| War against the Islamic State | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar on terror, theSecond Libyan Civil War, theWar in Iraq (2013–2017), theSyrian civil war and itsspillover, theSinai insurgency, theBoko Haram insurgency, theinsurgency in the North Caucasus, theMoro conflict, theinsurgency in Cabo Delgado, theIslamic State insurgency in Puntland theSahel War, theSalafi-jihadist insurgency in the Gaza Strip, theInsurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, theInsurgency in Balochistan and theKivu conflict | |||||||
     
Map of the current military situation in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon Map of the current military situation in Libya Map of the current military situation in Nigeria Map of the current military situation in Sinai Map of the current military situation in Yemen | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| In multiple regions: In Syria
In Libya
In Afghanistan
In West Africa |
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Allies
Allies
Allies
Allies
|
Former Leaders
| ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
United States: Australia: Canada:
Germany:
Russia:
Iran:
Nigeria:
Cameroon:
African Union:
Syrian Salvation Government: | IS:
| ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
 Rojava:
 Ba'athist Syria:
 Egypt:
 Niger:
 Cameroon:
 Saudi Arabia:
 Canada:
 France:
 United Kingdom:
 Jordan:
|  Islamic State:83,000+ militants killed overall | ||||||
13,568+ Iraqi civilians killed by Islamic State[67][107][108] 8,317–13,190 civilians killed by Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (perAirwars) 4,096–6,085 civilians killed by Russian airstrikes in Syria[111] 3,300,000 Iraqi civilians displaced[112] Support: Military aid: Humanitarian aid: RSII coalition:
Local forces: Local forces in Iraq:
Local forces in Syria:
Egyptian-led intervention: (in Libya) Nigerian-led intervention: | |||||||
Many states began to intervene against theIslamic State, in both theSyrian civil war and theWar in Iraq (2013–2017), in response to its rapid territorial gains from its2014 invasion of Iraq, universally condemnedexecutions,human rights abuses and the fear of furtherspillovers of the Syrian civil war. In later years, there were also minor interventions by some states against IS-affiliated groups inNigeria andLibya. All these efforts significantly degraded the Islamic State's capabilities by around 2019–2020. While moderate fighting continues in Syria, as of 2025, IS has been contained to a small area and force capability.
In mid-June 2014,Iran, according to American and British information, started flying drones overIraq, and, according toReuters, Iranian soldiers were in Iraq fighting IS. Simultaneously, theUnited States ordered a small number of troops to Iraq and started flying crewed aircraft over Iraq. In July 2014, according to theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies,Iran sentSukhoi Su-25 aircraft toIraq, andHezbollah purportedly sent trainers and advisers to Iraq in order to help Shiamilitias to monitor IS's movements. In August 2014, the US and Iran separately began a campaign of airstrikes on IS targets in Iraq. Since then, fourteen countries in aUS-led coalition have also executed airstrikes on IS in Iraq and inSyria. Starting from September 2014, United States began closely co-operating withSaudi Arabia andJordan to wage a co-ordinatedaerial bombing campaign against IS targets across Iraq and Syria.[138]
In September 2015,Russian forces launched theirmilitary intervention in Syria to support that country's allyBashar al-Assad in the fight against theIslamic State. Although Moscow officially portrayed its intervention as an anti-IS campaign and publicly declared support for the "patrioticSyrian opposition", the vast majority of its bombings were focused on destroying bases of the Syrian opposition militias of theFree Syrian Army (FSA) andSouthern Front.[139] On the other hand, United States and its Western allies have been opposed to the formerBa'athist regime for its purportedstate-sponsorship of terrorism, violent repression ofSyrian revolution and extensiveuse of chemical weapons. TheUS-led coalition trained, equipped and supported secularFree Syrian andKurdish militias opposed to the Assad government during its anti-IS campaign.[140] In the months following the beginning of both air campaigns, IS began to lose ground in bothIraq andSyria.[141] Civilian deaths from airstrikes began to mount in 2015 and 2016.[142][143] In mid-2016, theUS andRussia planned to begin coordinating their airstrikes; however, this coordination did not materialize.[144][145]
As of December 2017, IS was estimated to control no territory inIraq, and 5% of Syrian territory, after prolonged actions.[146] On 9 December 2017, Iraq declared victory in the fight against ISIL and stated that theWar in Iraq was over.[147][148] On 23 March 2019, IS was defeated territorially inSyria after losing theBattle of Baghuz Fawqani, after which the group was forced into aninsurgency.[149] IS's leader,Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died during a USspecial operationsraid in northern Syria in October 2019[150] and was succeeded byAbu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. TheUnited Nations estimated in August 2020 that over 10,000 IS fighters remained inSyria andIraq, mainly assleeper cells.[151]
On the margins of the4/5 September 2014 NATO summit in Wales, on 5 September 2014,U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry invited Ministers ofAustralia,Canada,Denmark,France,Germany,Italy,Turkey and theUnited Kingdom, for a separate meeting[152][153]in which he pressed them to support the fight against ISIL militarily and financially.[154] Those nine countries agreed to do so by supporting anti-ISIL forces inIraq andSyria with supplies and air support, according to a statement that day from Kerry andU.S. Secretary of DefenseHagel.[154] In September 2014,Jordanian andSaudi Air Forces began their co-ordination withUnited States to wage a jointaerial bombing campaign against IS bases in itsterritories across Iraq and Syria.[138][155]
On 17 October 2014, theDepartment of Defense formally establishedCombined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR)—"in order to formalize ongoing military actions against the rising threat posed by ISIS inIraq andSyria."[156]
On 3 December 2014, at theNATO headquarters inBrussels, diplomats[157] and foreign ministers[158] from 59 countries gathered to plot a way forward against the threat of ISIL.[157]U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry told the gathering, that "defeating the ideology, the funding, the recruitment" of Daesh (ISIL) must be the primary focus of their discussion, more important than airstrikes and other military action.[157]
The countries represented on 3 December were: the nine countries of the above-mentioned 5 September coalition inWales (see above); the extra 18 countries of the 15 SeptemberFrance-led coalition inParis (see below) except forChina andRussia; and 33 additional countries:Albania,Austria,Bosnia-Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Cyprus,Estonia,Finland,Georgia,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,Ireland,Kosovo,Latvia,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Macedonia,Moldova,Montenegro,Morocco,New Zealand,Portugal,South Korea,Romania,Serbia,Singapore,Slovakia,Slovenia,Somalia,Sweden,Taiwan andUkraine.[159]
They styled themselves as theGlobal Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and agreed to a strategy that included:
On 15 September 2014, at the 'International Conference on Peace and Security inIraq' hosted by theFrench PresidentFrançois Hollande inParis, 26 countries were represented: the countries of aUS-led coalition that on 5 September inWales (see above) had agreed on a coalition against ISIL exceptAustralia andPoland, and furthermoreBahrain,Egypt, Iraq,Jordan,Kuwait,Lebanon,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,United Arab Emirates,Belgium,China,Czech Republic,Japan, theNetherlands,Norway,Russia andSpain.[160] They committed themselves to supporting the Iraqi government with military assistance in its fight against ISIL, and they reaffirmed their commitment toUNSC Resolution 2170 of 15 August (condemning all trade with ISIL and urging to prevent all financial donations and all payments of ransoms to ISIL),[161] so reported theFrench government.[160]
In retaliation for theNovember 2015 Paris attacks, theFrench Air Force significantly intensified airstrikes against ISIL targets inSyria, hitting among other targets the Syrian city ofRaqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL. TheFrench Navy deployed the aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle with eighteenRafale, eightMirage 2000, twoE-2 Hawkeye and 4 helicopters. The aircraft carrier travelled with thefrigateChevalier Paul andHMS Kent.
At the end of September 2015,Russia,Iraq,Iran andSyria set up a 'joint information center' inBaghdad to gather, process and analyse intelligence regarding ISIL and operations near the Syria-Iraq border.[162] On 30 September 2015, Russia began itsair campaign on the side and in support of theSyrian government.
