Abu Ali al-Anbari

IS deputy leader (died 2016)

Abu Ali al-Anbari

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli[1]

Native name|

عبد الرحمن مصطفى القادولي

Birth name| Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli
Born| 1 October 1959[2]
Al-Hadar, Nineveh,  Iraq
Died| 18 March 2016 (aged 56)
Deir ez-Zor Governorate,  Syria[3]
Allegiance|

* Baathist Iraq (1980–1988)
* Ansar al-Islam (2000–2003)
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (2003–2004)
* Al-Qaeda (2004–2006)
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006)
* Islamic State of Iraq (2012 – April 2013)
* Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (April 2013 – June 2014)

Islamic State (June 2014 – March 2016)
Years of service| 2000–2016
Rank| Private in the Iraqi army
Deputy leader of the Islamic State in Syria
Battles / wars|

* War on Terror
* Iraq
* Iraq War
* Iraqi Insurgency
* Syria
* Syrian Civil War
* Inter-rebel conflict
* Military intervention against the Islamic State
* American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
* American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli (Arabic: عَبْدُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ مُصْطَفَى ٱلْقَادُولِيِّ, romanized: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muṣṭafā al-Qādūlī; 1 October 1959 – 18 March 2016), better known as Abu Ali al-Anbari (Arabic: أَبُو عَليِّ ٱلْأَنْبَارِيِّ, romanized: ʾAbū ʿAlī al-ʾAnbārī), was the governor for territories held by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Considered the IS second-in-command (along with Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, his counterpart in Iraq),[4] he was viewed as a potential successor of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[5]

On 14 May 2014, he was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S Treasury Department, and on 5 May 2015, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to US$7 million for information leading to his capture or death.[6][7]

On 25 March 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense announced al-Qaduli’s death as a result of a US Special Operations helicopter gunship raid conducted earlier that week along the Iraq-Syria border.[8]

## Names

[edit]

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli used at least seven aliases, including Abu Ali al-Anbari, Abu Ala al-Afri (Arabic: أَبُو عَلَاءِ ٱلْعَفْرِيِّ, romanized: ʾAbū ʿAlāʾ al-ʿAfrī), Abu Jasim al-Iraqi, Abu Umar Qardash, Abu Ali Qardash al-Turkmani, Hajji Iman and al-Dar Islami.[9][10][11] The Daily Beast reported that confusion caused by these aliases led Iraqi and American security officials to think that Abu Ali al-Anbari and Abu Ala al-Afri were separate senior IS leaders.[9]

## Biography

[edit]

Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli is believed to have been born in 1957 or 1959 in Al-Hadar, Nineveh,[5] 80 km south of Mosul, to an Iraqi Turkmen family who were Turkified, but were of Arab and Armenian descent.[5][12] His family was known to be very pious and conservative.[13]

According to his IS biography, he was descended from the Quraysh. Biographical writings by his son, also a jihadist, state that al-Qaduli enrolled in the Iraqi army after completing his studies in sharia at an institute of Tel Afar, fighting in the Iran-Iraq war as a private.[5] During this period, he obtained a degree in Islamic studies at the University of Baghdad in 1982.[14]

After his military service Abu Ali becomes increasingly radicalised. He first taught sharia in the small town of Mujama Barzan.[5] On one occasion he vehemently opposed the organising of a party at which one of the city's socialites invited Ghajars — an ethnic group closely related to Romanis — renowned for their music and dancing.[5] He was planning to attack the Ghajars, burning their tents and killing them but he limited himself to giving very inflammatory sermons.[5] The party was eventually cancelled because of the pressure generated by al-Qaduli's speeches and incitements to violence.[5]

In the mid-1990s, al-Anbari returned to Tal Afar, where he taught in a school and became the imam of a mosque. Tal Afar is a city populated by Shiites and Sunnis. As an imam, al-Anbari violently attacked Shiites, as well as Sufis. He also began to associate with Kurdish jihadists active in the mountains of northern Iraq.[14]

### Afghanistan

[edit]

Al-Qaduli was believed to have travelled to Afghanistan in 1998 and trained with al-Qaeda. It was there that he was said to have earned the trust and respect of Osama bin Laden.[15]

## Iraq

[edit]

In 2000, he moved from Afghanistan to the area of Iraqi Kurdistan under control by Ansar al-Islam.[16] He fled to Afghanistan following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq,[16] only to return in the summer of 2003[16] to the Sulaymaniyah province of Iraqi Kurdistan where the Ansar al-Islam organisation still held some territory in the mountains east of the city. He soon started his own Turkmen Islamist insurgent group, Saraya al-Jihad (Squadrons of Jihad or the Jihad Squads), which was active around Tal Afar. During this time he was part of a group, along with Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, who led the military training. He later became a member of Ansar al-Islam.[4]

