Timeline of the Islamic State (2013)

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2013 was the year in which the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) adopted that name. The group expanded its territorial control in Syria and began to do so in Iraq also, and committed acts of terrorism in both countries and in Turkey.

Timeline

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Nusra Front</span> Jihadist organization in the Syrian Civil War

Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra, known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham after July 2016, and also described as al-Qaeda in Syria or al-Qaeda in the Levant, was a Salafist jihadist terrorist organization fighting against Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. Its aim was to establish an Islamic state in the country. The group has changed its name several times and merged with and separated from other groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahrar al-Sham</span> Islamic organization in Syria

Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition of multiple Islamist and Salafist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Aboud until his death in 2014. In July 2013, Ahrar al-Sham had 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, which at the time made it the second most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad, after the Free Syrian Army. It was the principal organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and was a major component of the Islamic Front. With an estimated 20,000 fighters in 2015, Ahrar al-Sham became the largest rebel group in Syria after the Free Syrian Army became less powerful. Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam are the main rebel groups supported by Turkey. On 18 February 2018, Ahrar al-Sham merged with the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form the Syrian Liberation Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ras al-Ayn (2012–13)</span> 2012-13 battle of the Syrian Civil War

The Battle of Ras al-Ayn was a series of armed clashes for control of the town of Ras al-Ayn during the Syrian Civil War, mainly between the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG) and an alliance of Syrian rebel groups, with the occasional involvement of the Syrian Armed Forces. As result of the battle's first phase, the Syrian Army was expelled from the city by Syrian rebels, whereupon the latter attacked the YPG-affiliated fighters in Ras al-Ayn. In the following months, the city was effectively divided into rebel-held and YPG-held areas, with intermittent fighting resulting in the gradual expansion of the YPG's territory in the city and its surroundings. Islamist and jihadist factions soon became dominant among the rebels in the region, further contributing to tensions with the secular-leftist YPG. In July 2013, the battle's final phase erupted and ended when an alliance of YPG-led troops completely expelled the rebels from Ras al-Ayn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Reyhanlı car bombings</span> 2013 bombings in Turkey

The 2013 Reyhanlı car bombings took place on 11 May 2013, when two car bombs exploded in the Turkish town of Reyhanlı, a town of 64,000 people, 5 km from the Syrian border and the busiest land border post with Syria, in Hatay Province, Turkey. At least 52 people were killed and 140 injured in the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabhat Ghuraba al-Sham</span>

The Ghuraba al-Sham Front was a group of fighters, active during the Syrian civil war, in favor of a secular state. The group formerly had around 2,000 men, but in May 2013 it clashed with Islamic fundamentalist groups and most of its fighters dispersed. Ghuraba al-Sham's arsenals were confiscated by the Islamists and by late 2013 it had only has around 100 fighters in its ranks. The group consisted of a mixture of secularists and Islamists. The name of the group has since changed. There was a battalion within the group called the Loyalty Battalion made up entirely of women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign fighters in the Syrian Civil War and War in Iraq</span>

Foreign fighters have fought on all four sides of the Syrian Civil War, as well both sides of the War in Iraq. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, leftist militants have joined Kurdish fighting forces, and other foreign fighters have joined jihadist organizations and private military contractors recruit globally. Estimates of the total number of foreign Sunnis who have fought for the Syrian rebels over the course of the conflict range from 5,000 to over 10,000, while foreign Shia fighters numbered around 10,000 or less in 2013 rising to between 15,000 and 25,000 in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar al-Sham</span>

Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham is an armed Sunni Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against Syrian government forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jund al-Aqsa</span> Islamist militia in Syria