Russia was also reported to have reached agreements on co-ordination of operations inSyria withJordan andIsrael.[163][164]
On 14 March 2016,Russian PresidentVladimir Putin announced a partial withdrawal from Syrian territory, citing the success of the ongoing ceasefire and greater security of theSyrian government.[165]
On 10 December 2017Vladimir Putin ordered a similar withdrawal of Russian forces fromSyria, stating that a complete withdrawal would be dependent on the ongoing situation.[166]
On 14 December 2015, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense MinisterMohammed bin Salman Al Saud announced that 34 countries would join in the fight againstMuslim extremism, which he called a "disease." Based out ofRiyadh,Saudi Arabia, the coalition includesBahrain,Bangladesh,Benin,Chad,Comoros,Côte d'Ivoire,Djibouti,Egypt,Gabon,Guinea,Jordan,Kuwait,Lebanon,Libya,Maldives,Mali,Malaysia,Morocco,Mauritania,Niger,Nigeria,Pakistan,Palestine,Qatar, Saudi Arabia,Senegal,Sierra Leone,Somalia,Sudan,Turkey,Togo,Tunisia, theUnited Arab Emirates andYemen.[167]
On 4 July 2014, theU.S. bombed the "Osama bin Laden" ISIL military base in the village of Uqayrishah,Syria. Two dozen AmericanDelta Force operators then touched down in an effort to rescue hostages, includingJames Foley. The effort failed, with the hostages having been moved to another location days prior.[168][169][170][171] Ina series of videos, Foley,Steven Joel Sotloff, and several more hostages were murdered.[172][173]
On 26 August 2014, theU.S. began sendingsurveillance flights, includingdrones, intoSyria to gather intelligence. The Syrian Arab Republic was not asked for permission.[174][175]
On 28 August, speaking about combating ISIL inSyria, President Obama said "we don't have a strategy yet."[176]
TheBritish Royal Air Force has been operating overSyria in a surveillance role since 21 October 2014, making theUK the first Western country other than theUnited States to operate in bothIraq and Syria simultaneously.[177]
At the direction of President Obama, theU.S. Central Intelligence Agency played an active role since the early stages of theSyrian Civil War.[178][179] TheU.S. initially supplied the vetted militias of theFree Syrian Army with non-lethal aid but soon escalated to providing training, money, and intelligence to the rebel commanders.[180][181][182] In June 2014, Obama requested Congressional authorization of $0.5 billion to train, arm and support vetted Free Syrian militias as a counter-force against bothAssad regime andIS.[183][184]
On 17 September 2014, theHouse of Representatives voted to authorize the proposal to train and arm pro-WesternFree Syrian militias, with the objective of training 5,000–10,000 troops.[185][186][187] Syrian opposition'sNational Revolutionary Coalition welcomed Obama's announcement of extending the anti-IS bombing campaign into Syria, stating:
“The Syrian Coalition ... stands ready and willing to partner with the international community not only to defeat ISIS but also rid theSyrian people of the tyranny of theAssad regime”[188]
TheUnited Kingdom announced in March 2015 that it would send 75 military personnel to help train Western-vettedFree Syrian militias in the use of small arms, infantry tactics and basic medical skills. The training was supposed to take place inTurkey as part of theU.S.-led effort.[189]
According to theUnited States Department of Defense,Saudi Arabia proposed that they could provide training toSyrian rebels so they could return toSyria and battle ISIL.[190] The effort to train a large force ofSyrian rebels from anti-Assad factions to fight ISIL ultimately failed, with only 54 fighters inDivision 30 trained and many captured, killed or not fighting.[191][192][193]
_launches_Tomamhawk_missiles_in_September_2014.jpg)
U.S. President Barack Obama announced on 10 September 2014 that he would begin to extend aerial campaign toSyria with or without congressional approval.[194] Many Senators were opposed to Obama's policy of unilateral intervention, without requesting a congressional mandate.[195] While Obama acknowledged the broad consensus in theUS intelligence community that IS were not a "current threat" to United States, he claimed that IS posed a future danger to the US, citing theanti-American rhetoric of IS leadership.[188]Pentagon leadership preferred a greater involvement of US boots to combat IS, but this was rejected by Obama, who instead favoured working withIraqi Ground forces,Peshmerga andSyrian opposition militias.[195]
Starting on 22 September 2014, theU.S.,Bahrain,Jordan,Qatar,Saudi Arabia, and theUnited Arab Emirates began numerous large-scale airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria[196] with fighters, bombers, and sea-basedTomahawk cruise missiles.[197] The strikes were the largest aerial bombing operations launched against IS targets since US launched its military campaign against IS in August 2014.[198]
Hadi al-Bahra,President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, stated that the strikes were "necessary" to aid theSyrian people's fight against ISIL and urged the Coalition Forces to steer clear of civilian casualties.[198] United States has ruled out any co-operation withBashar al-Assad in the fight against IS, instead issuing warnings to the Syrian military to disengage from Coalition aircraft.State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that no notifications had been issued toAssad regime with regard toUS operations in Syrian airspace.[198]
Additionally, on the first night, the U.S. forces also launched eight cruise missile strikes against theal-Qaeda-affiliatedKhorasan.[199] Many airstrikes were focused against IS command & control facilities, training camps, supply depots, military facilities, etc. in and aroundRaqqa.[200][198] Strikescontinue to take place in Syria daily. In early November early December 2014, the U.S. launched additional airstrikes against the same group. In November 2014,Morocco sent 3F-16s to be deployed in UAE, to fight ISIL inIraq and Syria under U.S.-led operations.[201][202][203]
On 24 December 2014, ISIL shot down a Jordanian fighter jet overSyria and captured its pilot,Jordanian air force lieutenantMuath Al-Kasasbeh. Al-Kasabeh was offered in exchange for captured ISIL fighters.Jordan offered to make the exchange, but demanded "proof of life" first. However, Al-Kasabeh had already been executed by immolation. When video of the pilot's execution was released, a moratorium on executions inJordan was lifted and theAl-Qaida operatives,Sajida al-Rishawi andZiad al-Karbouli were executed.[204][205]
On 21 August 2015, three ISIL fighters, two with UK nationality, were targeted and killed inRaqqa,Syria by aBritish Royal Air ForceMQ-9 Reaper strike. Prime Minister David Cameron gave a statement to Parliament that one of the British nationals targeted had been plotting attacks in theUnited Kingdom. Another British national was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August.[206]
In October and November 2015, theU.S. intensified its airstrikes on ISIL-held oil facilities in an operation named "Tidal Wave II", after theWorld War IIcampaign againstAxisoil targets inRomania. The U.S. strategy aimed "to knock out specific installations for six months to a year" by focusing on facilities nearDeir el-Zour. The Omar oil field, which produced 30,000 barrels of oil per day and $1.7 million to $5.1 million in revenue per month at full capacity, was hit on 21 October, reducing it to roughly a third of its capacity. French aircraft also participated in the strikes.[207]
On 16 November 2015, a U.S. Operation Tidal Wave II sortie destroyed 116 ISIL fuel tankers clustered nearAbu Kamal, a city on theSyrian border with Iraq. Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two AC-130 Spectre gunships participated in the raid. Before attacking the trucks the planes conducted several low-level, 'show of force' passes.[208]
On 2 December 2015, theParliament of the United Kingdom voted in favour (397 to 223) to authorise air strikes inSyria.[209] Within hours,RAF Tornado jets carried out their first air strikes, targeting the Omar oil fields in eastern Syria, which were under ISIL control.[210] Tornado GR-4 jets were used for surveillance and a further six Typhoons leftRAF Lossiemouth,Scotland to join forces atRAF Akrotiri,Cyprus.[211]
On 4 December 2015Germany intervened in reaction to theNovember 2015 Paris attacks by sending the frigateAugsburg (F213) andPanavia Tornado reconnaissance aircraft to the region.[212] TheAugsburg concluded its first deployment in March 2016, redeploying in September and concluding its mission on 14 November 2016.[213]
On 29 January 2016, theNetherlands announced its intent on expanding its airstrike operations toSyria.[214]
On 11 September 2015, aSyrian military source made mention of Russian troops present inSyria to help theSyrian government in its fight againstISIL, as part ofOperation Rescue.[215][216] On 17 September, Syrian warplanes carried out a wave of airstrikes in the ISIL-held city ofRaqqa with Russian weapons supplied byRussian Armed Forces.[217] On 20 November,Russia claimed to have killed over 600 terrorists using cruise missiles in one mission.[218]
ISIL is suspected of involvement in or responsibility for terrorist attacks inTurkey inMay 2013 in Reyhanlı andMarch 2014 on Turkish police,kidnapping 49 Turkish diplomats in June 2014, the5 June 2015 Diyarbakır rally bombing and 20 July2015 Suruç bombing which killed 32 young activists. Until July 2015, theTurkish governmentattacked ISIL only once, in January 2014. In September 2014 Turkeyjoined a US-led coalition 'to fight ISIL'.
On 23 July according to various Turkish news outlets, 60 eliteSpecial Forces (ÖKK) operatives reportedly infiltrated Elbeyli-Ayyase village, 9 kilometers from theSyria-Turkey border inSyria, and took it back from ISIL militants.[219][220][221] Turkish tanks shelled the village the same day of the ground operation.[222] The operation reportedly lasted over an hour and killed over 100 ISIL militants, according to reports.[220] The Turkish General Staff neither confirmed nor denied the special forces foray but did confirm shelling the village.[223][224]
The same day,Turkeyallowed the United States to use İncirlik and Diyarbakır air bases in southern Turkey for airstrikes on ISIL in Syria, and afteran alleged ISIL attack on a Turkish border outpost in Kilis Province killing one Turkish soldier, the Turkish army shelled ISIL militants in Syria, killing one militant and destroying several ISIL vehicles.
On 24 July, an anonymous report appeared on a Turkish newspaper website stating thatthe United States had agreed with Turkey on a 'partial no-fly zone' in northern Syria.
On 24 and 25 July launched a military operation entitled 'Operation Martyr Yalçın' against both ISIL inSyria and theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) inIraq, deploying at least 70F-16fighter jets.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2025) |
Rojava is a major theater in the war against the Islamic State in Syria. During the Syrian Civil war, Kurdish forces led by thePeople's Protection Units (YPG) took control of Northern Syria and launched campaigns to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas. TheSyrian Democratic Forces went on to take substantial territory from the Islamic State and played a major role in theliberation of Raqqa and thebattle for Deir Ezzor, ending Islamic State rule in Syria.
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2025) |
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2025) |
In June 2015,Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah claimed that ISIL andNusra had taken a foothold inLebanon and that fierce battles were raging between them and Hezbollah, as well as each other.[225]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2025) |
.jpg)
After having started flying crewed aircraft overIraq and sending some troops in June, in August 2014 theUS military began supplying Iraqi KurdishPeshmerga with weapons, dropping food for refugees fleeing from ISIL, and airstrikes against ISIL inIraq.
On 9 August, speaking about U.S. airstrikes inIraq, PresidentBarack Obama said "this is going to be a long-term project."[226] Since then, nine countries[227] allied with theUS have also executed airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq, and various countries have contributed military and humanitarian aid toIraqi government and Iraqi Kurdish ground forces.
On 16–19 August, according to the U.S., Iraqi government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga, with the help of U.S. airstrikes, took back theMosul Dam, the largest dam inIraq. (For further wins and losses in Iraq against ISIL, seeWar in Iraq (2014–2017)). President Obama announced on 10 September 2014 that the number of airstrikes in Iraq would increase and that he had dispatched 500 more US troops there.[194]
On 10 September 2019,US Air ForceF-35s andF-15E Strike Eagles dropped bombs weighing 36,000 kg on anIraqi island "infested" by ISIS.[228]
On 5 August 2014,Zalmay Khalilzad, the formerUS ambassador to Iraq and theUN, wrote in theWashington Post that theUnited States is involved in "the direct supply of munitions to theKurds and, with Baghdad's agreement, the shipment of someForeign Military Sales (FMS) program weapons to the Kurds."[229][230] The United States moved from indirectly supplyingKurdistan with small arms through theCIA to directly giving them weapons such asman-portable anti-tank systems.[231]
In a coordinated effort led by theUnited States, many allied countries includingNATO members and Middle Eastern partners have supplied or plan to supply Iraqi and/or Kurdish forces with heavy military equipment, small arms, ammunition, non-lethal military gear, and training support.
