the kunya used by the second official spokesman of the Islamic State from 5 December 2016 until 27 October 2019, when he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in northwest Syria. He was a Saudi national. He was replaced by Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi.
Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti was a leading official of the Islamic State, serving as important military commander, recruiter and propagandist. Known for his command capabilities and popular among his subordinates, Abu Jandal was called "The Lion" among IS fighters and fought in several battles in Syria and Iraq. By late 2016, Abu Jandal had become IS' second highest-ranking commander in Syria and led the defense of its de facto capital Raqqa against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He was killed by a US airstrike on 26 December 2016.
The U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war is the United States-led support of Syrian opposition and Rojava during the course of the Syrian civil war and active military involvement led by the United States and its allies — the militaries of the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia and more — against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front since 2014. Since early 2017, the U.S. and other Coalition partners have also targeted the Syrian government and its allies via airstrikes and aircraft shoot-downs.
Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi was the fourth caliph of the Islamic State and allegedly the first Syrian to serve as caliph. He took office on 30 November 2022.
ISIL is known for its extensive and effective use of propaganda. It uses a version of the Muslim Black Standard flag and developed an emblem which has clear symbolic meaning in the Muslim world.
References
- ↑ "Islamic State confirms death of propaganda chief: statement". Reuters. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ "IS confirms death of propaganda chief Abu Mohammed al-Furqan - BBC News". Bbc.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ "Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Airstrike Against ISIL Senior Leader > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > News Release View". Defense.gov. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ Starr, Barbara (16 September 2016). "US says it killed ISIS information minister in drone strike - CNNPolitics.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ "ISIS Information Minister 'Dr. Wa'il' Killed in Airstrike in Syria: Pentagon | NBC 7 San Diego". Nbcsandiego.com. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ Moore, Jack (11 October 2016). "ISIS Confirms Death of Media Emir Abu Mohammad Al-Furqan". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.