Ansar al-Islam evolved into Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna and Al-Qaduli was a sharia authority in this group. According to his biography, Al-Qaduli was responsible for arranging a meeting between Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i, leader of Ansar al-Sunnah and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, then leader of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. The meeting was to discuss a merger, which Shafi declined on the pretence of needing to ask his soldiers. Al-Qaduli pledged allegiance to Zarqawi and most of the members of Ansar al-Sunnah followed him in doing so. Soon after this, he was briefly arrested in late 2003 or early 2004, but was freed after a few months since authorities were not aware of his importance.[4][16]

### Al-Qaeda in Iraq

[edit]

Following his allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004, and joining Al-Qaida in Iraq, he was responsible for overseeing the Sharia authorities in northern Iraq and serving as al-Zarqawi's local leader in Mosul.[17]

He is often said that he was one of the founding members of the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) which was formed by al-Zarqawi in January 2006, but in fact he was elected the leader of the MSC under the pseudonym Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi.[16]

In February 2006, he travelled to Pakistan on behalf of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to meet with leaders of al-Qaeda and explain to them the reality of the situation in Iraq and disprove the allegations issued by the leaders of Ansar al-Sunnah who had been criticising Zarqawi to Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.[16]

According to the Islamic State's newsletter, al-Naba, he was arrested on 16 April 2006 in Yusufiya during Operation Larchwood 4 and was imprisoned at Abu Ghraib prison for a second time. The Americans believed him to be the emir of Tal Afar but were unaware of his true status. While imprisoned, Qaduli mentored Manaf Abd al-Rahim al-Rawi and Huthaifa al-Batawi, who went on to become governors of Baghdad for the group.[16]

## Islamic State of Iraq

[edit]

When al-Zarqawi's successors, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed in a joint U.S-Iraqi raid in 2010, the Islamic State of Iraq had to choose a new successor. According to Al-Monitor, Osama bin Laden wanted al-Qaduli to become the group's new leader.[18] Islamic State sources confirmed that Osama bin Laden appointed Abu Ali al-Anbari to lead ISI, but affirm that his instruction came too late, two weeks after a pledge had already been made in May 2010 to appoint Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the new leader.

Islamic State sources affirm that he was in charge of coordinating day-to-day military operations of the Islamic State in al-Sham. He was seen as a gifted speaker and served as a Sharii, and while he was in Raqqa, he gave a series of recorded lectures (over than 40 hours) at al-Imam al-Nawawi Mosque, that summarise the Aqida of the Islamic State and attempted to break down the arguments of man-made constitutions and laws, parliaments, courts, and democratic norms like devolution of power and popular sovereignty. One of his lectures in the northern Aleppo area was included in the 19th episode of the “Messages from the Land of Epic Battles” series by al-Furqan Media Foundation.[19]

### Syrian Civil War and ISIL

[edit]

In early 2012, al-Qaduli was released from prison in Iraq, after which he rejoined the Islamic State of Iraq only a few days after his release. His first task was to establish communications with the various al-Qaeda affiliates around the world, which had been broken due to the security circumstances the group faced. The leaders of the central command of al-Qaeda had criticised the Islamic State of Iraq and ISI leaders believed that was due to their ignorance of the situation on the ground.[20]

During late 2012, al-Qaduli was sent to Syria to keep an eye on Ahmed al-Sharaa and investigate the situation there, since Julani was failing to follow IS policy in various respects and had been building up his own power base in an attempt to split Jabhat al-Nusra from ISI. Qaduli sent messengers and held meetings with field commanders of various Syrian rebel groups, offering them money and weapons to switch allegiance to ISIL. Some did so publicly, defecting with men and weapons, others did so in secret, remaining affiliated with their existing groups while organising the targeted assassinations of rivals.[21] Memory sticks found by Iraqi security forces during a 2014 raid on the home of Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, ISIL's military chief of staff, identified al-Qaduli, named as Abu Ali al-Anbari, as being the overall head of ISIL military and non-military operations within Syria.[22][23]

According to his IS biography, at first Qaduli was not overly concerned by Julani since he "thought well of him, and thought the reports about him were the pure quarrels of a kind that occur between soldiers and their leaders." He later "saw with his own eyes the errors in the conduct of the work, and the deviation that was common among the soldiers and the leaders" due to a "neglect of shari’a education and training". Despite this, Qaduli felt that these mistakes could be remedied by more effort, and so he decided to live in the same house as Julani to "study his personality, and to assess his ability to lead." In January 2013, Qaduli sent a message to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Iraq, warning him about Julani. He wrote "He is a sneaky person with two faces. He loves himself and does not care about the religion of his soldiers. He is willing to sacrifice their blood just so he is mentioned in the media. He flies with joy like a children when his name is mentioned on the TV channels." Upon receiving the letter from Qaduli, Baghdadi decided to travel to Syria himself to try and correct the situation. In March 2013 there was a meeting between Qaduli, Baghdadi, Julani, Abu Maria al-Qahtani and some others where Julani cried and promised he would renew his allegiance to Baghdadi. Through this deception Julani hoped to buy time to split the organisation, though Baghdadi was not deceived.