TheBuilding Partner Capacity (BPC) program is meant to help theIraqi government to prepare forces for the counter-attack against ISIL and the regaining of its territory. According to theUS Department of Defense, by May 2015 a dozen countries had committed themselves to the BPC program:Australia,Belgium,Canada,Denmark,France,Germany,Italy,Netherlands,New Zealand,Norway,Spain,United Kingdom and United States, and 6,500 Iraqi forces had been trained by BPC.
TheUnited States, theUnited Kingdom, andAustralia, supported by international partners, launched a large humanitarian effort to support refugees stranded in northern Iraq. This included air-dropping tens of thousands of meals and thousands of gallons of drinking water toYazidi refugees stranded in theSinjar Mountains and threatened by advancing ISIL forces, between 7–14 August 2014, in what was later described as "the first mass air delivery of humanitarian cargo since theoutbreak of violence inEast Timor in 1999."[232][233][234][235][236]
Thousands ofYazidis and other Iraqi civilians fled to the area following attacks on their villages and the town ofSinjar throughout late July and early August 2014.
Several human rights and observer organizations in the region reported that those who fled to the mountains were subjected to starvation, and lacked clean drinking water and medical care for several months as ISILmilitants surrounded them. Hundreds of men, women, and children were abducted and killed.
In response to the immediate threat to the approximately 30,000 people trapped on the mountain, coalition aircraft commenced humanitarian aid drops. These air drops included basic supplies such as food, water, and shelter and were conducted at low flight levels by coalition transport aircraft under the threat of ISIL surface-to-air attacks.
In direct support of humanitarian aid drops,CF-18s provided top cover for aRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF)C-130 Hercules transport aircraft on 20 November, ensuring the transport crew was able to safely parachute supplies to waiting refugees below.Canadian fighter jets remained in close proximity to the transport aircraft to protect it from ISILsurface-to-air threats or attacks.[237]
Unlike their coalition partners, and unlike previous American combat operations, no name was initially given to the 2014 intervention against ISIL by theU.S. government.[238] The decision to keep the conflict nameless drew considerable media criticism.[239][240][241][242][243] U.S. Service members remain ineligible for Campaign Medals and other service decorations due to the continuing ambiguous nature of the continuing U.S. involvement in Iraq.[244]
On 15 October 2014, theUnited States Central Command announced that the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIL inIraq andSyria was henceforth designated asOperation Inherent Resolve.[245] The CENTCOM news release noted:
"According to CENTCOM officials, the name INHERENT RESOLVE is intended to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the U.S. and partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat they pose to Iraq, the region and the wider international community. It also symbolizes the willingness and dedication of coalition members to work closely with our friends in the region and apply all available dimensions of national power necessary—diplomatic, informational, military, economic—to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL."[245]
In June 2014, U.S. forces had started undertaking reconnaissance missions over northern Iraq.[246][247][248]
On 7 August, President Obama gave a live address describing the worsening conditions inIraq and thatthe plight of theYazidis particular had convinced him thatU.S. military action was necessary to protect American lives, protect minority groups inIraq, and to stop a possible ISIL advance onErbil, the capital of theKurdish Autonomous Region.[249] On 8 August, theUnited States started to bomb ISIL targets in Iraq.[250][251] By 10 August, assisted by these air attacks, Kurdish forces claimed to have recaptured the towns of Mahmour and Gweyr[252] from Islamic State control. Additional Iraqi airstrikes conducted inSinjar were reported to have killed 45 ISIL militants and injured an additional 60 militants.[253] On 11 August, a spokesperson forThe Pentagon said the airstrikes had slowed down ISIL's advance in northern Iraq, but were unlikely to degrade ISIL's capabilities or operations in other areas.[254] Between 8 and 13 August, U.S. airstrikes and Kurdish ground forces enabled 35,000 to 45,000 of Yazidi refugees to escape or be evacuated from theSinjar Mountains.[255]
On 16 August, U.S. air power began aclose air campaign aimed at supporting the advance of Kurdish fighters moving toward theMosul Dam. Kurdish sources commented that it was the "heaviest US bombing of militant positions since the start of air strikes".[256][257] President Obama on 17 August defended this usage of U.S. Forces as support of the Iraqi and Kurdish fight in general against ISIL—which indeed went beyond Obama's reasoning for launching airstrikes on 7 August.[258]
On 8 September, theIraqi Army, with close air support from theU.S., retook the keyHaditha Dam, and recaptured the town ofBarwanah, killing 15 ISIL fighters.[259] ISIL responded with the public execution ofDavid Haines.[260] By the end of September 2014, the United States had conducted 240 airstrikes inIraq andSyria, as well as 1,300 tanker refueling missions, totaling 3,800 sorties by all types of aircraft. A tactical arrangement with Kurdish and Iraqi forces, and drone videos are being used to coordinate close air support without needing U.S. troops in ground combat.[261]
On 19 December 2014, US General James Terry announced that the number of US airstrikes on ISIL had increased to 1,361.[262]
On 25 December 2014, Hassan Saeed Al-Jabouri, the ISIL governor ofMosul, who was also known as Abu Taluut, was killed by a US-led Coalition airstrike in Mosul. It was also reported that theUS planned to retake the city of Mosul in January 2015.[263]
On 15 January 2015, it was reported that over 16,000 airstrikes had been carried out by the Coalition. TheU.S. Air Force has carried out around 60 percent of all strikes. Among them,F-16s performed 41 percent of all sorties, followed by theF-15E at 37 percent, then theA-10 at 11 percent, theB-1 bomber at eight percent, and theF-22 at 3 percent. The remaining 40 percent has been carried out by theUS Navy and allied nations.[264]
On 20 January 2015, theSOHR reported that al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL, had been wounded in an airstrike inAl-Qa'im, an Iraqi border town held by ISIL, and as a result, withdrew toSyria.[265]
On 21 January 2015, the US began coordinating airstrikes with a Kurdish launched offensive, to help them begin the planned operation to retake the city ofMosul.[266]
On 21 July 2015, it was reported that nearly 44,000 sorties have flown since August 2014.[267]
Throughout 2015, the vast majority of bombs and missiles launched by theUS (approximately 22,000 of 23,000 total) were directed at targets inIraq andSyria, according to theCouncil on Foreign Relations.[268]
In 2019U.S military carried out an airstrike inBaghuz town inSyria leading to death of 64 women and children, marking the largest civilian casualty incidents of the war against theIslamic State. The incident was concealed by the U.S. military[269] and it was reported bythe New York Times for the first time on November 14, 2021.[270]
In June 2020, coalition aircraft destroyed three ISIL camps in northern Iraq.[271]
In July, President Obama announced that due to the continuing violence inIraq and the growing influence of non-state organizations, such as theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, theUnited States would be elevating its security commitment in the region. Approximately 800 U.S. troops secured American installations like theEmbassy in Baghdad and the Consulate inErbil as well as taking control of strategic locations like theBaghdad airport in cooperation with Iraqi troops.[272]
U.S. forces also undertook a mission to "assess and to advise [Iraqi security forces] as they confront [ISIL] and the complex security situation on the ground."[273] Reports from these American units about the capabilities of the Iraqi military have been consistently grim, viewing them as "compromised" by sectarian interests.[274][275][276]
On 13 August 2014, theU.S. deployed another 130 military advisers to Northern Iraq[277] and up to 20U.S. Marines and special forces servicemen landed onMount Sinjar fromV-22 aircraft to coordinate the evacuation ofYazidi refugees joining BritishSAS already in the area.[278]
On 3 September 2014, Obama announced increase of U.S. forces inIraq to 1,213.[279] On 10 September, Obama gave a speech reiterating that U.S. troops will not fight in combat, but about 500 more troops will be sent to Iraq to help train Iraqi forces.[194]
In early November 2014, Obama announced that he would be doubling the U.S. ground presence insideIraq to around 3,000 men.[280] By early December 2014, the number of U.S. ground troops in Iraq had increased to 3,100.[281]
On 9 December 2014, theUnited States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations authorized U.S. military force againstISIL. However, it limits military force to three years, requires the administration to report toCongress every 60 days, and prohibits the deployment of U.S. combat troops, except in specific cases, such as those involving the rescue or protection of U.S. soldiers, or for intelligence operations.[282]
During the early morning hours of 14 December 2014, U.S. ground forces allegedly clashed withISIL alongside theIraqi Army and Tribal Forces near theAin al-Assad Airbase, west ofAnbar, in an attempt to repel them from the base of which includes about 100 U.S. advisers in it, when ISIL attempted to overrun the base. According to a field commander of theIraqi Army inAl Anbar Governorate, said that "the U.S. force equipped with light and medium weapons, supported byF-18, was able to inflict casualties against fighters of ISIL organization, and forced them to retreat from the al-Dolab area, which lies 10 kilometers from Ain al-Assad base." Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader in the region, added that "U.S. forces intervened because of ISIL started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense," he responded, welcoming the U.S. intervention, and saying "which I hope will not be the last."[283][284][285] This was said to be the first encounter between theUnited States and theIslamic State,in four years. However, this claim has been stated to be "false" byThe Pentagon.[286]
