Islamic State الدولة الإسلامية ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya | |
|---|---|
 Emblem | |
Motto:
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| Anthem: أُمَّتِي قَدْ لَاحَ فَجْرٌ (Arabic) Ummatī qad la-hā fajrūn "My Ummah, Dawn Has Appeared" (de facto)[4] | |
Seal:[5][6][7][8][9][10] | |
_(orthographic_projection).png) Maximum extent of the Islamic State at May 2015 | |
| Status | Unrecognizedproto-state Designated as a terrorist organization |
| Capital | |
| Official languages | Arabic |
| Religion | Sunni Islam (Salafism) |
| Government | Totalitarian self-proclaimed Islamiccaliphate |
• Caliph | Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi |
• Head of the Shura Council | Abu Arkan al-Ameri |
| Legislature | Shura |
| Establishment | War on Terror |
• Established under the name ofJama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad | 1999 |
• Joined al-Qaeda | October 2004 |
• Declaration of anIslamic State in Iraq | 13 October 2006 |
• Claim of territory in theLevant | 8 April 2013 |
• Separated fromal-Qaeda | 3 February 2014 |
• Declaration of caliphate | 29 June 2014 |
| Population | |
• 2015 estimate | (near max extent): 8–12 million[13][14] |
| Currency | |
| Time zone | UTC+2 and +3 (EET andAST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
TheIslamic State (IS) is an unrecognisedquasi-state that had its core inIraq andSyria from 2013 to2017 and2019 respectively, where theproto-state controlled significant swathes ofurban,rural, anddesert territory, mainly in theMesopotamian region.[14] Today the group controls scattered pockets of land in the area, as well as other minor strongholds or underground insurgent cells[14][16] inother areas, notablyAfghanistan,West Africa, theSahara,Somalia,Mozambique, and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.[17] As of 2023, large swathes ofMali have fallen under IS control.[18]
In early 2017, IS controlled approximately 45,377 square kilometers (17,520 square miles) of territory in Iraq and Syria and 7,323 km2 of territory elsewhere, for a total of 52,700 square kilometres (20,300 sq mi).[14] This represents a substantial decline from the group's territorial peak in late 2014, when it controlled between 100,000 and 110,000 square kilometres (39,000 and 42,000 sq mi)[14][19] of territory in total.[14][20] IS territory has declined substantially in almost every country since 2014, a result of the group's unpopularity and the military action taken against it.[14] By late March 2019, IS territory in Syria was reduced to only the besieged 4,000 km2 (1,550 sq mi)Syrian Desert pocket.[21] The enclave was surrounded by Syrian government forces and its allies.[22][23][21] The Syrian military conducted combing operations and airstrikes against the pocket, but with limited success.[24][25] IS propaganda claims a peak territorial extent of 282,485 km2.[26]
The majority of the Islamic State's territory, population, revenue, and prestige came from the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria.[14] InAfghanistan, IS mostly controls territory near thePakistan border and has lost 87% of its territory since spring 2015.[14] InLebanon, IS alsocontrolled some areas on its border at the height of the Syrian war. InLibya, the group operates mostly as a moving insurgent force, occupying places before abandoning them again.[27] InEgypt, the group controls 910 km2 of land centered on the small city ofSheikh Zuweid, which represents less than 1% of Egypt's territory.[14] InNigeria,Boko Haram (at the time an IS affiliate) controlled 6,041 km2 of territory at its maximum extent in 2014, though most of this area was lost amid military reversals and a split within Boko Haram between pro- and anti-IS factions.[14] By late 2019, however, IS's African forces had once again seized large areas in Nigeria;[28] as of 2021, IS's African forces still run their own administrations in territories they control.[29][30] As of 2022, most of IS's territory is confined to northeastern Nigeria and northern Mozambique, alongside large swathes of eastern Mali.[31]
The fifth edition of the Islamic State'sDabiq magazine explained the group's process for establishing new provinces.Jihadist groups in a given area must consolidate into a unified body and publiclydeclare their allegiance to thecaliph. The group must nominate aWāli (Governor), aShura Council (religious leadership), and formulate a military strategy to consolidate territorial control and implementSharia law. Once formally accepted, IS considers the group to be one of its provinces and gives it support.[32]Dabiq has acknowledged support in regions includingEast Turkestan,Indonesia and thePhilippines, and claimed that IS would eventually establish wilayat in these areas after forming direct relationships with its supporters there,[32] As of 2025 the Philippines is the only one of those mentioned abovewith a Wilayat.[33]
 | This overview sectionduplicates the intended purpose of the article'slead section, which should provide an overview of the subject. Please merge it with the introduction, move its content to other sections, or retitle the section to give it a clear scope.(June 2025) |
IS spokesmanAbu Muhammad al-Adnani said "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."[34] IS thus rejects the political divisions established by Western powers duringWorld War I in theSykes–Picot Agreement as it absorbs territory in Syria and Iraq.[35][36][37] TheLong War Journal writes that the logical implication is that the group will consider preexisting militant groups likeAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) andAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) illegitimate if they do not nullify themselves and submit to IS's authority.[38]