While in Syria, he was responsible for the Shari’a Council and a member of the Delegated Committee in Syria. He also worked to build the Dawawin or ministries of the new state and he was working from Raqqa which was the capital of the Islamic State. Sometime after the June 2014 Fall of Mosul, Qaduli decided to return to Tal Afar in Iraq where he participated in battles around the city and near Sinjar against the Peshmerga and the Kurdistan Workers' Party. He actively took part in the Sinjar massacres of the minority religious group Yazidis. Some time later, he moved to Mosul and returned to government work on the Islamic Monetary Project, introducing the new gold currency of the Islamic State.[24]

Al-Qaduli is rumoured to have favoured reconciliation with al-Qaeda and its Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front, after al-Qaeda cut off ties with ISIL in early 2014. He also reportedly believed ISIL's leadership should be composed of both Arabs and foreigners, in contrast to the dominance of Iraqis in the group.[17][25]

Al-Qaduli was a key coordination link between al-Baghdadi and his inner circle and his emirs in different provinces across the group's territory in Syria, Iraq and Libya.[17] The New York Times reported in November 2015 that al-Qaduli had visited Libya, where IS had established a powerful branch centred in the city of Sirte.[26]

In March 2015, it was rumoured that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of IS, had suffered injuries, leaving him incapacitated.[27] Hisham al-Hashimi wrote of al-Qaduli: "He is smart, and a good leader and administrator. If Baghdadi ends up dying, he will lead them."[17] According to The New York Observer, al-Qaduli was described by people who knew him as being dynamic, possessing operational experience and having very good contacts. It was reported that he was a charismatic preacher. But most importantly, al-Qaduli supposedly excelled in battle strategy. That is where he made his mark both in al-Qaeda and in IS.[15]

## Reports of death

[edit]

According to the Iraqi Defence Ministry, Abdulrahman Mustafa al-Qaduli was killed on 12 May 2015, in a US-led coalition air-strike on a mosque in Tal Afar. The air-strike was reported to have killed dozens of other militants present.[28] However, the video of the attack shown by the Iraqi Defence ministry was actually of a Coalition air-strike in Mosul, 40 miles away, on 4 May.[29] The U.S. Defense Department said that it had no information to corroborate the claims, and United States Central Command stated that no mosques had been struck by Coalition aircraft.[30][31] The Iraqi media again reported al-Qaduli’s death in a 12 December 2015 air-strike,[32] but this was also disputed.[33]

## Confirmed death

[edit]

United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, in a joint media briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford on 25 March 2016, announced al-Qaduli's death,[34] correcting earlier erroneous claims.