Jund al-Aqsa, later known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founded by Abu Abdul 'Aziz al-Qatari as a subunit within the al-Nusra Front. The group later became independent, because al-Nusra was growing too rapidly for its resources and had suffered from fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On 20 September 2016 the U.S. Department of State designated Jund al-Aqsa as a terrorist organization. The group rejoined al-Nusra Front, by then renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), in October 2016. However, on 23 January 2017, JFS declared that Jund Al-Aqsa was no longer part of Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham. In early February 2017, some of Jund al-Aqsa's units joined the newly formed Tahrir al-Sham, while the others refused and formed a new splinter group called Liwa al-Aqsa, and captured many towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib from other rebel groups. Following these attacks, Tahrir al-Sham launched a military operation against Liwa al-Aqsa, accusing them of being an ISIL affiliate. Following intense clashes with Tahrir al-Sham, up to 2,100 Liwa al-Aqsa militants left Idlib Province to join ISIL in Raqqa Province, by 22 February 2017.

The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2014. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.

Abu Khalid al-Suri, or Mohamed al-Bahaiya or Abu Umayr al-Shami, was a Syrian jihadist militant often affiliated with Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and the Syrian Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham. Al-Suri was believed to be assassinated by an ISIL suicide attack in 2014, however ISIL denied involvement in the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tell Abyad (2013)</span> Military confrontation

The 2013 battle of Tell Abyad was a military confrontation in the town of Tell Abyad between the Kurdish Front and the Democratic Union Party-affiliated People's Protection Units and Women's Protection Units against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the al-Nusra Front, and Ahrar al-Sham, resulting in a Kurdish defeat and the jihadist capture of the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahrir al-Sham</span> Salafi Islamist military force participating in the Syrian Civil War

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement; under the initiative of Abu Jaber Shaykh, an Islamist commander who served as the second Emir of Ahrar al-Sham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raqqa campaign (2012–2013)</span> Series of battles in the Syrian Civil War

The Raqqa campaign (2012–2013) was a series of battles and offensives launched by various Syrian rebel groups, led by the al-Nusra Front, against Syrian government forces in the Raqqa Governorate as part of the Syrian Civil War. The campaign was launched at the second half of 2012 and ended in the capture of the city of Raqqa as well as dozens of smaller towns and facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of al-Yaarubiyah</span> Fought in late October 2013 at al-Yaarubiyah

The Battle of al-Yaarubiyah was fought in late October 2013 at al-Yaarubiyah, a strategically important town at the border of Syria with Iraq. Affiliates of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), namely the YPG/YPJ and local Arab tribes, attacked the settlement in an attempt to capture it from Jihadist and Islamist groups, led by the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. After four days of heavy fighting, the Islamists were defeated and expelled from al-Yaarubiyah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conquest Brigade</span>

The Conquest Brigade, also known as Battalion of Conquest or al-Fatah Brigade, is a Sunni Islamist Free Syrian Army group that takes part in the Syrian Civil War. One of the largest rebel factions active in Aleppo Governorate during the early civil war, the militia played a major part in the fighting for Aleppo city and other battles. As result of conflicts with government forces and later the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant it declined after 2013.The Conquest Brigade became part of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) in 2016, also engaging in fighting with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War started after fighting erupted between Syrian opposition groups and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In early January 2014, serious clashes between the groups erupted in the north of the country. Opposition groups near Aleppo attacked ISIL in two areas, Atarib and Anadan, which were both strongholds of the fundamentalist Sunni organization. Despite the conflict between ISIL and other rebels, one faction of ISIL has cooperated with the al-Nusra Front and the Green Battalion to combat Hezbollah in the Battle of Qalamoun. By 2018, the Islamic State was destroyed in the territories held by the opposition.

Ali Aswad al-Jiburi, better known by his nom de guerre as Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, was an ISIL commander and Shura council member killed on 18 May 2016 by an airstrike in northern Iraq.