On 5 January 2015,The Pentagon acknowledged that ISIL had beenineffectively mortaring the base.[287]
In late February 2015, another 1,300 US soldiers were deployed toIraq, increasing the number of US ground troops in Iraq to 4,400.[288]
On 9 March 2020, the Pentagon released a statement claiming that twoAmerican Marines were killed on 8 March 2020 during an anti-ISIS operation in a mountainous area of north central Iraq.[289] Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the OIR coalition, later identified the Marines as Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, 34, ofSimi Valley,California, and Capt. Moises A. Navas, 34, ofGermantown,Maryland, who were also MARSOC Raiders, and that they died during an operation which also claimed the lives of four ISIS fighters during an American-led operation which involved clearing an ISIS cave complex in the Makhmur Mountains, south ofErbil.[290]
The coalition officially concluded its combat mission in Iraq on 9 December 2021, but U.S. troops remained in Iraq to advise, train, and assistIraqi security forces against the ongoingISIL insurgency, including providing air support and military aid.[291][292]
On 3 October 2014,Prime MinisterTony Abbott and theAustralian Cabinet approved forRAAFBoeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter bombers to begin airstrikes against Islamic State militants. Abbott said "It is in our national interest that we do so, it is in the interests of civilisation that we do so. It is in everyone's best interests that the murderous rage of the ISIL death cult be checked and rolled back and that's what we're determined to do."[293]
On 6 October, Air Chief MarshalMark Binskin announced two Super Hornets had conducted armed combat missions overIraq although no armaments were expended. An Australian Air task Group KC-30A and an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft have also been flying in support to fighter bombers belonging to coalition forces. The KC-30A performs airborne refueling for coalition aircraft.[294] Binskin said "One of our Super Hornet packages on the first night ... had an identified target which it was tracking and that particular target moved into an urban area where the risks of conducting a strike on that target increased to a point where it exceeded our expectations of collateral damage, so they discontinued the attack at that point."[295]
On 9 October, Prime MinisterTony Abbott confirmed thatRAAF Super Hornets had been involved in a "strike missions on an ISIL position in Iraq".[296] The aircraft dropped two bombs onto an isolated building which ISIL was using as a command and control center.[297]
As of 17 October, theRoyal Australian Air Force had conducted 43 combat sorties over Iraq.[298] Recent strikes had targeted equipment facilities, with "at least two" resulting in ISIL casualties after Australian aircraft had increased the number of missions flown to allowU.S. and coalition forces to assist Kurdish fighters aroundKobanî, in northern Syria.[299][300]
After more than 2 years of involvement in the coalition,Australia announced the end of its airstrikes inIraq, after informing Iraq and other allies.[301]
On 12 August 2014, theUnited Kingdom deployed sixTornado GR4strike aircraft toRAF Akrotiri inCyprus to help coordinate its humanitarian aid airdrops in Northern Iraq.[302] On 16 August 2014, following the completion of humanitarian aid airdrops, the Tornado GR4s, along with anRC-135 Rivet Jointsignals intelligence aircraft, were re-tasked to provide aerial surveillance to coalition forces.[303]
In early September 2014,British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron began voicing his support for British airstrikes against ISIL inIraq.[304] Weeks later,Parliament was recalled and Members debated whether or not to authorise airstrikes. The seven-hour debate resulted in overwhelming support for airstrikes, with 524 votes in favour and 43 votes against.[305]
On 27 September 2014, the first armed sortie took place overIraq. A pair of Tornado GR4s leftCyprus armed with laser-guided bombs, supported by aVoyager aerial refueling tanker. Ultimately, the aircraft did not locate any targets requiring immediate air attack and so gathered intelligence for coalition forces instead.[306] TheRoyal Air Force (RAF) conducted its first airstrike on 30 September 2014. A pair of Tornado GR4s engaged an ISIL heavy weapon position and an armed pickup truck using a laser-guided bomb and air-to-surface missile.[307]
On 3 October 2014, theRAF deployed two additional Tornado aircraft to bring its deployed fleet up to eight aircraft.[308] During the same month, it was also confirmed that theRoyal Navy was involved in anti-ISIL operations in a support role, with air defence destroyerHMS Defender providing escort toU.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS George H.W. Bush as she launched aircraft intoIraq andSyria.[309]Nick Clegg, thenDeputy Prime Minister, also disclosed during an interview that there was a nuclear attack submarine armed withTomahawk cruise missiles deployed to the region.[310]
On 16 October 2014, theMinistry of Defence announced it would deployMQ-9 Reaper drones to assist with surveillance, although,Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon stated that the drones could also conduct airstrikes if required.[311] The first Reaper drone strike occurred weeks later inBayji, north ofBaghdad, against a group of ISIL militants which had been laying improvised explosive devices.[312] As of September 2015, a year after operations first began, more than 330 ISIL fighters had been killed by British airstrikes inIraq, without any civilian casualties.[313][314]
In addition to operations overIraq, theUnited Kingdom had also intervened inSyria by 21 October 2014, making it the first Western country, other than theUnited States, to do so.[177] However, British aircraft were not permitted to carrying out airstrikes untilParliament had voted to give its authorization. Despite this, theRoyal Air Force carried out a drone strike in Syria on 21 August 2015, against two UK-born ISIL fighters which had been plotting attacks against the United Kingdom.Prime MinisterDavid Cameron insisted that it was a lawful act of self-defense.[315]
Since the authorization of airstrikes inIraq, Prime Minister David Cameron had made persistent calls for airstrikes inSyria; however, he affirmed that no airstrikes would take place until after a vote in Parliament.[316] On 2 December 2015, following theNovember 2015 Paris attacks andUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 2249, David Cameron opened a ten-hour debate in Parliament on Syrian airstrikes, which ended with a final vote. 397MPs voted in favour of airstrikes, whilst 223 voted against.[317] Airstrikes commenced two hours after the vote, taking place in eastern Syria against the ISIL-held Oman oilfield.[312] Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also subsequently announced that the UK's "strike force" based inCyprus would double, with the addition of sixEurofighter Typhoons and twoTornado GR4s.[317]
In addition to airstrikes, theUnited Kingdom has also made significant contributions towards the coalition'sISTAR capabilities. TheRoyal Air Force has deployedSentinel R1,Sentry AEW1,RC-135W Rivet Joint andShadow R1 aircraft to gather surveillance, in addition to Tornado GR4 and MQ-9 Reaper strike aircraft. In September 2015, the United Kingdom was responsible for a third of all coalition surveillance flights overIraq andSyria, with the Tornado GR4sRAPTOR reconnaissance pod accounting for 60% of the coalition's entire tactical reconnaissance in Iraq alone.[318][319]
In December 2016, theTelegraph reported that Secretary of State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon said "TheBritish Army have trained over 31,000 Iraqi andPeshmerga who are taking the fight to Daesh"[320] It was also reported that the Royal Air Force is operating at its most intense for 25 years in a single theatre of operation which far outstripped the UK involvement in theIraq War and theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2014), with RAF jets having dropped 11 times more bombs onSyria andIraq in the preceding 12 months than they had in the busiest year of action inAfghanistan a decade previously.[320]
Canada took part in airstrikes against ISIL from 2 November 2014 until 22 February 2016 when following the election ofJustin Trudeau to Prime Minister withdrew its CF-18s fighter jets and ended all airstrikes inSyria andIraq.[321]
The Canadian contribution was code-named Operation Impact by theCanadian Department of National Defence.[322][323] Canadian aircraft left for theMiddle East to join in airstrikes on 21 October 2014. In total, sixCF-18 fighter jets, anAirbus CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueling tanker and twoCP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft were sent, along with 700 military personnel.
CanadianCF-18 fighter jets completed their first operational flights departing fromKuwait on 31 October.[324] The first Canadian airstrikes began on 2 November.[325]Canada also flew an extra CF-18 to Kuwait to be used as a spare if the need arises, however a maximum of six are authorized to fly with the coalition missions.[326]
On 4 November 2014,Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s destroyed ISIL construction equipment usingGBU-12 bombs. The construction equipment was being used to divert theEuphrates River to deny villages water, and to flood roads, diverting traffic to areas withIEDs.[327]
On 12 November 2014, Canadian jets destroyed ISIL artillery just outside the Northern Iraqi town ofBaiji.[328] Airstrikes continued throughout December and into January, 2015, totaling 28 strike missions.[329] It was then reported that Canadian special forces troops, which had beenhighlighting targets for airstrikes, had engaged in fighting after coming under attack.[329][330]
On 19 January 2015, Canadian special operations forces came under ISIL attack for the first time inIraq, and returned sniper fire to "neutralize" the threat.Canadians are "enabling airstrikes from the ground," meaning they are actively finding targets for jets flying overhead.[331]
On 29 January 2015, Canadian special forces inIraq came under fire from ISIL forces, causing the Canadian troops to return fire, killing some ISIL militants.[332] On 6 March, a Canadian soldier was killed in afriendly fire incident byKurdish forces while returning to an observation post.[333]
On 8 April 2015, two CF-18s carried out their first airstrike against ISIL inSyria, hitting one of the group's garrisons.[334]
From 2 November 2014 to 13 May 2015 the Canadian armed forces struck 80 ISIL fighting positions, 19 ISIL vehicles, and 10 storage facilities.