US Special Operations forces commanded by JSOC arrived via helicopter to arrest al-Qaduli in eastern Syria near the Syrian–Iraqi border, while he and three other IS members were travelling in a vehicle coming from Raqqa. The US Special Operations forces ordered him to exit the vehicle. When he refused and pulled out an assault rifle instead, US forces fired at the vehicle, killing him and the other passengers on board. US commandos also seized electronics and other documents during the operation for intelligence purposes.[35] On 30 April 2016, IS acknowledged al-Qaduli's death and launched a series of attacks across Iraq and Syria named "The Battle of Abu Ali Al Anbari" in his honour.[36]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Profiles of wanted 'Islamic State leaders'". BBC News. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
2. ^ "Rewards for Justice - Wanted". May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
3. ^ Orton, Kyle. "Profles of Islamic State Leaders" (PDF).
4. ^ a b c "Brutal Efficiency: The Secret to Islamic State's Success". Wall Street Journal. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hassan, Hassan (November 30, 2018). "The True Origins of ISIS". The Atlantic.
6. ^ "Treasury Designates Al-Qa'ida Leaders In Syria". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
7. ^ "Offers for Information on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Terrorists Rewards for Justice". U.S. Department of State. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
8. ^ "A Top ISIS Leader Is Killed in an Airstrike, the Pentagon Says". The New York Times. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
9. ^ a b Hassan, Michael Weiss (15 April 2016). "Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
10. ^ "Islamic State Second-in-Command Killed in Airstrike, Iraq Says". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 May 2016. (subscription required)
11. ^ "Pentagon announces death of senior Islamic State leader". Long War Journal. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016. "Abd al Rahman Mustafa al Qaduli (also known as Hajji Iman, Abu Ali al Anbari and Abu Ala al Afri, among other aliases)"
12. ^ "Isis: Who was Abu Alaa al-Afri, the Islamic State kingpin killed in Iraq?". International Business Times UK. 15 May 2015.
13. ^ Hassan Hassan, The True Origins of ISIS, The Atlantic, 30 novembre 2018.
14. ^ a b Hassan Hassan, The True Origins of ISIS, The Atlantic, 30 novembre 2018.
15. ^ a b "The Next bin Laden? Meet ISIS' New Top Dog". Observer. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
16. ^ a b c d e f g Orton, Kyle (25 March 2016). "Obituary: Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli (Abu Ali al-Anbari)". The Syrian Intifada.
17. ^ a b c d Jack Moore (22 April 2015). "ISIS Replace Injured Leader Baghdadi With Former Physics Teacher". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
18. ^ "The many names of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi". Al-Monitor. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
19. ^ "Al-Shaykh, Abu Ali al-Anbari | Islamic State Times". Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
20. ^ "Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli". Rewards for Justice. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
21. ^ "Behind the Black Flag: The Recruitment of an ISIS Killer". The New York Times. 21 December 2015.
22. ^ "Revealed: the Islamic State 'cabinet', from finance minister to suicide bomb deployer". The Telegraph. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
23. ^ "Who might lead ISIS if al-Baghdadi dies?". CNN. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
24. ^ KyleWOrton (18 December 2016). "The Islamic State's Official Biography of the Caliph's Deputy".
25. ^ "The hidden hand behind the Islamic State militants? Saddam Hussein's". The Washington Post. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
26. ^ "ISIS' Grip on Libyan City Gives It a Fallback Option". The New York Times. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
27. ^ "Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike". The Guardian. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
28. ^ Barbara Starr; Nick Paton Walsh; Hamdi Alkhshali (13 May 2015). "ISIS' No. 2 leader Abu Alaa al-Afri killed, Iraq says". CNN. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
29. ^ Youssef, Nancy A. (13 May 2015). "Iraq's B.S. About Killing ISIS Bosses". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
30. ^ "Correction to the Record: Airstrike in Tal Afar". CENTCOM. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
31. ^ Barbara Starr; Nick Paton Walsh; Hamdi Alkhshali (14 May 2015). "ISIS No. 2 leader al-Afri killed in airstrike, Iraq says". CNN. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
32. ^ Salar Qassim (12 December 2015). "Baghdadi's advisor killed in Iraqi raid". aranews.net. Archived from the original on 2015-12-16. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
33. ^ Philip Ingram. "Middle East Regional Intelligence to 16th December 2015". Security Middle East. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
34. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Mazzetti, Mark (25 March 2016). "A Top ISIS Leader Is Killed in an Airstrike, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
35. ^ Kesling, Ben; Entous, Adam; Paletta, Damian (25 March 2016). "Senior Islamic State Leader Killed". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
36. ^ "Series of deadly operations named after fallen Islamic State leader". Long War Journal. 2 May 2016.

* v
* t
* e

Islamic State

Names of the Islamic State

Members
(List of leaders)|

| Current|

*   * Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari
* Abdul Qadir Mumin
* Abu Yusaf
* Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi
* Abu Habib al-Libi
* Abu Jandal al-Masri
* Bajro Ikanović
* Faysal Ahmad Ali al-Zahrani
* Fatiha Mejjati
* Ahlam al-Nasr
* Issam Abuanza
* Musa Baluku
* Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi
* Zulfi Hoxha

|

† Former|

* Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
* Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi
* Abu Ahmad al-Alwani
* Haji Bakr
* Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi
* Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi
* Abu Muhannad al-Suwaydawi
* Abdul Rauf Aliza
* Abu Sayyaf
* Ali Awni al-Harzi
* Tariq al-Harzi
* Abu Khattab al-Tunisi
* Maher Meshaal
* Abu Muslim al-Turkmani
* Abu Saleh
* Mohammed Emwazi
* Abu Nabil al-Anbari
* Abu Ali al-Anbari
* Abu Waheeb
* Ali Aswad al-Jiburi
* Abu Omar al-Shishani
* El-Hassen Ould Khalill Jouleibib
* Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
* Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi
* Abu Muhammad al-Furqan
* André Poulin
* Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti
* Abu Bilal al-Harbi
* Ahmad Abousamra
* Turki al-Binali
* Tareq Kamleh
* Lavdrim Muhaxheri
* Abu Osama al-Masri
* Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir
* Abu Muhammad al-Shimali
* Gulmurod Khalimov
* Abdul Nasser Qardash (captured)
* Abu Yasser al-Issawi
* Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
* Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi
* Yusuf al-Hindi
* Abu Omar al-Muhajir (captured)
* Othman al-Nazih
* Jamal Udeen Al-Harith
* Aine Davis (captured)
* Alexanda Kotey (captured)
* El Shafee Elsheikh (captured)
* Denis Cuspert
* Abdelhamid Abaaoud
* Boubaker El Hakim
* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