While branches in Libya and Egypt have been very active and attempted to exercise territorial control, branches in other countries like Algeria and Saudi Arabia have been less active and do not seem to have a strong presence.[39][40]
Since 2022, there have been no further provinces officially announced by IS. This is despite the group receiving public pledges of allegiance from militants in countries like Somalia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, and subsequently releasing statements and videos from those regions through its official media channels.[41][42][43] Analyst Charlie Winter speculates that this is due to the lackluster performance of many of IS's existing provinces, and that IS's leadership seems to be identifying new affiliates as simply"soldiers of the caliphate."[44]
Loss of "caliphate" territory led IS to conduct more terrorist attacks abroad.[45]
The Islamic State primarily claimed territory inSyria andIraq, subdividing each country into multiplewilayat (provinces), largely based on preexisting governance boundaries.[46][47] The first territorial claims by the group outside of Syria and Iraq were announced by its leader,Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on 13 November 2014, when he announced new wilayats, or provinces, inLibya (Wilayah Barqah,Wilayah Tarabulus, andWilayah Fazan),Algeria (Wilayah al-Jazair),Sinai, Egypt (Wilayah Sinai),Yemen (Wilayah al-Yaman), andSaudi Arabia (Wilayah al-Haramayn).[48][49] In 2015, new provinces were also announced in theAfghanistan–Pakistan border (Wilayah Khurasan),[39] Northern Nigeria (Wilayah Gharb Ifriqiyyah),[50] theNorth Caucasus (Wilayah al-Qawqaz),[51] and theSahel (Sahil).[52]
In November 2014, the Islamic State released a video in which two of its militants stated that IS will make a province forKurdistan if they capture it.[53]
When the Iraq-based insurgent groupMujahideen Shura Council announced it was establishing anIslamic State of Iraq in October 2006, it claimed authority over seven Iraqi provinces:Baghdad,Al Anbar,Diyala,Kirkuk,Saladin,Nineveh, and parts ofBabil.[55]
When the group changed its name to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and expanded into Syria in April 2013, it claimed nineSyrian provinces, covering most of the country and lying largely along existing provincial boundaries:Al Barakah (al-Hasakah Governorate), Al Khayr (Deir ez-Zor Governorate),Raqqa,Homs,Halab,Idlib,Hamah,Damascus, andLatakia.[56] It later subdivided the territory under its control to create the new provinces ofal-Furat,[47][57][58]Fallujah,Dijlah, andal-Jazirah.[59][60] On 9 December 2017 Iraqi military forces announced the war against IS in Iraq had been won and that they no longer controlled territory in Iraq. In June 2017 IS affiliateKhalid ibn al-Walid Army started referring to themselves as "Wilayat Hawran", one month later IS media started referring to all its claims in Syria as "Wilayat al-Sham".[61]
Since mid-2018, IS has referred to its territory in the Levant simply asWilayat al-Sham and has done the same with Iraq calling itWilayat al-Iraq, but still continues to acknowledge and use references to specific regions in those territories, this has also been done with its claims in Yemen and Libya.[62]
As of 2022, the group seems to have increased its efforts in Syria compared to Iraq,[63] and has been reduced to several pockets in the Syrian desert, with local tribesmen acting as informants for the U.S. and other coalition forces. Despite this, the group managed to orchestrate a major prison break in January 2022.[17][64]
On 29 January 2015,Hafiz Saeed Khan,Abdul Rauf and other militants in the region swore an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Khan was subsequently named as the Wāli (Governor) of a new branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan calledKhurasan Province, named after the historicalKhorasan region.[65][66][67]
IS attempted to establish themselves in Southern Afghanistan, especially inKandahar andHelmand provinces, but were resisted by Taliban forces.[68][69][70] They were able to establish a foothold in parts ofNangarhar, and recruited disaffected members of the Taliban.[71] In August 2015, theIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader, Usman Ghazi, swore allegiance to IS and announced that the group should be considered part of Wilayah Khurasan.[72]
The group suffered reversals in 2016, losing control of some territory in the wake of attacks from US Forces, the Afghan Government[73] and the Taliban.[74] Hafiz Saeed Khan was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan on 25 July 2016.[75]
In 2019, the group announced a new Pakistan province (Wilayah Pakistan).[76] Despite this, as of 2022, the Khorasan province continues to operate in the country, also operating against neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where some members have suggested that aMovarounnahr (or Transoxiana) province is established.[77] In July 2022, a Tajik-language magazine calledAl-Azaim Tajiki was endorsed by the group, named after Yusuf al-Tajiki, a propagandist for the group killed by the Taliban.[78]