On 21 October 2015, CanadianPrime Minister-designateJustin Trudeau informedU.S. PresidentBarack Obama that he intended to withdraw Canadian aircraft from operations overIraq andSyria but increase training missions on the ground.[335][336]
On 8 February 2016,Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau announced that the CF-18s would be withdrawn from the bombing mission no later than 22 February 2016. However, the surveillance aircraft and air-to-air jet refueller would continue. In addition, the amount of training troops would triple.[337]
TheCanadian Government would extend the Operation until 31 March 2025.[338]
On 24 September 2014, theDutch government announced its participation in "the military campaign" against ISIL which, as they claimed, had been started by theUnited States, and sent sixF-16 fighter jets toIraq to bomb ISIL. Their motivations to join this war: ISIL's advance in Iraq andSyria, while displaying "unprecedented violence" and "perpetrating terrible crimes against population groups", formed "a direct threat for that region"; ISIL's advance in Iraq and Syria "causes instability at the borders ofEurope" which threatens "our own [Dutch] safety". Figures requested byRTL Nieuws in August 2015 showed that theNetherlands was among the most active countries within the coalition, third behind only theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom.[339] In January 2016, the Netherlands extended theirbombings of ISIL to Syrian territory. By the end of July 2016 the Dutch Air Task Force flew more than 2100 missions and carried out over 1800 air strikes.[340] At the end of the Dutch contribution to the Air Task Force, in December 2018, theRoyal Netherlands Air Force had flown over 3000 missions and conducted approximately 2100 air strikes.[341]
On 19 September 2014, theFrench Air Force used itsRafale jets to conduct airstrikes on IS targets inMosul. The airstrikes were approved byFrench PresidentFrançois Hollande, which indicated thatFrance was committed to fighting IS using air power alongside theUnited States.[342] Hollande mentioned that no ground troops would be used in the conflict. To conduct its airstrikes, France deployed 9 Rafale fighters to theUnited Arab Emirates, 6Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters toJordan, in addition to anAtlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, aBoeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft, and aBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker.[343]
On 23 February 2015, theFrench Navy also deployed itsTask Force 473 carrier strike group to thePersian Gulf with the intent on conducting airstrikes from the aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle. TheCharles de Gaulle contributed 12 Rafale fighters, 9Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard strike aircraft, and 2E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft. The task force also included theFrench frigate Chevalier Paul (D621), aRubis-class submarine, aDurance-class tanker, and the British frigateHMS Kent.[344] After eight weeks of operations, the task force left the Persian Gulf on its way toIndia, heralding the end of its contribution toOperation Chammal.[343]
On 5 November 2015, it was announced that theCharles de Gaulle would resume operations inSyria to fight IS.[345]
On 15 November 2015, after theNovember 2015 Paris attacks, theFrench Air Force launched its largest airstrike of the bombing campaign sending 12 planes, including 10 fighters, that dropped 20 bombs in training camps and ammunition facilities inRaqqa, the de facto capital of IS.[346]
After the downed Jordanian pilotMuath al-Kasasbeh was executed by IS by being burned to death,King Abdullah II vowed revenge and temporarily took the lead in the bombing raids on IS during February 2015. On 8 February,Jordan claimed that during the course of 3 days, from 5–7 February, their airstrikes alone had killed 7,000 ISIL militants inIraq andSyria, and also reportedly degraded 20% of the militant group's capability.[347]
In December 2014Morocco sent 4 F-16s to bomb ISIL positions, initially in the outskirts ofBaghdad and other undisclosed locations.[348] The planes operated under the command of theUAE and suspended operations in February 2015.[349]
See overview in sectionTurkish intervention.
In mid-June 2014, according to American and British sources,Iran sentQasem Soleimani, commanding general of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps'Quds Force (IRGC-QF), toIraq to help the government organize against ISIL.[350] Later that month Iran started flying drones over Iraq,[351] and by August, according to sources likeReuters, Iranian soldiers were in Iraq fighting ISIL.[352] One war correspondent suggested that Iran "joined the air war" against ISIL on 21 June.[353]
In July, according to theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies,Iran sent severalSu-25 aircraft toIraq,[354] supported by Iranian/Iraqi ground crews trained in Iran.[1] In early August, those Su-25s began combat against ISIL, according toBusiness Insider.[1]
By September, according toBusiness Insider,Iranian Quds Force personnel were deployed toSamarra,Baghdad,Karbala, and the abandonedU.S. military post formerly known asCamp Speicher.[1] At the end of November 2014, an Israeli website claimed to have seen IranianF-4 Phantom II jet-fighters bombing ISIL in eastern Iraq;[355] a claim theU.S. army verified.[356]
In March and May 2015, American commentators indicatedQasem Soleimani was "leading Iraq's military strategy against ISIL".[357][358]
Iran was mainly involved in the fight against Islamic State by supporting Shia militias from thePopular Mobilization Units both financially and militarily.[359]
Already "for a long time" before June 2014,Hezbollah had a presence inIraq of advisers offering guidance to Shia fighters, according to a Hezbollah commander interviewed byThe National.[360]
In June 2014,Hezbollah reportedly set up a dedicated command center inLebanon to monitor developments inIraq.[361] On 17 June, Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah said that the party was "ready to sacrifice martyrs in Iraq five times more than what we sacrificed inSyria in order to protect shrines."[362]
In July 2014,Hezbollah sent more technical trainers and advisers toIraq, to monitor ISIL's movements, according to a Hezbollah commander.[360] Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action nearMosul.[360]
An AugustReuters story reported there were "dozens" ofHezbollah "battle-hardenedveterans" inIraq, while theChristian Science Monitor reported the party had deployed a 250-man unit "responsible for advising, training, and coordinating the Iraqi Shia militias."[363][364]
In February 2015, Nasrallah confirmed that he had sent troops to fight inIraq.[365]
AfterISIL killed 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians inLibya,[366]Egypt conducted airstrikes on ISIL targets in Libya on 16 February 2015, killing a total of 64 ISIL militants (50 inDerna).[367] Warplanes acting under orders from the "official"Libyan government also struck targets in Derna, reportedly in coordination with Egypt's airstrikes.[368] A Libyan official stated that more joint airstrikes would follow.[368]
Concern over ISIL activities inDerna District inLibya in December 2014 led to U.S. drones and electronic surveillance planes making "constant flights" from Italian bases, over the district of Derna.[369]
.jpg)
On 15 November 2015, theUnited States launched an airstrike inDerna,Libya. Two U.S. F-15E fighter jets targeted senior ISIL leaderAbu Nabil al-Anbari in the airstrike, who was the top ISIL commander in Libya.[370][371] In January 2016, ISIL's Libyan faction confirmed Abu Nabil's death in a eulogy to him.[372]
Administration officials are weighing a new campaign plan forLibya that would deepen the United States' military and diplomatic involvement, on yet another front against ISIL. TheUnited States and its allies are increasing reconnaissance flights and intelligence collecting there—and even preparing for possible airstrikes and raids, according to senior American officials. Special Operations forces have met with various Libyan groups over the past months to vet them for possible action against ISIL.[373]
On 19 February 2016, US warplanes carried out an airstrike on multiple ISIL targets in Libya, hitting an Islamic State training camp and a senior extremist leader, the training camp was nearSabratha,Libya, 60 people were present at the camp at the time of the strike, more than 40 people were killed with more wounded, some critically, On 14 February 2016, aU.N.-designated council presented a new 18-member Libyan cabinet in the Moroccan city ofSkhirat, weeks after an earlier lineup was rejected. The internationally recognized parliament has to endorse the new unity cabinet. If approved, the new unity government could eventually seek international military intervention against Islamic State extremists who have taken advantage of the country's political vacuum since 2014.
On 1 August 2016, U.S. crewed and uncrewed aircraft carried out airstrikes on ISIL targets inLibya, responding to theU.N.-backed government's request to helppush the militants from their stronghold of Sirte, in what U.S. officials described as the start of a sustained campaign against the extremist group in the city. PresidentBarack Obama authorized the airstrikes after a recommendation byU.S. Secretary of DefenseAsh Carter; the strikes hit an ISIL tank and two vehicles that posed a threat to forces aligned with Libyan GNA (Government of National Accord). This was the third U.S. air strike against Islamic State militants in Libya, but this time U.S. officials said it marked the start of a sustained air campaign rather than another isolated strike, U.S. airstrikes will continue to target ISIL inSirte in order to enable the GNA to make a decisive, strategic advance.U.S. AFRICOM command is overseeing the US effort, which is known as Operation Odyssey Lightning,AV-8B Harrier II assigned to the22nd MEU flying offUSS Wasp conducted the airstrikes and uncrewed aircraft launched from undisclosed locations.[374][375][376][377][378][379][380][381] Airstrikes continued, on 2 August, airstrikes hit a rocket launcher, an excavator and a pickup truck with a mounted recoilless rifle and on 3 August airstrikes struck a pickup truck with a mounted recoilless rifle; by 9 August the U.S. conducted 28 strikes againstISIL in Libya, with more than half of the strikes being conducted from uncrewed aircraft.[375][379] By 16 August, U.S. airstrikes hit an ISIL vehicle and 4 militant positions in Sirte, bringing the number of U.S. airstrikes in Libya to 48.[382] On 17 August,U.S. Africa Command officials announced on 16 August airstrikes on ISIL targets in Sirte struck 7 enemy fighting positions, 4 vehicle-borne bombs, 1 pickup truck with a mounted recoilless rifle, 12 enemy fighting positions and 1 command-and-control vehicle, bringing the total number of airstrikes in support of Operation Odyssey Lightning to 57.[383] On 22 August,Stars and Stripes reported that U.S. MarineAH-1W SuperCobra helicopters participated in strikes against ISIL militants in Sirte on 20 and 21 August; a small detachment of US special forces in Sirte provided most of the targeting information for the airstrikes which were then relayed to U.S. forces through Libyan government troops.[384] On 31 August,Stars and Stripes reported that in the past month, theU.S. military conducted 104 airstrikes against IS targets in Libya.[385]
On 22 September,Stars and Stripes reported that the pace of US airstrikes against IS militants inLibya slowed in September as the number of insurgents holed up in a hard-to-target section ofSirte had shrunk, (the US conducted 50 airstrikes against IS targets, compared with 108 in August) with about 200 militants remaining.[386] On 28 September,Fox News reported that as of 26 September,U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jets and attack helicopters as well as drones conducted 175 airstrikes against ISIL in Libya, according to the U.S. military's Africa Command. According to a U.S. official the number of ISIL fighters in Sirte was estimated to be "under 100" and that "ISIS is only in three neighborhoods."[387]