History|

* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (1999–2004)
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006)
* Mujahideen Shura Council (2006)
* Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2013)
* Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–2014)
* Islamic State (2014–present)

Timeline of events|

* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Groups|

| International branches|

* Khorasan Province (Afghanistan and Pakistan)
* Libyan Provinces (Libya)
* Caucasus Province (North Caucasus, Russia)
* Sinai Province (Sinai, Egypt)
* Algeria Province (Algeria)
* Yemen Province (Yemen)
* Abnaa ul-Khilafah (Somalia and Somaliland)
* Bengal Province (Bangladesh)
* Boko Haram (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Mali) (2015–2016)
* West Africa Province (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger)
* Central Africa Province (DR Congo and Uganda)
* Sahil Province (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso)
* Hind Province (India)
* Tunisia Province
* Pakistan Province (Pakistan)
* Turkey Province (Turkey)
* Azerbaijan Province (Azerbaijan)
* Islamic State – Philippines Province (Philippines)
* Mozambique Province (Mozambique)
* Khalid ibn al-Walid Army (Syria) (2016–2018)
* Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade (Gaza)
* Abu Sayyaf (Philippines) (2014–2024)
* Ansar Khalifa (Philippines) (2014–2021)
* Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil (Brazil) (2016–2018)
* East Indonesia Mujahideen (Indonesia) (2014–2022)

|

Unorganized cells|

* Jammu and Kashmir Province (Jammu and Kashmir)
* Kurdistan Province (Kurdistan)
* Haramayn Province (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain)
* Lebanon Province (Lebanon)
* Brussels Islamic State terror cell (Belgium)

Wars|

* War on terror
* Iraq War
* Insurgency (2003–2011)
* Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)
* Insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Insurgency (2017–present)
* Syrian civil war
* Spillover
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Opposition–Islamic State conflict
* Sinai insurgency
* Second Libyan Civil War
* Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
* Mozambique
* Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
* Mali War
* War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
* Conflict with Taliban
* Moro conflict (1968–2019)
* al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
* Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
* Boko Haram insurgency
* Military intervention against IS
* US intervention in Iraq
* US intervention in Syria
* Russian intervention in Syria
* Turkish operation
* Somalia

Battles|

| 2013|

* Akashat
* Hawija
* Raqqa
* Al-Shabah
* Ras al-Ayn
* Tell Abyad
* Latakia
* Menagh
* Sidi Ali Ben Aoun
* Sadad
* Qalamoun
* Aleppo
* Al-Yaarubiyah
* Tell Hamis and Tell Brak
* Anbar

|

2014|

* Fallujah
* N Aleppo
* Markada
* N Iraq (Jun)
* Mosul
* Salahuddin
* Baiji (Jun)
* Tikrit
* N Iraq (Aug)
* Kobanî
* Sinjar (Aug)
* Derna
* Ramadi
* Deir ez-Zor
* Baiji (14–15)
* Sinjar (Dec)
* Zumar
* Amirli

2015|

* Nofaliya
* W Africa
* Egyptian airstrikes in Libya
* Niger raid
* E al-Hasakah
* Tikrit
* Sirte
* Hama & Homs (Mar–Apr)
* Sarrin (Mar–Apr)
* Yarmouk
* Qalamoun
* Palmyra (May)
* W al-Hasakah
* Al-Hasakah city
* Tell Abyad
* Sarrin (Jun–Jul)
* Al-Hasakah
* Kobani
* Palmyra (Jul–Aug)
* Ramadi (15–16)
* Al-Qaryatayn
* Al-Hawl
* Homs (Nov–Dec)
* Sinjar
* E Aleppo (15–16)
* Niveneh Plains
* Tishrin Dam

2016|

* Deir ez-Zor (Jan)
* Fallujah (Feb–May)
* Nangarhar
* Ben Guerdane
* Ithriyah-Raqqa (Feb–Mar)
* Al-Shaddadi
* Khanasir
* Al-Qaryatayn (Mar–Apr)
* Palmyra (Mar)
* N Aleppo (Mar–Jun)
* Hīt
* Tipo-Tipo
* Sirte
* Ar-Rutbah
* N Raqqa
* Fallujah (May–Jun)
* Manbij
* Ithriyah-Raqqa (Jun)
* Abu Kamal
* al-Rai (Aug)
* N al-Bab (Sep)
* W al-Bab (Sep)
* Dabiq
* W al-Bab (Oct–Nov)
* Al-Bab
* Aleppo
* Palmyra