Since theTaliban's2021 offensive, which ended with thetakeover of Kabul and the end of the20-year war in the country, IS-K have become a new focus for the group, with its funding and numbers increasing as a result of prison breaks of IS fighters during the offensive and subsequent recruiting.[17] Efforts have also increased to recruit fighters from neighboringUzbekistan.[79]
IS divides Libya into three historical provinces, claiming authority overCyrenaica in the east,Fezzan in the desert south, andTripolitania in the west, around the capital ofTripoli.[80][81]
In 2014, a number of leading IS commanders arrived in the city ofDerna, which had been a major source of fighters in theSyrian civil war andIraqi insurgency. Over a number of months, they united many local militant factions under their leadership and declared war on anyone who opposed them, killing judges, civic leaders, local militants who rejected their authority, and other opponents. On 5 October 2014, the militants, who by then controlled part of the city, gathered to pledge allegiance to the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[82][83] In February 2015, IS forcestook over parts of the Libyan city ofSirte. In the following months, they used it as a base to capture neighbouring towns includingHarawa,[84] andNofaliya.[85] IS began governing Sirte and treating it as the capital of their territory.[86]
As of March 2015, the group claimed control over the following oil fields in Libya:[87]
| Oil field | Date |
|---|---|
| Al-Bahi Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Dhara Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Mabrouk Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Joufra Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Tibesti Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Ghani Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Samah Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Baida Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Waha Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Dafa Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
| Al-Naqa Oil Field | 5 March 2015 |
IS suffered reversals from mid-2015 when they were expelled from much of Derna following clashes with rival militants,[88] following months of intermittent fighting, IS eventually redeployed to other parts of Libya.[89] Its emirAbu Nabil al-Anbari was killed in a U.S. air strike in November 2015.[90] Libya'sInterim Government launched amajor offensive against IS territory around Sirte in May 2016,[91][92] capturing the city by December 2016.[93]
The group's current emir is Abu Bara al Sahrawi, who replaced Adnan Abu Walid al Sahrawi after his death in August 2021.[17]
The Egyptian militant groupAnsar Bayt al-Maqdis swore allegiance to IS in November 2014. After al-Baghdadi's speech on 13 November, the group changed its name toSinai Province on the Twitter feed claiming to represent the group.[49] The group has carried out attacks in Sinai.
On 1 July 2015,Wilayat Sinai launched a large-scale invasion on the Egyptian city ofSheikh Zuweid with more than 300 IS fighters and attacked more than 15 army and police positions using mortars, RPG's, light and heavy weapons in an attempt to capture the city.
On 29 February 2017, the group announced a new "Misr" province in Egypt in a propaganda video againstCoptic Christians.[94]
In 2020, IS in Egypt occupied villages inBir al-Abd town in North Sinai.
As of 2022, the group continues to attack local infrastructure, but has diminished due to persistent counterterrorism efforts by the Egyptian government and armed forces, who operate with the assistance of local tribesmen.[17][95]
Al-Baghdadi announced a Wilayah in Saudi Arabia in November 2014, calling for the overthrow of theSaudi Royal Family and criticizing the Kingdom's participation in the US-led coalition against IS.[49] The group has carried out attacks in the country under the names ofNajd Province andHejaz Province.[96]
IS established aYemeni Wilayah in November 2014.[48][39] The branch's first attack occurred in March 2015, when it carried outsuicide bombings on two Shia Mosques in the Yemeni capital.[97] At least eight IS Wilayat, named after existing provincial boundaries in Yemen, have claimed responsibility for attacks, including'Adan Abyan Province,Al-Bayda Province,Hadramawt Province,Shabwah Province andSana'a Province.[50] Following the outbreak of theYemeni Civil War in 2015, IS struggled to establish much of a presence in the country in the face of competition from the larger and more establishedAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militant group. Many of IS's regional cells in Yemen have not been visibly active since their establishment and the group has not been able to seize control of territory the way they have done in Iraq and Syria.[98] The group has also experienced leadership turmoil and defections from its rank and file.[99]
As of 2022, the group serves a key financial intermediary between Somalia and Khorasan provinces.[17]
Members of a militant group named Jund al-Khilafah swore allegiance to IS in September 2014.[100] IS in Algeria gained notoriety when it beheaded French tourist Hervé Gourdel in September 2014.[39] On 13 November 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced that the group had changed its name to "Wilayah al-Jazair" in accordance to the structure of the rest of groups aligned with IS.[48][49] Algerian security forces killed the group's leader, Khalid Abu-Sulayman, in December 2014, and five of its six commanders in a May 2015 raid. Since then, the group has not claimed any significant attacks and has largely been silent.[101]