On 3 October,Stars and Stripes reported that on 2 October theUS conducted 20 airstrikes (bringing the total number of strikes to 201) inLibya: knocking out a command and control facility, nearly 70 IS fighting positions and several other sites in what was the heaviest day of bombing since the operation began, according toU.S. Africa Command data. The strikes were in support of an offensive by ground forces aligned with theinternationally backed Libyan government.[388] On 11 October,Stars and Stripes reported that U.S. warplanes conducted 51 airstrikes against ISIL targets in Libya, particularly in and aroundSirte, between 7 and 10 October, marking it as some of the heaviest bombing since the start of the Operation; bringing the total number of U.S. airstrikes in Libya to 261.[389] On 17 October, Fox News reported that US airstrikes against ISIS in Libya doubled in less than a month (bringing the number of airstrikes up to 324).[390] On 21 October 2016,Stars and Stripes reported that USSSan Antonio deployed to theMediterranean Sea as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning to replace USSWasp that was carrying out operations against ISIS.San Antonio will carry UH-1Y Hueys and AH-1W Cobras from the 22nd MEU's Aviation Combat Unit,VMM-264; Marine Harrier fighters were part of the operation aboardWasp, howeverSan Antonio does not host fighter jets.[391]
On 4 November 2016, Fox News reported that theU.S. military ended its bombing campaign against ISIS inSirte after three months of round-the-clock airstrikes the U.S. military conducted a total of 367 airstrikes since 1 August 2016, according to officials, no American airstrikes took place since 31 October; units taking part in the operation received orders on 1 November fromAFRICOM to end offensive and collective self-defence airstrikes. A senior defense official said the U.S. military would "continue to provide military support to theGNA ... ISIL-held territory in Sirte is down to a few hundred square meters. We'll continue to discuss with the GNA leadership what additional support they may need moving forward including air strikes."[392]
Sirte was liberated by GNA forces in early December; on 20 December 2016,ABC news reported that AFRICOM said that it carried out 495 airstrikes against militant vehicles and positions in the former IS stronghold ofSirte,[393] Operation Odyssey Lightning concluded on 19 December, following an announcement from the Libyan government of the end of offensive military operations in Sirte.[394]
On 18 January 2017,ABC News reported that two USAFB-2 bombers struck two ISIL camps 28 miles south ofSirte. The airstrikes targeted between 80 and 100 ISIS fighters in multiple camps, an uncrewed aircraft also participated in the airstrikes. One official called the airstrikes "a huge success," with more than 80 ISIL fighters killed, one counterterrorism official told ABC News there were "zero survivors" at the camps. Many of the ISIS fighters in the camps had fled Sirte during the battle, according to another official; Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement ISIS fighters had fled to the remote desert camps "in order to reorganize and they posed a security threat toLibya, the region, and U.S. national interests;" The militants were carrying weapons, wearing tactical vests and standing in formation. The airstrikes were authorised by President Obama and were carried out in coordination with GNA; they are considered to be an extension of Operation Odyssey Lightning.[395]BBC News reported that the B-2s flew a round-trip of around 34 hours fromMissouri and dropped around 100 bombs on their targets, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said those targeted were "actively planning" attacks inEurope.[396] NBC News later reported that the number of ISIL fighters killed was revised upward to 90; a U.S. defense official said that "This was the largest remaining ISIS presence in Libya," and that "They have been largely marginalised but I am hesitant to say they've been completely eliminated in Libya."[397]
On 22 September 2017, the US military conducted 6 airstrikes with unmanned aircraft on an ISI: camp 150 miles southeast of Sirte, killing 17 militants and destroying three vehicles. CNN reported an AFRICOM statement that the strikes took place "In coordination withLibya's Government of National Accord and aligned forces" and that "The camp was used by ISIS to move fighters in and out of the country; stockpile weapons and equipment; and to plot and conduct attacks". The strikes marked the first time airstrikes had been carried out in the country under the Donald Trump administration.[398]
The U.S. military has been closely monitoring ISIL movements inLibya, and small teams of U.S. military personnel moved in and out of the country over a period of months in early 2016. British, French, Italian and Jordanian special forces as well as the British RAF were also in Libya helping with aerial surveillance, mapping and intelligence gathering in several cities, includingBenghazi in the east andZintan in the west, according to two Libyan military officials who were coordinating with them.[399][400][401] British and American special forces were also carrying out intelligence-gathering operations aroundSirte.[402]
Since the beginning of 2016, British Special forces have been escorting teams of MI6 agents to meet with Libyan officials and organise the supplying weapons and training to theLibyan Army and to militias fighting against ISIL.[403][404] On 27 February 2016, The Telegraph reported that British special forces had deployed alongside its U.S. counterparts in the city ofMisrata to stop Islamist militants progress, their main role is to give tactical training to local militias and to build an army to fight ISIL.[405] In May 2016, it was reported that British special forces engaged in frontline combat against ISIL inLibya; in particular they destroyed two ISIL suicide vehicles that were targeting Libyan fighters. On 12 May, at the Shaddadah Bridge, 50 miles south of Misrata, the approach of a suicide vehicle sent Libyan forces fleeing in panic, British special forces intervened and destroyed the vehicle with a missile.[406][407] An estimated dozen U.S. special forces operated out of a base near Misrata and were in action nearTripoli.[408]
In a plan disclosed in late 2015,Britain was to offer theLibyan government 1,000 troops as part of a 5,000-strong combined withItaly, to train and equip the Libyan forces rather than take part in frontline fighting.[405] In addition, British defence minister Michael Fallon announced that Britain is sending 20 troops from the4th Infantry Brigade toTunisia to help prevent Islamic State fighters from moving into the country fromLibya.[409]
In June 2016, it was reported that ISIL militants wereretreating from Sirte and some fighters reportedly cutting off their beards and long hair to blend in with civilians as militia fighters allied to the unity government pushed into the city in tanks and armed trucks. The militias, mostly fromMisrata, are allied to and are the main fighting force for theU.N.-brokered unity government installed inTripoli the previous year.[410] On 11 June, the BBC reported that Libyan forces claimed they retook control of part ofSirte after fierce fighting against ISIL militants.[411] In July 2016,UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon said ISIL fighters inLibya were facing the "distinct possibility" of defeat in their last stronghold and are likely to scatter elsewhere in the country and the region;[381][412] At the beginning of 2016, ISIL was believed to have more than 5,000 fighters in Libya, by August 2016, estimates said there could be less than 1,000 left,[376] and by 9 August, only 350 ISIL fighters remained alive in Sirte.[375] U.S. and British special forces were involved in the battle for Sirte: U.S. troops were operating out of a joint operations center on the city's outskirts, their role was limited to supporting forces unity government forces, providing direct, on-the-ground support.[413] On 22 September,Stars and Stripes reported that Since the start of the battle, many ISIL members fled the city, "looking to hide among the population, relocate to other Libyan towns or attempting to leave Libya altogether."[386]
TheBBC reported that IS's announcement of the establishment of itsAfghanistan/Pakistan-basedKhorasan Province (IS-KP) in January 2015, it was the first time that IS had officially spread outside theArab world. Within weeks, the group appeared in at least five provinces inAfghanistan:Helmand,Zabul,Farah,Logar andNangarhar-trying to establish pockets of territory from which to expand. In the first half of 2015, IS-KP managed to capture large parts of territory in eastern Nangarhar province. This became the de facto "capital" principally for two reasons: its proximity to the tribal areas of Pakistan, home of IS-KP's top leaders; and the presence of some people who follow a similarSalafi/Wahhabi interpretation ofIslam to IS. IS-KP is also trying to get a foothold in northern Afghanistan, where it aims to link up with Central Asian, Chechen and ChineseUighur militants; IS's numerical strength inside Afghanistan vary, ranging from 1,000 to 5,000.[414]
In February 2015, IS-KP deputy commanderMullah Abdul Rauf Khadim was killed in a U.S. drone strike along with 5 others, his successor met the same fate a month later, and since then, the Islamic State has been absent from the southernAfghanistan.[415][416]
A report says that, according to aTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson, in July 2015, a U.S. drone strike killed Shahidullah Shadid, a senior leader of IS-KP and 24 other militants, inNangarhar province inAfghanistan.[417]
In January 2016, President Obama sent a directive to the Pentagon to make it easier for the military to get approval for strikes inAfghanistan, targeting militias that have sworn allegiance to IS.[418] For 3 weeks in that month, theUnited States military carried out at least a dozen operations, including commando raids and airstrikes, many of these raids and strikes taking place in theTora Bora region ofNangarhar Province. American commanders in Afghanistan said they believed that between 90 and 100 IS militants had been killed in these recent operations.[373]On 1 February 2016, U.S. airstrikes in Nangarhar province eastern Afghanistan killed 29 IS fighters and struck the terrorist group's FM radio station.[419] On 21 February, it was reported that just over a week before, Afghan forces supported by U.S. airstrikes pushed IS militants out of their stronghold in Nangarhar province in a military operation that had killed a total 43 IS militants by 22 February.[420][421][422] On 6 March 2016, Afghanistan's president announced that the IS-KP had been defeated in the eastern parts of the country, Afghan forces claimed victory following the 21-day operation in 2 districts in Nangarhar province, claiming at least 200 militants killed.[423] following this operation, an official confirmed that IS-KP militants had moved intoKunduz province and intoKunar province.[424][425]
In early April 2016, it was reported that US and Afghan forces had killed 1,979 suspected militants, 736 others wounded and 965 detained between April 2015 and March 2016, IS militants have also been trying to flee intoGhazni andNuristan province, whilst there has been a rise in defections from the group to the government and theTaliban.[426][427] U.S. commanders inKabul have scaled back their threat assessment for IS-KP, since January, the U.S. and its allies launched between 70 and 80 airstrikes on IS militants inAfghanistan.[428]
In late June 2016, IS militants attacked police checkpoints in the Kot area ofNangarhar province and heavy fighting ensued, as many as 36 IS militants were killed in the assaults, at least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians were killed, with another 18 wounded. The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government.[429][430]