2017|

* Mosul (16–17)
* Raqqa (16–17)
* Palmyra
* Deir ez-Zor (Jan–Feb)
* E Aleppo (Jan–Apr)
* E Homs
* Hama
* W Nineveh
* Tabqa
* Syrian Desert (Dec 16–Apr 17)
* Syrian Desert (May–Jul)
* Maskanah
* Marawi
* Raqqa
* S Raqqa
* C Syria
* Tal Afar
* Deir ez-Zor (17–19)
* Hawija
* E Syria (Sep–Dec)
* NW Syria (Oct 17–Feb 18)
* Abu Kamal
* W Iraq

2018|

* As-Suwayda (Jun)
* S Syria
* As-Suwayda (Aug–Nov)

2019|

* Hajin
* Baghuz Fawqani
* Barisha raid

2020|

* Chinagodrar
* Danag
* Mocímboa da Praia
* Al Bayda

2021|

* Tessit
* Palma
* Sambisa
* Dangarous

2022|

* Al-Hasakah
* Atme raid
* Andéramboukane
* Talataye

2023|

* Falagountou
* Tin-Akoff

Attacks|

| 2014|

* Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting (May)
* Badush prison massacre (Jun)
* Camp Speicher massacre (Jun)
* Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu ramming (Oct)

|

2015|

* Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege (Jan)
* Corinthia Hotel (Jan)
* Baghdad bombings (Feb)
* Beheading of Copts in Libya (Feb)
* Al Qubbah bombings (Feb)
* Bardo National Museum (Mar)
* Sanaa bombings (Mar)
* Jalalabad bombing (Apr)
* Killing of Christian migrants in Libya (Apr)
* Curtis Culwell Center (May)
* Qatif & Dammam bombings (May)
* 26 June
* Kobanî massacre
* Saint-Quentin-Fallavier (Jun)
* Kuwait mosque bombing
* Sousse
* Khan Bani Saad bombing (Jul)
* Suruç bombing
* Baghdad bombing (Aug)
* Sanaa bombing (Sep)
* Ankara bombings
* Saihat shooting
* Metrojet Flight 9268
* Beirut bombings (Nov)
* Paris (Nov)
* Tunis bombing (Nov)
* San Bernardino (Dec)
* Qamishli bombings (Dec)

2016|

* Zliten truck bombing
* Hurghada (Jan)
* Baghdad–Miqdadiyah attacks (Jan)
* Istanbul bombing (Jan)
* Jakarta (Jan)
* Ramadi bombing (Jan)
* Mahasin mosque
* Sayyidah Zaynab (Jan)
* Mosul massacre
* Dikwa bombings (Feb)
* Homs bombings (Feb)
* Sayyidah Zaynab bombings (Feb)
* Baghdad bombings (Feb)
* Istanbul bombing (Mar)
* Brussels bombings
* Aden bombing
* Iskandariya bombing
* Baghdad bombing (Apr)
* Samawa bombing
* Gaziantep bombing (May)
* Baghdad bombings (11 May)
* Real Madrid fan club massacres
* Baghdad gas plant
* Yemen police bombings (15 May)
* Baghdad bombings (17 May)
* Jableh & Tartous bombings (May)
* Yemen bombings (23 May)
* Aktobe shootings
* Pulse nightclub shooting
* Magnanville stabbing
* Mukalla (Jun)
* Movida Bar
* Atatürk Airport
* Dhaka (Jul)
* Karrada bombing
* Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum
* Nice truck
* Würzburg train
* Kabul bombing (Jul)
* Ansbach bombing
* Normandy church
* Qamishli bombings (Jul)
* Charleroi stabbing
* Shchelkovo Highway police station
* Aden bombing (Aug)
* Syria bombings (5 Sep)
* Baghdad bombings (9 Sep)
* Baghdad bombings (Oct)
* Quetta police college
* Hamam al-Alil massacre
* Khuzdar bombing
* Samarinda bombing
* Hillah bombing (Nov)
* Aden bombings (Dec)
* Botroseya bombing
* Al-Karak
* Berlin truck
* Murders of Sefter Taş and Fethi Şahin
* Baghdad bombings (Dec)

2017|

* Istanbul nightclub shooting
* Baghdad bombings (2 Jan)
* Azaz bombing (Jan)
* Sehwan bombing
* Kabul (Mar)
* Westminster
* St Petersburg Metro bombing
* Egypt church bombings
* Mastung bombing
* Manchester Arena bombing
* Jakarta bombings
* Minya
* Al-Faqma bombing
* London Bridge
* Brighton siege
* Tehran
* Pakistan attacks (Jun)
* Hurghada
* Quetta bombing (Aug)
* Barcelona
* Brussels (Aug)
* Nasiriyah
* Afghanistan (20 Oct)
* New York City truck
* Sinai mosque
* Kabul bombing (28 Dec)
* Saint Menas church