On 7 March 2015,Boko Haram's leaderAbubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to IS via an audio message posted on the organisation's Twitter account.[102][103]Abu Mohammad al-Adnani welcomed the pledge of allegiance, and described it as an expansion of the group's caliphate toWest Africa.[104] IS publications from late March 2015 began referring to members of Boko Haram as part ofWilayat Gharb Ifriqiyyah (Islamic State's West Africa Province).[50] Boko Haram suffered significant reversals in the year following the pledge of allegiance, with an offensive by the Nigerian military, assisted by neighboring powers, driving them from much of the territory they had seized in North East Nigeria.[105] Boko Haram suffered a split in 2016, with IS appointing 'Abu Musab al-Barnawi' as the group's new leader, due to disagreements with Abubakar Shekau's leadership. This was rejected by Shekau and his supporters, who continued to operate independently.[106][107]
On 24 January 2022, the small town ofGudumbali was captured and declared as the province's capital. However, it was recaptured by Nigerian troops on 26 January.[108]
In the summer of 2022, ISWAP made several territorial gains in Nigeria.[109]
As of September 2022, the group continues to maintain its stronghold in northeastern Nigeria, and has again integrated or eclipsed its former competitor Boko Haram, as several fighters have rejoined the group. The group also orchestrated a prison break in July, nearAbuja.[17]
In October 2022, the town ofAnsongo was captured by IS's Sahel province.[110]
IS militants in Syria issued a threat to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin in 2014: "we will liberate Chechnya and the entire Caucasus, God willing. Your throne has already teetered, it is under threat and will fall when we come to you because Allah is truly on our side."[111] In early 2015, commanders of the militantCaucasus Emirate group inChechnya andDagestan announced their defection and pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[112][113] In a June 2015 audio statement posted online, IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani accepted the pledges of allegiance and appointed Abu Muhammad al-Qadari (Rustam Asildarov) as Governor of a newCaucasus Province. He called on other militants in the region to join with and follow al-Qadari.[51][114] The group has carried out occasional, low-level attacks since then.[115] Russian security services killed Rustam Asildarov in December 2016.[116]
In February 2014, theMujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem declared its support for IS.[117] On 2 April 2015, elements of this group, along with members of theArmy of Islam and the Gaza faction ofAnsar Bait al-Maqdis,[118][119] formed theSheikh Omar Hadid Brigade, also known as Islamic State in Gaza,[120] as it predominantly operates in theGaza Strip.
ThePopular Forces are said to have alleged ties with IS, after theRafah offensive the Popular Forces seized eastern Rafah notablyAl-Bayuk which became theirde facto capital.[121]
TheIslamic State in Somalia (ISS) has been active since 2015, and though it remains a small militia of around 300 fighters, it has been considered possible by experts that ISS controls a number of villages inPuntland's hinterland.[122] Furthermore, the group managed tocapture and hold the town ofQandala for over a month in late 2016. At first, ISS did not receive official recognition by the Islamic State,[123] however, this was subsequently granted by December 2017.[124]
As of 2022, the group serves as an intermediary for IS provinces in Africa and the leadership based in Syria and Iraq. It also finances ISKP via Yemen.[17]
TheIslamic State – Sahel Province was formed on 15 May 2015 as the result of a split within the militant groupAl-Mourabitoun. The rift was a reaction to the adherence of one of its leaders,Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui,[125] to theIslamic State. From March 2019 to 2022, IS-GS was formally part of theIslamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP);[126] when it was also called "ISWAP-Greater Sahara".[127] In March 2022, IS declared the province autonomous, separating it from its West Africa Province[17] and naming it Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP) the group would go on to takeover large swathes of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Between 2022 and 2023, the groupsaw major gains in theMali War, occupying large swarths of territory in southeastern Mali.Tidermène was captured by the group on 12 April 2023.[128]
Abu Sayyaf is IS's most powerful affiliate in the Philippines; another IS-affiliated group is theMaute group. Both groups worked together with other IS affiliates to seize parts of Marawi City on 23 May 2017, starting theBattle of Marawi.[129]
On 16 October, IS'sEmir of Southeast AsiaIsnilon Hapilon, along with the Maute group's remaining leaderOmar Maute was killed by theArmed Forces of the Philippines. Previously, the Maute group's co-leader and Omar's brotherAbdullah Maute, as well as their other five male siblings, had been neutralized by the ongoing counter-offensives. Two days after the leaders' death, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Malaysian terrorist and senior commanderMahmud Ahmad is also presumed killed in another operation.
