United Kingdom and the Islamic State

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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom. British citizens have fought as members of the group, and there has been political debate on how to punish them. On 26 September 2014, Parliament voted to begin Royal Air Force airstrikes against ISIL in northern Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, [1] which began four days later, using Tornado GR4 jets. [2] On 2 December 2015, the UK Parliament authorised an extension to the Royal Air Force airstrike campaign, joining the US-led international coalition against ISIL in Syria. [3] Hours after the vote, Royal Air Force Tornado jets began bombing ISIL-controlled oilfields. [4]

Contents

British citizens in ISIL

William Hague, then Foreign Secretary, estimated in June 2014 that 400 British citizens were fighting in Syria, some for ISIL. [5] Khalid Mahmood, a Labour MP, estimated that there were at least 1,500 Britons in ISIL. [6] A more accurate source from the BBC estimates around 850 people from the UK had traveled to Iraq and Syria to support or fight for jihadist groups. [7] Former MI6 counter-terrorism head Richard Barrett raised concerns about the potentially large number of radicalised fighters that had returned to Britain from Syria and Iraq. [8]

Journalist James Foley was executed around 19 August 2014, on video by an ISIL member whose accent sounded English. [9] The killer, Mohammed Emwazi, was described in the media as "Jihadi John".

In August 2014, activists in London handed out leaflets in support of ISIL outside the busy Oxford Circus branch of Topshop. [10]

On 7 September 2015, a Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone conducted an airstrike in Syria which killed two British-born ISIL fighters. [11]

On 3 January 2016, Siddhartha Dhar, a British citizen of Indian roots, was named the lead executioner in an IS film showing the executions of alleged British spies. [12]

On 21 February 2017, around Mosul a suicide bombing was carried out by a past inmate of Guantanamo called Jamal al Harith. [13] [14] [15] His original name was Ronald Fiddler, [16] [17] and he also called himself Abu Zakariya. [18] [19] [ better source needed ] Britain's Conservative government had given him one million pounds over his time in Guantanamo. [20] [21] [22] Fiddler's parents were Jamaican. [23] [24] He went to Tell Abyad. [25] [ better source needed ]

On 24 October 2017, it was announced that a British man who had been fighting against Isil with the Kurdish YPG in Raqqa had been killed whilst trying to clear land mines. This took the total number of British volunteers fighting Isis in Syria to six. [26]

A British citizen, Shamima Begum entered Syria to join ISIL at the age of 15. She visited Syria in February 2015 with two of her friends. But Begum married an ISIL member within ten days of reaching Syria. In July 2020, the British Supreme Court allowed Begum to return for proper investigation of the case in the UK. But, on 26 February 2021, the Supreme Court declared reversing the decision for court appeal and her return to the UK. On 22 February 2023, Shamima Begum also lost the legal case for her British Citizenship at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission(SIAC). The case was dismissed for national security of the country. Sir James Eadie KC indicated that Begum “poses a risk of National Security”. [27]

Reactions

The British government proscribed ISIL as a terrorist organisation in June 2014. Previously, it had been proscribed as a part of Al-Qaeda. The government describes the group as follows: [28]

ISIL is a brutal Sunni Islamist terrorist group active in Iraq and Syria. The group adheres to a global jihadist ideology, following an extreme interpretation of Islam, which is anti-Western and promotes sectarian violence. ISIL aims to establish an Islamic State governed by Shari'a law in the region and impose their rule on people using violence and extortion.

In August 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that anybody displaying the black standard in the United Kingdom should be arrested. [29]

Home Secretary Theresa May suggested new measures against radical preachers, stripping citizenship from naturalised Britons who fought for ISIL, and trying British-born ISIL members for engaging in terrorism abroad. [30] Other figures, such as Mayor of London Boris Johnson, [31] Conservative backbench MP David Davis, [32] former archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey [32] and UKIP leader Nigel Farage have stated that all British citizens in ISIS should lose their citizenship. [33] On 29 August 2014, the UK terror threat was raised from "substantial" to "severe". [34]

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a senior MP, advocated an alliance with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to defeat ISIL. [35] This was ruled out by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who stated "We may very well find that we are aligned against a common enemy. But that does not make us able to trust them, it does not make us able to work with them and it would poison what we are trying to achieve in separating moderate Sunni opinion from the poisonous ideology of [ISIS] if we were to align ourselves with President Assad." [36]

Royal Air Force Tornado jets and Chinook helicopters based in Cyprus have provided humanitarian aid to Yazidi refugees fleeing ISIL, as well as airlifts. [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jamal Udeen Al-Harith, born Ronald Fiddler also known as Abu-Zakariya al-Britani, was a British citizen who reportedly died carrying out a suicide bombing in Iraq in February 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State</span> Salafi jihadist militant Islamist group

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 its Arabic acronym Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist group and a former unrecognised quasi-state. Its origins were in the Jai'sh al-Taifa al-Mansurah organization founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004, which fought alongside al-Qaeda during the Iraqi insurgency. The group gained global prominence in 2014, when its militants successfully captured large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the ongoing Syrian civil war. By the end of 2015, it ruled an area with an estimated population of twelve million people, where it enforced its extremist interpretation of Islamic law, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters.