The history of the Islamic State began with the group's foundation in 1999 by Jordanian Salafi jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi under the name Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād. In a letter published by the US State Department in February 2004, Zarqawi wrote that jihadists should use bombings to start an open sectarian war in Iraq so that Sunnis from other countries would mobilize against the assassinations carried out by Shias, specifically the Badr Organisation, against Ba'athists and Sunnis. The Islamic State would eventually grow to control territory with a population of millions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jund al-Islam</span>

Jund al-Islam is an active armed insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaeda operating primarily in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war</span>

Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war have come to Syria and joined all four sides in the war. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters arriving to defend the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or join the Syrian rebels, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, and leftists have become foreign fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces.

References

  1. ↑ "ISI Confirms That Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Its Extension in Syria, Declares 'Islamic State of Iraq And Al-Sham' As New Name of Merged Group". MEMRI. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Key Free Syria Army rebel 'killed by Islamist group'". BBC News. 12 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Al-Qaeda in Iraq confirms Syria's Nusra Front is part of its network". Al Arabiya. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Gul Tuysuz; Raja Razek; Nick Paton Walsh (6 November 2013). "Al Qaeda-linked group strengthens hold in northern Syria". CNN. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Death toll rises to 42 as explosions hit Turkish town on border with Syria". Hürriyet Daily News. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Deadliest Terror Attack in Turkey's History Might Be Another Attempt to Derail Peace Talks? But Which One? Syria or PKK?". The Istanbulian. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Hacaoglu, Selcan; El Baltaji, Dana (12 May 2013). "Turkey Holds Nine Suspects in Deadly Attack Blamed on Syria". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Kodmani, Bassma; Legrand, Félix (14 October 2013). "Empowering the democratic resistance in Syria". Arab Reform Initiative.
  9. ↑ Morris, Loveday; DeYoung, Karen (12 July 2013). "Al-Qaeda-affiliated gunmen kill Syrian rebel commander, rebels say". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Al Qaeda in Iraq Resurgent" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. September 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Al Qaeda says it freed 500 inmates in Iraq jail-break". Reuters . 23 July 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Iraq:hundreds escape from Abu Ghraib jail". The Guardian. Associated Press. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  13. 1 2 Schreck, Adam (23 July 2013). "Abu Ghraib Prison Break: Al Qaeda in Iraq Claims Responsibility for Raid". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  14. ↑ Lake, Eli (29 July 2013). "Al Qaeda in Iraq Abu Ghraib Jailbreak a Counterterrorism Nightmare". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Malas, Nour; Abushakra, Rima (6 August 2013). "Islamists Seize Airbase Near Aleppo" . The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 July 2014. Accessible via Google.
  16. ↑ Luca, Ana Maria (11 November 2013). "Message from Ayman al-Zawahiri". NOW News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Loyd, Anthony (20 September 2013). "Will I die today? Face to face with jihadists fuelled by hate" . The Australian. Retrieved 16 July 2014. Accessible via Google.
  18. ↑ Burch, Jonathon; Dziadosz, Alexander (19 September 2013). "Syrian rebels, Qaeda group clash near Turkish border crossing". Reuters. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Al-Qaeda group and FSA declare truce as Turkey keeps Syria border gate closed Hürriyet Daily News, 19 September 2013
  20. ↑ "Syrian al-Qaeda prepares to launch attack in Turkey's big cities". Today's Zaman. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Reyhanlı saldırısını El Kaide üstlendi" [Reyhanlı attack was by Al Qaeda]. Oda TV (in Turkish). 1 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Reyhanlı". Aydınlık. 2 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "ISIL threatens Erdoğan with suicide bombings in Ankara, İstanbul". Today's Zaman. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "'El Kaide, Reyhanlı'yı üstlendi' iddiası" (in Turkish). CNN Türk. 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "Battles rage around Damascus, jihadists slay rival rebel leader". The Daily Star. Beirut. 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  26. ↑ Surk, Barbara (10 December 2013). "Syrian army pounds rebels near Lebanon border". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  27. ↑ "Al Qaeda Is Taking Over Whole Cities in Iraq - VICE Canada". Vice.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
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