The Battle of Marawi was declared over by 23 October by the government, at which point all participating militants have been successfully neutralized, effectively blocking IS's Asian expansion. The government wiped out theMaute group after the battle.
In December 2017, remnants of the Maute group started recruiting new members to form a new group called "Turaifie Group" whose leader, Abu Turaifie, claimed himself to be a successor of former leader Abu SayyafIsnilon Hapilon.[130]
As of 2022, only pockets in Indonesia and the Philippines remain, and major attacks have decreased as a result of successful counterterrorism efforts by the governments of both states.[17]
During 2023, IS witnessed a major resurgence in the Philippines (especially from August), with the group claiming more attacks in the country than during the previous 2 years combined, including several significant attacks such as theMindanao State University bombing inMarawi.[131][132]
On 22 March 2024, the Philippines announced that Abu Sayyaf had been "fully dismantled", bringing an end to the decades-long jihadist insurgency.[133]
According to the Islamic State Al-Naba newspaper, the group continued to conduct attacks on the Philippine Government and Army and the Moro militias until 11 April, which is yet to be confirmed by official Philippine Government sources.
In October 2017, a video emerged on pro-IS channels that showed a small number of militants in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo who declared to be part of the "City of Monotheism and Monotheists" (MTM) group. The leader of the group went on to say that "this isDar al-Islam of the Islamic State in Central Africa" and called upon other like-minded individuals to travel to MTM territory in order to join the war against the government. TheLong War Journal noted that though this pro-IS group in Congo appeared to be very small, its emergence had gained a notable amount of attention from IS sympathizers.[134] On 24 July 2019, a video was released referring to IS's presence in the country as the Central African Wilayat showing fighters pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[135]
As of 2022, the group has doubled its territory and increased its numbers as a result of orchestrated prison breaks, with 2,000 prisoners freed since 2020.[17]
After taking control of the Mozambican town ofMocímboa da Praia during anoffensive in August 2020, local IS insurgents declared it the capital of their province. The militants consequently expanded further by capturing several islands in the Indian Ocean, withVamizi Island being the most prominent.[136]
In May 2022, the province was separated from Central Africa Province and became known as the Mozambique Province (ISM).[17]
The Islamic State operated in India and theKashmir region through itsIslamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISJK) branch, which had begun in February 2016.[137] The Islamic State – Khorasan Province declaredWilayah [Wilayat] al-Hind (India Province) for IS on 11 May 2019 afterclashes inJammu and Kashmir in which ISJK leader Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi was killed.[138]
Shafi Armar, a former member of theIndian Mujahideen, was formerly the chief of operations for the IS in India.[139] He and his brother Sultan Armar founded the Indian IS affiliates Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (transl. Supporters of Monotheism in the Land of India) and Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind (transl. Caliph's Army of India).[140][141] Both he and his brother were killed in action duringSyrian Civil War in 2015, which was only confirmed in 2019 because his online account was controlled by other militants in the group which added to the confusion.[142] Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind has published the pro-IS propaganda magazineSawt al-Hind (transl. Voice of India) since February 2020.[143]
On 20 March 2024, thespecial forces arrested the IS India chief, Haris Farooqi and one of his associates while they were trying to cross to India from neighbouring Bangladesh. Police explained that the suspects had planned many sabotage activities and IED attacks inside India.[144]
Islamic State – Bengal Province (Wilayat al-Bengal) is the province of IS in Bangladesh, it operates through the group Islamic State Bangladesh (ISB) and has claimed attacks in the country since October 2015. Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, an offshoot ofJamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, also operates as its branch.[145][146]
The first emir of Wilayat al-Bengal, Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, is believed to beMohammad Saifullah Ozaki (born as Sajit Chandra Debnath, 1982)aBangladeshi Japanese economist who went to Syria in 2015 and joined IS. A Hindu convert to Islam, he reportedly lead the2016 Dhaka attack. He was detained in Iraq in 2019 and Abu Muhammed al-Bengali was announced as the new emir of the province.[147][146]
On 2 July 2019, as part of a series of videos showing supporters and fighters of IS around the world renewing their pledge of allegiance to IS, a video was published fromAzerbaijan featuring three fighters armed with Kalashnikov style rifles pledging their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The video was formally released by IS.[148]
4 months later, after al-Baghdadi'sdeath on 27 October 2019,Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi received pledges of allegiance (bayah) from various provinces and regions, with photos of fighters from Azerbaijan pledging allegiance to him, on 29 November.[149]