<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 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.

The persecution of Christians by the Islamic State involves the systematic mass murder of Christian minorities, within the regions of Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya controlled by the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State. Persecution of Christian minorities climaxed following the Syrian civil war and later by its spillover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Iraq (2013–2017)</span> War between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State

The War in Iraq (2013–2017) was an armed conflict between Iraq and its allies and the Islamic State. Following December 2013, the insurgency escalated into full-scale guerrilla warfare following clashes in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in parts of western Iraq, and culminated in the Islamic State offensive into Iraq in June 2014, which lead to the capture of the cities of Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in western and northern Iraq by the Islamic State. Between 4–9 June 2014, the city of Mosul was attacked and later fell; following this, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. Ali Ghaidan, a former military commander in Mosul, accused al-Maliki of being the one who issued the order to withdraw from the city of Mosul. At its height, ISIL held 56,000 square kilometers of Iraqi territory, containing 4.5 million citizens.

"The Beatles" was the nickname for an Islamic State terrorist group composed of four British militants. The group was named by their hostages after the English rock group The Beatles, who referred to the members as "John", "Paul", "George", and "Ringo".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">US-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)</span> Coalition against the Islamic State

On 15 June 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched in response to the Northern Iraq offensive of the Islamic State (IS) as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Muslim al-Turkmani</span> ISIL deputy leader

Fadel Ahmed Abdullah al-Hiyali, better known by his noms de guerre Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, Haji Mutazz, or Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi, was the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) governor for territories held by the organization in Iraq. He was considered the ISIL second-in-command ; he played a political role of overseeing the local councils and a military role that includes directing operations against opponents of ISIL. His names were also spelt Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, and Hajji Mutazz.

The Bethnal Green trio are Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza Sultana, three British girls who attended the Bethnal Green Academy in London before leaving home in February 2015 to join the Islamic State. According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, they were among an estimated 550 women and girls from Western countries who had travelled to join IS—part of what some have called "a jihadi, girl-power subculture", the so-called Brides of ISIL. As of 2024, one girl has been reported killed (Sultana), one girl has been stripped of her British nationality and denied re-entry into the country (Begum) while the third's fate is unknown (Abase).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Iraq (2014)</span>

The Timeline of the War in Iraq covers the War in Iraq, a war which erupted that lasted in Iraq from 2013 to 2017, during the first year of armed conflict.

Collaboration with the Islamic State refers to the cooperation and assistance given by governments, non-state actors, and private individuals to the Islamic State (IS) during the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War, and Libyan Civil War.

Zulfi Hoxha, also known by the nom de guerre (kunya) Abu Hamza al-Amriki, or Al Ameriki, was an Albanian-American Islamic State (IS) senior commander and recruiter of foreign fighters fighting in Syria and in Iraq.

Shamima Begum is a British-born woman who entered Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group at the age of 15 and was consequently stripped of UK citizenship. She lives in al-Roj detention camp in Syria.

Beginning in 2012, dozens of girls and women traveled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State (IS), becoming brides of Islamic State fighters. While some traveled willingly, others were brought to Iraq and Syria as minors by their parents or family or forcefully.

Sharmeena Begum is a jihadi bride who left the United Kingdom to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in December 2014. Two months later, in February 2015, her school friends Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza Sultana joined her in occupied Syria. Begum is one of the youngest British teenagers to join ISIL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Hawl refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in Syria

The al-Hawl refugee camp is a refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the town of al-Hawl in northern Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border, which holds individuals displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The camp is nominally controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but according to the U.S. Government, much of the camp is run by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant who use the camp for indoctrination and recruitment purposes.

The origins of the Islamic State group can be traced back to three main organizations. Earliest of these was the "Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād" organization, founded by the Jihadist leader Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi in Jordan in 1999. The other two predecessor organizations emerged during the Iraqi insurgency against the U.S. occupation forces. These included the "Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah" group founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004 and the "Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah" group founded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his associates in the same year.

<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.

<i>Begum v Home Secretary</i> 2021 Supreme Court of the United Kingdom case

Begum v Home Secretary [2021] UKSC 7 is the short name of three closely connected proceedings considered together in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, R v Special Immigration Appeals Commission; R v Secretary of State for the Home Department; and Begum v Secretary of State for the Home Department, concerning Shamima Begum, a woman born in the United Kingdom who at the age of 15 travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Her intention to return to England in 2019 resulted in a public debate about the handling of returning jihadists.