2018|

* Baghdad bombings
* Save The Children Jalalabad
* Kizlyar church shooting
* Kabul bombing (Mar)
* Carcasonne & Trèbes
* Kabul bombing (22 Apr)
* Kabul bombings (30 Apr)
* Tripoli
* Mako Brimob standoff
* Paris knife
* Surabaya bombings
* Liège
* Jalalabad bombing (Jul)
* Mastung & Bannu bombings
* Quetta bombing
* As-Suwayda
* Tajikistan attack
* Kabul (Sep)
* Ahvaz military parade
* Minya bus
* Melbourne stabbing
* Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland

2019|

* Jolo Cathedral bombings
* Sri Lanka Easter bombings
* Sainthamaruthu shootout
* Kabul bombing (17 Aug)

2020|

* Kabul shooting (6 Mar)
* Kabul gurdwara
* Xitaxi
* Afghanistan (May)
* Jalalabad prison
* Jolo bombings
* Kabul University
* Vienna
* Afghanistan (Dec)

2021|

* Machh
* January Baghdad bombings
* Kabul school bombing
* Kabul airport
* Kunduz bombing
* Kandahar bombing
* Kampala bombings
* Kabul hospital

2022|

* Diyala massacre
* Peshawar mosque
* Hadera shooting
* Mazar-i-Sharif mosque bombing
* Mazar-i-Sharif minivan bombings
* Bourasso and Namissiguima
* Kuje prison break
* 5 August Kabul bombing
* August Kabul mosque bombing
* Bombing of the Russian embassy in Kabul
* Shah Cheragh
* Kabul hotel

2023|

* Kabul airport bombing
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan bombing
* Al-Sukhnah
* Hama
* Khar bombing
* Arras school stabbing
* Pul-i-Khumri bombing
* Brussels shooting
* Kabul bombing (Nov)
* Paris
* Mindanao State University bombing

2024|

* Kerman bombings
* Istanbul church shooting
* Balochistan bombings
* Sibi bombing
* Mucojo attack
* Karabulak clash
* Kandahar New Kabul Bank bombing
* Tillabéri attack
* Crocus City Hall attack
* 2024 Guzara Attack
* 2024 Bamyan shooting
* 2024 Beirut US embassy shooting
* Rostov-on-Don pre-trial detention center hostage crisis
* 2024 Dagestan attacks
* 2024 attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade
* 2024 Muscat mosque shooting
* 2024 Kabul bus bombing
* Surovikino penal colony hostage crisis
* 2024 Solingen stabbing
* 2024 Qala Bakhtiar bombing
* 2024 Afghanistan bus shooting

2025|

* 2025 New Orleans truck attack
* Malam-Fatori Suicide Bombing
* Kasanga massacre
* 2025 Villach stabbing attack
* 2025 Darul Uloom Haqqania bombing
* Fambita mosque attack
* 2025 Southern Syria bombings

Politics and organization|

* Finances
* Education
* Ideology
* Medicare
* Military
* Armoured warfare
* Human rights
* Genocide of Christians
* Genocide of Shias
* Genocide of Yazidis
* Genocide of Turkmen
* Persecution of gay and bisexual men
* Killing of captives
* Beheading incidents
* Destruction of cultural heritage
* Occupation of Mosul
* Executions in Mosul

Relations|

* Iran and the Islamic State
* Philippines and the Islamic State
* United Kingdom and the Islamic State
* Trinidad and Tobago and the Islamic State
* Foreign fighters
* Name changes due to the Islamic State
* Portrayal of the Islamic State in American media
* Connection with Saddam Regime and Baath Party

Society|

* Members
* Terrorist cell in Brussels
* Territorial claims
* al-Barakah district
* Collaboration

Media|

* A Second Message to America
* Al-Bayan
* Al-Fatihin
* Al-Furat Media Center
* Al-Hayat Media Center
* Al-I'tisam Media Foundation
* Al-Naba
* Al-Raud
* Amaq News Agency
* Dar al-Islam
* Dabiq
* Dawlat al-Islam Qamat
* Flames of War: The Fighting Has Just Begun
* Huroof
* I'lam foundation
* Istok
* Konstantiniyye
* Rumiyah
* Salil al-Sawarim
* The End of Sykes-Picot
* Turkey and the Fire of Racism
* Voice of Khorasan