On 8 July 2016,The Guardian reported that Prime minister David Cameron increased the number of British troops deployed toAfghanistan from 450 to 500, and that 21 of these additional troops would reinforce the counter-terrorism mission.[431]
On 23 July 2016, following theKabul bombing, Afghan forces and U.S. special forces backed by U.S. airstrikes began an operation to retake parts onNangarhar province from IS-KP militants. Over 24 and 25 July whilst clearing areas of southern Nangarhar with Afghan special operations troops, 5U.S. special forces troops were wounded by small arms fire or shrapnel, making it the first reported instance of U.S. troops being wounded in fighting IS inAfghanistan. On 26 July, one of the most important leaders of IS in the region and one of the founders of the IS-KP, Saad Emarati, was killed along with 120 other suspected militants inKot District, Afghan troops pushed into Kot District, meeting little resistance due to heavy air and artillery bombardment that forced IS fighters to flee into nearby mountain areas, Afghan forces found an already destroyed training camp. Overall, the operation reclaimed large and significant parts of eastern Afghanistan, forcing IS militants back into the mountains of southern Nangarhar with hundreds of IS militants killed; the estimated size of the IS-KP in January 2016 was around 3,000, but by July 2016 the number has been reduced to closely 1,000 to 1,500, with 70% of its fighters come from the TTP. In the operation, Afghan forces, backed by the US, killed an estimated 300 IS fighters.[432][433][434][435][436][437]
Between January and early August 2016, U.S. aircraft conducted nearly 140 airstrikes against IS targets inAfghanistan, according to the U.S. military.[437]
On 4 October 2016, a US soldier from B Company, 2nd Battalion,10th SFG was killed by a roadside bomb blast inAchin,Nangarhar province, he was on a patrol with Afghan forces during an operation against IS-KP militants.[438] This marked the first time a U.S. serviceman was killed in combat against IS militants in the country.[439]
On 24 December 2016,Military.com reported that Brigadier GeneralCharles Cleveland said that ISIL-KP's presence in the country has been pushed back from nearly a dozen districts to just two or three, the number of its members inAfghanistan had been reduced to about 1,000 from an estimated strength of between 1,500 and 3,000 members the previous year. Overall, U.S. troops in Afghanistan conducted more than 350 operations against the IS and al-Qaeda this year. In early December, GeneralJohn Nicholson, the international coalition's top military commander in Afghanistan, said U.S.-led counter-terrorism operations andAfghan government forces had killed 12 of the organization's top leaders in the country. U.S. officials have said IS fighters are primarily located inNangarhar andKunar Province's.[440]Military.com reported that Nicholson estimated that his forces had killed about 500 ISIS fighters throughout 2016 (including the 12 most senior leaders), these losses accounted for about 25 to 30% of IS-KP's total number of fighters and reduced its foothold in the country from 9 districts to 3.[441]
In February 2017, theWashington Post reported that U.S. forces conducted more than 1,000 strikes inAfghanistan in 2016, including 267 against IS-K and 57 targeted al-Qaeda.[442] TheBBC also reported that IS-KP has largely been eliminated from southern and western Afghanistan by theAfghan Taliban and military operations conducted by Afghan and US/NATO forces. Several hundred IS-KP fighters have been killed in clashes with the Afghan Taliban.[414]
In early April 2017, theWashington Post reported that Captain Bill Salvin, a spokesman for NATOs' mission toAfghanistan that Afghan and international forces have reduced IS-KP controlled territory in Afghanistan by two-thirds and killed around half of their fighters in the previous 2 years. Since the beginning of 2017, there have been 460 airstrikes against terrorists (with drone strikes alone killing more than 200 IS militants); he added that the affiliate has an estimated 600 to 800 fighters in two easternAfghan provinces.[443]
TheArmy Times reported that in early March 2017, American and Afghan forces launched Operation Hamza to "flush" IS-KP from its stronghold in easternAfghanistan, engaging in regular ground battles.[444]Stars and Stripes reported that General Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, said that for four weeks before the 13 AprilNangarhar airstrike (which was part of the operation), Afghan special forces unsuccessfully attempted to penetrate the area because of the difficult terrain andimprovised explosive device (IEDs) planted by IS-KP militants.[445] On 13 April, theNangarhar airstrike took place,Stars and Stripes reported that 94 IS-KP militants, including 4 commanders were killed by aGBU-43/B MOAB bomb that was dropped on an IS tunnel complex inAchin District;[445] theHuffington Post reported that the bomb was dropped from a U.S.Lockheed MC-130.[446] In late AprilMilitary Times reported that Captain Bill Salvin said an estimated 400 to 700 fighters are active throughout Nangarhar andKunar provinces.[441]
Sky News reported on 3 September 2018 that British special forces were also targeting IS-K inAfghanistan alongside US special forces.[447]
On 19 November 2019,Stars and Stripes reported that 243 IS fighters and nearly 400 family members surrendered to government forces inNangarhar Province during the previous two weeks.Afghan PresidentAshraf Ghani declared that "the result is Daesh's backbone was broken".[448]
On 26 August 2021 during the American evacuation from Afghanistan, a member of IS-Kdetonated a bomb near a gate atKabul International Airport, killing at least 183 civilians and 13 US soldiers.[449] In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the US conducted a retaliatory strike on a vehicle in Nangarhar province which was believed to be carrying "high-profile ISIS targets" and "planners and facilitators."[450] Two days later, a US drone strike targeted what was believed to be a member of IS-K planning an attack, killing 10 civilians, including 7 children. The Pentagon later called the strike "an honest mistake" and announced that none of the military personnel involved would be subject to any disciplinary actions.[451]
In October 2015, with the approval of theCameroonian government, the U.S. militarydeployed 300 personnel to Cameroon, their primary missions will revolve around providing intelligence support to local forces as well as conducting reconnaissance flights.[452][453]
On 1 September 2017, the US Secretary of Defence Mattis designatedOperation Pacific Eagle – Philippines (OPE-P) as a contingency operation to support thePhilippine government and theArmed Forces of the Philippines in their efforts to isolate, degrade, and defeat the affiliates of ISIS (collectively referred to as ISIS-Philippines or ISIS-P) and other terrorist organisations in thePhilippines.[454]
CNN reported that on 16 October 2017, US forces conducted airstrikes against two IS training camps located inal Bayda Governorate,Yemen, containing an estimated 50 fighters; a US defence official said that this is the first U.S. strike specifically targeting IS in Yemen,[455] the strike disrupted the group's attempts to train more fighters. CNN reported that on 23 October that two U.S. airstrikes in al Bayda Governorate, the first strike killed 7 IS terrorists travelling in pickup trucks, a second strike (5 miles west) killed a further 2 IS terrorists.[456]Military Times reported that on 25 October, two US airstrikes in al-Bayda Governorate killed 9 IS fighters, a CENTCOM statement said that "In the last ten days, U.S. forces have targeted and killed approximately 60 ISIS terrorists in Yemen." Maher Farrukh, an al-Qaida analyst for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute said that "AQAP and ISIS cooperate on a tactical level in central Yemen against alHouthi-Saleh forces, they often co-claim attacks and likely share some militants," and that "ISIS' continued presence in Yemen is likely sustained by its cooperation with AQAP, but it does not appear to be growing at this time."[457]
TheIslamic Emirate of Rafah was a short-lived militant state established by theJund Ansar Allah, an Islamist group, in the town ofRafah in theGaza Strip. It was declared on 14 August 2009, byAbdul Latif Moussa, also known as Abu Noor al-Maqdisi, during a sermon at theIbn Taymiyyah Mosque. The emirate aimed to impose strictIslamic law and was aligned with the ideology ofal-Qaeda and is believed to have been aided by ISIS.[458]
Jund Ansar Allah, translated as "Soldiers of the Followers of God," was founded by Abdul Latif Moussa in 2008. The group quickly garnered attention due to its extreme interpretation of Islam and its opposition to the rulingHamas government in the Gaza Strip (known locally as thePalestinian Government in Gaza orPalestinian Authority in Gaza). Tensions between Jund Ansar Allah and Hamas escalated when Moussa declared the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Rafah, challenging the authority of Hamas.[459][better source needed]
The proclamation of the Islamic Emirate of Rafah was seen as a direct threat to the Hamas government, which had been the de facto authority inGaza since 2007 (after winning the2006 Palestinian legislative election but losing control of the West Bank Region insubsequent conflict). In response, Hamas launched a military operation against Jund Ansarf Allah. The confrontation culminated in a fierce battle at the Ibn Taymiyyah Mosque, where Abdul Latif Moussa and several of his followers were killed many of whom wereISI operatives. The emirate was dismantled, and Hamas reasserted its control over Rafah.[460]
In 2012 Hamas publicly turned against theAssadgovernment and endorsed theSyrian opposition who were attempting to overthrow him.[461] In a speech in Cairo, whenIsmail Haniyeh was visiting from the Gaza Strip, he said,"I salute all the nations of theArab Spring and I salute the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy, and reform".[461] Government and opposition forces later both fought against ISIS ina multi sided conflict.[462][better source needed] This also put Hamas on a different side of the conflict to Iran, who Netanyahu also claims resemble to ISIS.[463][464]
TheSyrian civil war and insurgency includedAknaf Bait al-Maqdis (Arabic: أكناف بيت المقدس"The environs of Jerusalem", Full name: كتائب أكناف بيت المقدس على أرض الشام"Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis Brigades on the Land of the Levant"),[465][466] a Palestinian militant group in theYarmouk Camp inDamascus,[465] with ambiguous connections to Hamas.[467] The group fought against ISIS and against Assad government forces in theYarmouk Camp.[465] Some sources say Hamas deny being connected to the group.[468]
Violence inYarmouk Camp first erupted in 2012.[469] In2015, ISIS attacked thePalestinian refugee camp atYarmouk on the outskirts ofDamascus.[469]ISIS attacked Yarmouk again in 2018.[470] Some PLO factions were involved in the fighting.[470] Theal-Qaeda splinter groupTahrir al-Sham was involved.[471][472][473] As of 2021, 160,000 were still displaced.[474][475]
The violence in the Yarmouk camp made the Assad government very unpopular in Palestine.[476][477][478][better source needed]
Hamas have a history of violently suppressingIslamic extremists in the Gaza Strip. They have particularly clashed with supporters ofAl-Qaeda andISIS, and groups who conducted attacks againstPalestinian Christians orother targets in the Gaza Strip.[479] In2009, Hamas security forceseliminated a small group ofAl-Qaeda sympathisers who established theIslamic Emirate of Rafah.[480][481][482][483][484][485][486]
ISIS arose in therubble of the2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq and theSyrian civil war (2011,ongoing), then later spread to theSinai Peninsula and elsewhere.[487]Hamas in Gaza clashed directly with the Sinai Province, but Hamas were also connected togroups on multiple sides of the conflict with ISIS in Syria.