On 19 September 2024, the Islamic State claimed its first-ever attack in Azerbaijan, via its weekly Al-Naba newsletter, claiming to have killed 7 Azeri security personnel and wounded 1 in a clash in Qusar district, northern Azerbaijan, five days prior.[150]
Wilayat Turkiya was formally declared in July 2019 when a video was published by IS featuring Turkish jihadists giving theirbay'ah to the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reference was also made to the Wilayat prior to its formal introduction, in April 2019 in a video featuring the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in his second ever video appearance, and first appearance in five years, he was seen holding dossiers from various Wilayats the group claims one of which was labeled as Wilayat Turkey, which was the first known such usage as a reference to the Turkish Wilayat.[151][152][153]
The Islamic State's main base of operations was in their territory ofAr-Raqqah inSyria, until 2017, where it wasrecaptured by theSyrian Democratic Forces. From there, orders were given to affiliate groups, calledwilayat, spread across theLevant,Asia andAfrica. Few of thesewilayat have declared their capital cities, with the exception ofal-Sham withAr-Raqqah,[1]al-Iraq withMosul, andCentral Africa withMocímboa da Praia.[154] It also had claims on the entirety of theMuslim world, includingCentral Asia, the formerOttomanBalkans,South East Asia, and the northern part ofAfrica.[155][156] Other times, however, it expressed also a desire forworld domination, with labels on certain areas of theold world as well as thenew world.[157][158]
In addition to its territorial administration, the group also establisheddāwāwīn (ministries) for the political administration of the quasi-state under al-Baghdadi's administration,[172][173][174] modelled afterAbu Ayyub al-Masri's infrastructure for theIslamic State of Iraq.[175]
| Dīwān / Ministry | Date of creation | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Education and Teaching[h] Diwan al-Tarbiyya wa al-Ta’lim | July 2014 | Responsible for education in a regular and extremist context.[176] Its first minister wasReda Seyam. |
| Services Diwan al-Khidamat | June 2014 | Responsible for the administration of public spaces, such as parks and roads. One example of the latter was the construction of "Caliphate Way", a highway built in the industrial area of Mosul, which reduced congestion in the area.[177] |
| Rikaz[i] Diwan al-Rikaz | ? | Responsible for handling and exploitation of profitable resources. Its two known divisions handle fossil fuels (e.g.petroleum) and antiquities. |
| Da'wah and Masajid (andAwqaf) Diwan al-Da’wah wa al-Masajid (wa al-Awqaf) | ? | Responsible forDawah and mosque and religious staff administration. |
| Health Diwan al-Sihha | June 2014 | Responsible for health services and hospitals. An "Islamic State Health Service" was established in 2015, featuring a logo modelled after the one used by the BritishNational Health Service.[178] Allmedical schools served under this ministry rather than the Ministry of Education. |
| Tribal Relations Diwan al-Asha'ir | ? | Responsible for dealing with nomadic tribes in the core region of IS. While the group committed atrocities against tribes such asAl-Shaitat and documents obtained after the group's loss of territory reflect a harsh tone against the nomadic groups, other documents show organized deliveries of supplies to the same groups. Thisdīwān was also known as an Office. |
| Diwan al-Amn (Islamic State Intelligence) | ? | Responsible for public security and anti-espionage operations. |
| Zakah Diwan al-Zakah | June 2014 | Responsible for the collection and distribution of theZakah. |
| Treasury DiwanBayt al-mal | ? | Responsible for thefinances of the group and thedinar. ItsDiwan al-Musadara is responsible for expropriations and is based on medieval Islam.[179] |
| Hisbah Diwan al-Hisbah | ? | TheHisbah (religious police) served this ministry, being in charge of enforcing the group's version of Islamic jurisprudence (sharia law) in public. |
| Judgement and Grievances Diwan al-Qada waal-Mazalim | ? | Responsible for enforcing and clarifying judicial matters (e.g.Islamic court) and family and marriage-related issues. Also based in medieval Islam.[clarification needed] |
| Public Relations Diwan al-Alaqat al-Amma | ? | Public relations (PR) department. |
| Agriculture Diwan al-Zira'a | June 2014 | Responsible for the regulation of agriculture and livestock. ARAND study revealed that harvests in IS territory were relatively normal, with commercial vehicle traffic increasing under the new administration. Only with the loss of territory and access to resources such as electricity did harvests begin to decay around 2016.[180] |
| Fatwa and Investigation Diwan al-Ifta' wa al-Buhuth | ? | Responsible for issuing and clarifyingfatwas. It also wrote and published text media used in training camps through its publishing bodyMaktabat al-Himma. |
| Soldiery Diwan al-Jund | ? | Responsible for theArmy of the Islamic State and its management, training and distribution. It is sometimes referred to as the "Soldiers Department".[179] |
| Media[j] Diwan al-I'lam al-Markazi[181] | ? | Responsible for the publishing bodies of IS, such asAlHayat Media Center, al-Furqan Media Foundation,Al-Bayan radio, Ajnad Foundation,Al-Naba, and Maktabat al-Himma. It is also in charge of the publication of magazinesDabiq,Dar al-Islam,Konstantiniyye,Istok, and later onRumiyah. Additionally, it's the ministry in charge of translations. |
