2013 was the year in which thejihadist groupIslamic 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.

• On 8 April 2013, having expanded into Syria, the groupIslamic State of Iraq (ISI) adopts the nameIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as theIslamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.^[1][2][3]
• Starting in April 2013, ISIL makes rapid military gains in northern Syria, where according to theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, it was "the strongest group".^[4]
• 11 May:Two car bombs explode in the town ofReyhanlı inHatay Province,Turkey. At least 51 are killed and 140 injured.^[5] The attack is the deadliest single act of terrorism ever to take place on Turkish soil to date.^[6] Along with the Syrian intelligence service, ISIL is suspected of carrying out the attack.^[7]
• On 5 July, units of the33rd Infantry Division were deployed to the town ofal-Dana after ISIL fighters reportedly opened fire on anti-ISIL protesters. Clashes broke out between the two groups, and resulted inISIL beheading a commander of the 33rd Division, and taking full control of the town.^[8]
• On 9 July, theFree Syrian Army's battalion chief Kamal Hamami—better known by hisnom de guerre Abu Bassir al-Jeblawi—was killed by ISIL'sCoast region emir in Latakia's rural northern highlands. Al-Jeblawi was travelling to visit the al-Izz Bin Abdulsalam Brigade operating in the region when ISIL members refused his passage.^[9]
• On 22 July, ISIL organizes a mass break-out of its members being held in Iraq's prison inTaji andAbu Ghraib prison, freeing more than 500 prisoners, many of them veterans of theIraqi insurgency (2003–11)^[10][11] or senior commanders of ISIL.^[12][13] ISIL described the operation as involving 12 car bombs, numerous suicide bombers and mortar and rocket fire.^[12][13] It was described as the culmination of a one-year campaign which was launched by ISIL leaderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi.^[14]
• In early August theMenagh Air Base was captured by forces including ISIL, whose suicide bomber detonatedcar bomb at the airbase.^[15]
• In September, members of ISIL killed theAhrar ash-Sham commander Abu Obeida al-Binnishi, after he had intervened to protect a Malaysian Islamic charity; ISIL had mistaken itsMalaysian flag for that of theUnited States.^[16][17]
• Also in September, ISIL overran the town ofAzaz, taking it from theFSA-affiliatedNorthern Storm Brigade.^[18] ISIL had attempted to kidnap a German doctor working in Azaz.^[19] In November 2013,Today's Zaman, a newspaper in Turkey, reported that Turkish authorities had detailed information on ISIL's plans to carry out suicide bombings in Turkey.^[20]
• From 30 September, several Turkish media websites reported that ISIL had accepted responsibility for the 11 May attack and had threatened further attacks on Turkey.^{[21][22][23][24]}
• In November, Hasan Jazra, the commander ofJabhat Ghuraba al-Sham, was publicly executed by members of ISIL in the town ofAtarib. Islamist groups had accused Ghuraba of looting and collaborating at times with theSyrian government.^[25]
• In December, there were reports of fighting between ISIL and the Salafist rebel group,Ahrar ash-Sham, in the town ofMaskanah, Aleppo.^[26]
• In December, ISIL beganan offensive in theAnbar province in Iraq, changing the insurgency there into a regional war.^[27]

• Timelines of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
• 2013 in Iraq
• 2013 in Syria
• 2013 in military history
• 2013 in Islam

• CS1 Turkish-language sources (tr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Use dmy dates from December 2015