ISIS first discreetly issued threats to Hamas in 2015,[488] in the same video message they also threatened Hamas'two rivals Israel andFatah.[489][better source needed]
In2015 Hamas began a propaganda campaign to combatextremist ideologies in the Gaza Strip, At the time they denied it was targeted at ISIS or any other specific group.[490] Mosques in the strip preached to promote a "centrist ideology".[490]
In 2017,an ISIS suicide bomber atRafah Border Crossing killed aHamas governmentborder guard (Nidal al-Jaafari, 28) and injured several others.[491][492] Before anyone had claimed responsibility, Hamas described the bomber as an outlaw and“a person of deviant ideology”, Hamas' terminology for Islamic extremists.[492] Other factions also condemned the bomber.[493]
Hamas arrested dozens ofSalafi militantsin the Gaza Strip.[494]
In early January2018, Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who had joinedISIS Sinai Province, captured and killed a man who they claimed was connected to theQassam Brigades.[495] The killers made a video of the murder and released it as a "declaration of war" against Hamas.[496][494] The speaker in the video is referred to asAbu Kazem al-Maqdisi.[494]
By 2023 the Egyptian branch of ISIS appeared to be completely dormant.[487]
Military.com reported that on 3 November 2017, that a U.S. drone conducted two airstrikes againstIslamic State in Somalia, at least six missiles were used which struck in Buqa, 37 miles north ofQandala, AFRICOM said in a statement that "several terrorists" were killed and that the strikes were carried out in coordination with Somalia's government; the strikes marked first time that the US has conducted airstrikes against ISS terrorists inSomalia.[497] CNN reported that US drone aircraft conducted 5 strikes againstal-Shabaab and ISS-linked militants between 9 and 12 November, killing 36 al-Shabaab and 4 ISIS terrorists. TheUS now estimates there are between 3,000 and 6,000 al-Shabaab fighters and less than 250 ISS operatives in Somalia.[498] The US conducted a three strikes inal Bayda Governorate targeting ISIL inYemen between 10 and 12 November 2017, killing 5 suspected militants.[499]
.svg)
Somalia:Jihadist insurgent groups:
Somaliland: | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2024) |
On 22 January 2015, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones stated that the coalition airstrikes had degraded ISIL, including killing off half of their leaders inIraq andSyria.[500]
In early February 2015, the Australian Defence Minister,Kevin Andrews, stated that more than 6,000 ISIL fighters had been killed in coalition airstrikes since they began, and that over 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi) had been recaptured; yet ISIL strength was estimated to have grown during this period to around 31,500 core fighters, including 3,000 fighters from Western nations.[501]
On 23 February 2015, U.S. GeneralLloyd Austin stated that over 8,500 ISIL militants had been killed by Coalition airstrikes inIraq andSyria.[502] In early March 2015, General Lloyd repeated this statement, saying that "ISIS has assumed a defensive crouch" in Iraq, and that "We are where we said we would be," in relation to the airstrikes.[503] This was in contrast to Jordan's claim that its airstrikes alone had killed 7,000 ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria over the course of 3 days, from 5 to 7 February 2015.[347][504]
In June 2015, U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateAntony Blinken stated that over 10,000 ISIL fighters had been killed by Coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State.[505]
On 21 January 2016, France's defence ministerJean-Yves Le Drian stated that over 22,000 ISIL fighters had been killed by Coalition airstrikes inIraq andSyria.[506]
In August 2016, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland told reporters at a news briefing "Although it's no measure of success and its difficult to confirm, we estimate that over the past 11 months we've killed about 25,000 enemy fighters. When you add that to the 20,000 estimated killed prior to our arrival, that's 45,000 enemies taken off the battlefield."[507]
In December 2016, a senior US military official told CNN that as many as 50,000 ISIL fighters have been killed since the war against the terror group began.[508]
In 2023, the US Central Command issued a statement announcing that it had killed IS leader Khalid Aydd Ahmed al-Jabouri. According to the statement, al-Jabouri had been involved in planning attacks in the Middle East and Europe. The statement also claimed that no civilians were killed in the strike.[509]
According toAirwars, a team of independent journalists, by August 2015, 450 civilians had been killed by the U.S.-led coalition air campaign against ISIL inIraq andSyria (of whom roughly 60% in Syria, 40% in Iraq). By that time, theU.S.-led coalition officially acknowledged only two non-combatant deaths.[510] According toAirwars, by January 2016, "between 815 and 1,149 civilian non-combatants appear likely to have been killed in 135 incidents where there is fair reporting publicly available of an event, and where Coalition strikes were confirmed in the near vicinity on that date."[511]
According toAirwars, about 1000 civilians had been killed by theU.S.-led coalition air campaign in March 2017 alone, gathering controversy and concern relating to the presidency of Donald Trump.[512]
According toAirwars, the air strikes and artillery ofU.S.-led coalition killed as many as 6,000 civilians inIraq andSyria in 2017.[513][514] According toAirwars, "In 2017 the war against ISIS [Islamic State] moved into the most densely-populated urban centres controlled by the group, with dire results for civilians."[514]
Amnesty International and monitoring groupAirwars report said, more than 1,600 civilians were killed inUS-led coalition include, United States,Britain andFrance, during the four-month airstrike campaign against ISIL group from the Syrian city ofRaqqa in 2017. The Coalition states have conducted 34,464 strikes against ISIL targets between August 2014 and end of March 2019, and killed at least 1,291 civilians.[515][516][517][518] According to a report published bySyrian Network for Human Rights in 2024, 927 children lost their lives in coalition attacks in Syria.[519]
On 1 February 2015, Iraq's Foreign MinisterIbrahim al-Jaafari stated that the War on ISIL was effectively "World War III", due to ISIL's proclamation of aworldwide caliphate, its aims to conquer the world, and its success in spreading the conflict to multiple countries outside of theLevant region.[520] Speaking of ISIL's destruction of pre-Islamic sites in the region, Syria's head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdul Karim, stated that "this is the entire world's battle".[521] In June 2015, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that ISIL "stands for nothing and depends on people who will fall for anything."[522]
The table below summarizes each country's level of involvement in the overall international intervention against the Islamic State. Several countries that are militarily involved also provide humanitarian aid.
Key:
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | In Iraq | In Syria | In Libya | In Nigeria[523] | In Afghanistan |
 Afghanistan | — | — | — | — | |
 Albania | — | — | — | ||
 Australia | — | — | — | ||
 Austria | — | — | — | ||
 Bahrain | — | — | — | — | |
 Belgium | — | — | — | ||
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | — | — | — | ||
 Bulgaria | — | — | — | ||
| Cameroon | — | — | — | — | |
| Canada | — | [524][525] | — | ||
 Chad | — | — | — | — | |
 China | [526] | [527] | — | [528][529] | [530] |
 Colombia | — | — | — | [531][532] | — |
 Croatia | — | — | — | ||
 Czech Republic | — | — | — | ||
 Denmark | — | — | — | ||
| Egypt | — | — | — | — | |
 Estonia | — | — | — | ||
| France | [533] | [534] | |||
 Germany | — | — | |||
 Greece | — | — | — | ||
 Hungary | — | — | — | ||
 Indonesia[citation needed] | — | — | — | ||
 Iran | — | — | — | ||
 Iraq | [535] | — | — | — | |
 Ireland | — | — | — | ||
 Israel | — | — | |||
 Italy | — | ||||
 Japan | — | — | — | ||
| Jordan | [401] | — | — | ||
 Kuwait | — | — | — | ||
 Lebanon | — | — | — | ||
 Libya | — | — | — | — | |
 Luxembourg | — | — | — | ||
 Morocco | — | — | — | ||
 Netherlands | — | — | — | ||
 New Zealand | — | — | — | ||
 Niger | — | — | — | — | |
 Nigeria | — | — | — | — | |
 North Macedonia | — | — | — | — | |
 Norway | — | — | [536] | ||
 Poland | — | — | — | ||
 Portugal | — | — | |||
 Qatar | — | — | — | — | |
 Russia | — | — | — | ||
| Saudi Arabia | — | — | — | — | |
 Singapore | — | — | — | ||
 Slovakia | — | — | — | ||
 Slovenia | — | — | — | ||
 South Korea | — | — | — | ||
 Spain | — | — | — | ||
 Sweden | — | — | — | — | |
 Syria | — | — | — | ||
 Taiwan | — | — | — | ||
 Turkey | — | — | — | ||
 United Arab Emirates | — | — | — | — | |
| United Kingdom | [537] | [538] | [539] | [540] | [541] |
 United States | |||||
The Taliban has declared the Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K a corrupt "sect" and forbidden Afghans from contact with it.
Shalamanov does not consider the conflict in Ukraine to be the only short-term threat for Bulgarian national security, which is whyour country is sending armaments to the opponents of Islamic State... According to him, the events in northern Iraq and Syria represent a growing risk that threatens our national interests.
.svg)
autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).autogenerated2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).autogenerated3 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Oliver Colvile, Tory MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, tabled a question to the Deputy Prime Minister asking about the likelihood of Royal Navy involvement in the campaign. "He said there was already a submarine in the Persian Gulf," Mr Colvile told The Herald.
A drone strike in Afghanistan has killed a militant commander who recently swore allegiance to Islamic State (IS), officials say. The police chief of Helmand said that former Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Rauf had died in the strike.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Ew çekdarê DAIŞê dibêje, divê dewleta cihûyan (Îsraîl) û Hemas û Feth bizanin ku emê koka wan biqelînin û wan tine bikin. Sebeba wê yekê ku DAIŞ gefê li Hemasê dixwe, ew e ku qaşo Hemas nikare li Filistînê bi taybet li Xeze û kampa Yermûkê (kampa penaberên filistînî li Sûriyê) pîvanên îslamê bicîh bîne. Ev cara yekemîn e ku DAIŞê wiha Hemasê tehdîd dike.
Al-Qassam said in a brief statement at dawn on Thursday: "The martyr Al-Jaafari was one of the officers of the Border Guards Force and was martyred after one of the elements of the deviant ideology blew himself up in the security force on the Palestinian-Egyptian border".
927 children were killed in attacks by US-led International Coalition
They will join the 450 British troops already in the country - and will aid counter-terrorism efforts and provide leadership training.;"Better Canals, bigger harvests and more electricity in Bamyan". Department for International Development. 1 February 2016. Retrieved2 February 2016.
The UK is a key donor to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which supports reconstruction needs and the delivery of basic services across Afghanistan.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
First presidency of Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||
| General |
| ||||||||||
| Events |
| ||||||||||
| Policies |
| ||||||||||
| Protests |
| ||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senator | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice presidency | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Presidency |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Family |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Writings | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Speeches | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Media depictions | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
.svg)