| Fay' and Ghana'im[k] Diwan al-Fay' wa al-Ghana'im | ? | Responsible for administering and distributing war spoils that come from battles. |
| Real Estate Diwan al-'Aqarat wa al-Kharaj | ? | Responsible forreal estate seized from non-Muslims or abandoned by its original owners in order to accommodate regular and new fighters or civilians.[182] |
| This sectioncontains a list that has not been properly sorted. SeeMOS:LISTSORT for more information. Pleaseimprove this section if you can.(March 2023) |
Islamic State had created various regional offices during the period (2017–2019) to organize & direct its human and other resources & reviving its external operational capability.[183][184][185]
The “most vigorous and best-established” of IS's offices set up at the centre to oversee the wilayats are:
Al-Siddiq office in Afghanistan, which “covers South Asia and, according to some UN Member States, Central Asia”;
Al-Karrar office in Somalia, which also covers Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); and
Al-Furqan office in the Lake Chad basin, where the borders of Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria converge. The Furqan office covers these states in North Africa and the broader western Sahel, overseeing ISGS/ISSP.
IS's other “three regional offices are low-functioning or moribund”, says the Monitoring Team, and these are:
Al-Anfal office in Libya, which covered “parts of northern Africa and the Sahel”;
The Umm al-Qura office “based in Yemen and … responsible for the Arabian Peninsula”; and
The Zu al-Nurayn office in the Sinai Peninsula “responsible for Egypt and the Sudan”.[183][186][185][184]
The territories inIraq andSyria, which was occupied by the Islamic State and claimed as part of its self-dubbed "Caliphate"[187] saw the creation of one of the most criminally active, totalitarian corrupt and violent regimes in modern times, and it ruled that territory until its defeat in 2019.[188] IS murdered tens of thousands of civilians,[189]kidnapped several thousand people, and forced hundreds of thousands of others to flee. It systematically committed torture,mass rapes,forced marriages,[190] extreme acts ofethnic cleansing,mass murder,genocide,robbery,extortion,smuggling,slavery,kidnappings, and the use ofchild soldiers; in its implementation of strict interpretations ofSharia law which were based on ancient eighth-century methods, they carried out public "punishments"[191] such asbeheadings,crucifixions, beatings,mutilation anddismemberment, thestoning of both children and adults, and the live burning of people. IS members committed rape against tens of thousands of girls and women (mainly members of non-Sunni minority groups and families).
On 29 May, IS raided a village in Syria and at least 15 civilians were killed, including, according to Human Rights Watch, at least six children.[192] A hospital in the area confirmed that it had received 15 bodies on the same day.[193] TheSyrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that on 1 June, a 102-year-old man was killed along with his whole family in a village inHama province.[194] According toReuters, 1,878 people were killed in Syria by IS during the last six months of 2014, most of them civilians.[195]
During itsoccupation of Mosul, IS implemented asharia school curriculum which banned the teaching ofart,music,national history,literature andChristianity. AlthoughCharles Darwin's theory of evolution has never been taught in Iraqi schools, that subject was also banned from the school curriculum. Patriotic songs were declared blasphemous, and orders were given to remove certain pictures from school textbooks.[196][197][198][199] Iraqi parents largely boycotted schools in which the new curriculum was introduced.[200]
After capturing cities in Iraq, IS issued guidelines on how to wear clothes and veils. IS warned women in the city of Mosul to wear full-face veils or face severe punishment.[201] A cleric told Reuters in Mosul that IS gunmen had ordered him to read out the warning in his mosque when worshippers gathered. IS ordered the faces of both male and female mannequins to be covered, in an order which also banned the use of naked mannequins.[202] In Raqqa the group used its two battalions of female fighters in the city to enforce compliance by women with its strict laws on individual conduct.[203]
IS released 16 notes labelled "Contract of the City", a set of rules aimed at civilians inNineveh. 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.[204][205] In addition to banning the sale and use of alcohol, IS banned the sale and use of cigarettes andhookah pipes. It also banned "music and songs in cars, at parties, in shops and in public, as well as photographs of people in shop windows".[206]
According toThe Economist, the group also adopted certain practices seen in Saudi Arabia, including the establishment ofreligious police to root out "vice" and enforce attendance atdaily prayers, the widespread use ofcapital punishment, and the destruction of Christian churches and non-Sunni mosques or their conversion to other uses.[207]
IS carried out executions on both men and women who were accused of various acts and found guilty of crimes against Islam such assodomy,[208]adultery, usage and possession ofcontraband,rape,blasphemy,witchcraft,[209]renouncing Islam andmurder. Before the accused were executed, their charges were read to them and the spectators. Executions take various forms, includingstoning to death,crucifixions, beheadings, burning people alive, and throwing people from tall buildings.[210][211][212][213] The Islamic State in Iraq frequently carried out mass executionsin Mosul andHawija.