References

  1. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew; Phipps, Claire (26 September 2014). "UK parliament approves air strikes against Isis in Iraq – as it happened". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Sengupta, Kim (30 September 2014). "Iraq crisis: British jets drop bombs on Isis, helping Kurdish fighters battling the militants". The Independent . Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (3 December 2015). "Britain carries out first Syria airstrikes after MPs approve action against Isis". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  4. ↑ "RAF starts bombing Isis oil fields in Syria - as it happened". The Independent. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  5. ↑ Wintour, Patrick; Watt, Nicholas (16 June 2014). "Up to 400 British citizens may be fighting in Syria, says William Hague". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Withnall, Adam (23 June 2014). "Iraq crisis: Isis 'has recruited at least 1,500 Britons' to fight abroad, warns Birmingham MP". The Independent . Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Who are Britain's jihadists?". BBC News. 12 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Owen, Jonathan (22 June 2014). "Syria civil war: Hundreds of radicalised fighters are already back in the UK, warns former MI6 chief". The Independent . Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Nick Allen and Philip Sherwell (August 20, 2014). "Hunt for 'British' Islamic State killer of US journalist James Foley". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Charles (14 August 2014). "Isis supporters are on the streets of London — but the media needs to stop panicking". The Independent . Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Two Britons killed in RAF Syria strike, PM tells MPs". BBC. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Islamic State video suspect thought to be Briton Siddhartha Dhar". BBC News. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Thomas Joscelyn [@thomasjoscelyn] (February 22, 2017). "1. *Story coming*: Jamal al Harith, ex-Guantanamo detainee who blew himself up for #ISIS near Mosul was detained in Afghanistan alongside..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (22 February 2017). "Ex-Guantanamo detainee carried out suicide attack near Mosul, Iraq". Long War Journal. Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
  15. ↑ "ISIS Posts Image Of British Former Gitmo Prisoner Who Carried Out Martyrdom Operation Near Mosul". MEMRI. 20 February 2017.
  16. ↑ Baig, Assed (21 February 2017). "Isis suicide bomber is former Guantanamo detainee". Channel 4.
  17. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (13 July 2016). "Ex-Gitmo detainee, Islamic State's leader in Chechnya designated by State Department". Long War Journal. Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
  18. ↑ Rita Katz [@Rita_Katz] (February 21, 2017). "2) AbuZakariya (Jamal al-Harith/Ronald Fiddler) was released from #Guantanamo in2004; Was compensated £1million. T…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ Moore, Mark (21 February 2017). "ISIS suicide bomber in Iraq was former Gitmo detainee". New York Post.
  20. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (22 February 2017). "British man who launched Isil suicide attack was Guantanamo Bay detainee awarded £1m compensation". The Telegraph.
  21. ↑ Tony Blair Institute [@InstituteGC] (February 22, 2017). "Tony Blair response to Jamal al-Harith story:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ↑ Robin Simcox [@RobinSimcox] (February 22, 2017). "Blair was not faultless in this saga but he is clearly correct to point out the Mail's utterly outrageous hypocrisy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ Orton, Kyle (21 February 2017). "Analysis: 'The Need for Caution in Releasing Guantanamo Inmates'". Henry Jackson Society. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
  24. ↑ Kyle Orton [@KyleWOrton] (February 22, 2017). "Ronald Fiddler was given £1m by the UK govt after being imprisoned in GTMO. He blew himself up for #IS yesterday..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ Björn Stritzel [@bjoernstritzel] (February 22, 2017). "According to his personal ISIS file, 50 y/o Fiddler crossed into Syria via Tell Abyad and enlisted with ISIS 18/04/..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ "British man who went to fight Isis dies clearing landmines". The Independent. 24 October 2017.
  27. ↑ "Shamima Begum Loses Challenge Over Removal of British Citizenship". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  28. ↑ "Proscribed Terrorist Organisations" (PDF). Home Office. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Iraq crisis: Cameron warns of possible IS threat to UK". BBC News . 16 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Theresa May considering banning orders to combat British extremism". The Guardian . Press Association. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  31. ↑ "Britons in Syria and Iraq should be presumed guilty, Boris Johnson says". BBC News . 25 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  32. 1 2 Sparrow, Andrew (24 August 2014). "British jihadists 'should be stripped of citizenship', says David Davis". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  33. ↑ Gander, Kashmira (20 August 2014). "Ukip leader Nigel Farage calls for Britons joining the Islamic State abroad to be stripped of British citizenship". The Independent . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  34. ↑ "UK terror threat level raised to 'severe'". BBC News . 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  35. ↑ Jones, Sam (21 August 2014). "US and allies must join Assad to defeat Isis, warns British MP". Financial Times . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  36. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (22 August 2014). "UK rules out alliance with Bashar al-Assad in fight against Isis". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  37. ↑ "RAF Tornado jets in Cyprus for Iraq aid mission". BBC News . 12 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
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