The condition ofhuman rights in the territory controlled by theIslamic State is considered to be among the worst in the world.[214][215][216][217] In the areas they controlled the Islamic State would commit severalgenocides against local ethnic groups between 2014 and 2017.[218][219][220] TheYazidi genocide was characterized by massacres,genocidal rape, and forced conversions toIslam. TheYazidis are aKurdish-speaking people[221] who are indigenous toKurdistan who practiceYazidism, amonotheisticIranian ethnoreligion derived from theIndo-Iranian tradition.[222] theIraqi Turkmen genocide began when IS captured Iraqi Turkmen lands in 2014 and it continued until IS lost all of their land inIraq. In 2017, IS's persecution of Iraqi Turkmen was officially recognized as a genocide by the Parliament of Iraq,[223][224] and in 2018, the sexual slavery of Iraqi Turkmen girls and women was recognized by theUnited Nations.[225][226]
The Islamic State wouldpersecute Christians in its territory in ways which involves the systematic mass murder.[227][228][229] Persecution of Christian minorities climaxed following the Syrian civil war and later by itsspillover but has since intensified further.[230][231][31] Christians have been subjected to massacres,forced conversions, rape, sexual slavery, and the systematic destruction of their historical sites, churches and other places of worship.
The depopulation of Christians from the Middle East by the Islamic State as well as other organisations and governments has been formally recognised as an ongoing genocide by theUnited States,European Union, andUnited Kingdom. Christians remain the most persecuted religious group in the Middle East, and Christians in Iraq are “close to extinction”.[232][233][234] According to estimates by theUS State Department, the number ofChristians in Iraq has fallen from 1.2 million 2011 to 120,000 in 2024, and the numberin Syria from 1.5 million to 300,000, falls driven by persecution by Islamic terrorists.[31]
Shia Muslims were also persecuted, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place inIraq,Syria, and other parts of the world.
Shia Muslims have been killed and otherwise persecuted by IS. On 12 June 2014, the Islamic State killed 1,700 unarmed ShiaIraqi Army cadet recruits in theCamp Speicher massacre.[235][236][237] IS has also targeted Shia prisoners.[238] According to witnesses, after the militant group took the city ofMosul, they divided the Sunni prisoners from the Shia prisoners.[238] Up to 670[239] Shia prisoners were then taken to another location and executed.[238] Kurdish officials inErbil reported on the incident of Sunni and Shia prisoners being separated and Shia prisoners being killed after the Mosul prison fell to IS.[238]
In a special report released on 2 September 2014,Amnesty International described how IS had "systematically targeted non-Sunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, of individuals and forcing more than tens of thousands of Shias, Sunnis, along with other minorities to flee the areas it has captured since 10 June 2014". The most targeted Shia groups inNineveh Governorate were ShiaTurkmens andShabaks.[240]
Since 2014, the Islamic State has destroyedcultural heritage on an unprecedented scale, primarily in Iraq and Syria, but also in Libya. These attacks and demolitions targeted a variety of ancient and medieval artifacts, museums, libraries, and places of worship, among other sites of importance to human history. BetweenJune 2014 and February 2015, the Islamic State'sSalafi jihadists plundered and destroyed at least 28 historic religious buildings inMosul alone, with the most notable event being the 2014destruction of Mosul Museum artifacts.[241] Many of the valuables that were looted during these demolitions were used to bolster theeconomy of the Islamic State.[241]
Along withantique Mesopotamian sites of significance, the Islamic State inflicted particularly cataclysmic levels of damage uponChristian (Assyrian, Armenian) heritage. It also destroyedIslamic sites that it declared to be in contradiction of that which is permissible in theIslamic State ideology, thus culminating in the destruction ofShia Islamic sites and non-compliantSunni Islamic sites.
We announce to you the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries, to the countries of the Haramayn, Yemen, Egypt, Libya [and] Algeria
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