Related topics|

* Defeating ISIS
* The Islamic State (documentary)
* ISIS-chan
* Islamism
* Millenarianism
* Sexual violence in the Iraqi insurgency
* Shia–Sunni relations
* Slavery in 21st-century jihadism
* Theocracy

* v
* t
* e

Militant Islamism in the Middle East and North Africa region

Ideology|

* Jihadism
* Salafi jihadism
* Pan-Islamism
* Qutbism
* Khomeinism
* Wahhabism

Phenomena|

* Islamic extremism
* Islamic fundamentalism
* Islamic terrorism

Organisations|

| Middle East|

* Abdullah Azzam Brigades
* Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades
* Ahrar al-Sham
* Ajnad al-Sham
* Al-Ashtar Brigades
* Al-Mustafa Army in Iraq
* Al-Nusra Front
* Al-Qaeda
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
* Al-Salafiya al-Jihadiya in the Sinai
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Ansar al-Sham
* Ansar al-Sharia (Syria)
* Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen)
* Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
* Army of Conquest
* Army of Islam
* Baqir Brigade
* Hamas
* Hamas of Iraq
* Hezbollah
* Quwat al-Ridha
* Hezbollah Al-Hejaz
* Houthis
* Palestinian Islamic Jihad
* Islamic State of Iraq
* Islamic State
* Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
* Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Jaysh al-Islam
* Jaysh al-Ummah (Gaza)
* Jund Ansar Allah
* Jundallah (Iran)
* Khorasan group
* Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Katibat al-Ghuraba al-Turkistan
* Katibat Jabal al-Islam
* Levant Front
* Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem
* Masada al-Mujahideen
* Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement
* Peace Companies
* People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
* Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade
* Tahrir al-Sham
* Tawhid al-Jihad
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
* Kata'ib Hezbollah
* Badr Organization
* Mukhtar Army
* Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham
* Saraya al-Jihad
* Shield of Islam Brigade
* Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda
* Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
* Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces
* Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
* Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
* Kata'ib Jund al-Imam
* Liwa Fatemiyoun
* Liwa Zainebiyoun
* Sabireen Movement
* Jaysh al-Mu'ammal
* Jaysh Muhammad in Bilad al-Sham
* Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya
* Promised Day Brigade
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Turkish Hezbollah
* Hamas of Iraq
* Hassan Al-Basri Brigades
* Islamic Dawa Party

|

North Africa|

* Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade
* al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
* Ansar al-Sharia (Libya)
* Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia)
* Ansar ul Islam
* Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
* Armed Islamic Group
* Derna Protection Force
* Egyptian Islamic Jihad
* al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya
* Takfir wal-Hijra
* Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
* Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
* Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
* Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
* Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
* Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna
* Tunisian Combatant Group
* Uqba ibn Nafi Brigade

Leaders|

* Abu Ali al-Anbari
* Abu Mohammad al-Adnani
* Abu Muslim al-Turkmani
* Abu Suleiman al-Naser
* Ahmed al-Assir
* Anwar al-Awlaki
* Abdullah Yusuf Azzam
* Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
* Abdul Nasser Qardash
* Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi
* Abu Ayyub al-Masri
* Abu Omar al-Baghdadi
* Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
* Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
* Mohammed Atef
* Mokhtar Belmokhtar
* Tariq al-Dahab
* Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim
* Massoud Rajavi
* Maryam Rajavi
* Abdelmalek Droukdel
* Abu Ubaidah Youssef al-Annabi
* Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri
* Abu Ubaidah al-Masri
* Saeed al-Masri
* Saleh Al-Qaraawi
* Haji Bakr
* Hassan Hattab
* Ahmed al-Sharaa
* Omar Abdel-Rahman
* Osama bin Laden
* Hassan Nasrallah
* Juhayman al-Otaybi
* Muqtada al-Sadr
* Saif al-Adel
* Shukri Mustafa
* Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj
* Nasir al-Wuhayshi
* Qasim al-Raymi
* Khalid Batarfi
* Ibrahim al-Banna
* Ahmed Yassin
* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
* Ayman al-Zawahiri
* Abdelhamid Abou Zeid
* Abu Khayr al-Masri
* Abu Muhsin al-Masri
* Qais al-Khazali
* Hadi al-Amiri
* Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir
* Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi
* Wathiq al-Battat

Events|

* Israeli–Palestinian conflict
* Lebanese Civil War
* Iranian Revolution
* Iran–Iraq War
* Algerian Civil War
* Terrorism in Egypt
* Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
* Iraq War (2003–2011)
* Libyan crisis (2011–present)
* Syrian civil war (2012–present)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Yemeni civil war (2014–present)

Related|

* Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
* Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen
* ISIL territorial claims
* Sexual violence in the Iraqi insurgency
* Holy Shrine Defender

* Part of Islamism
* Militant Islamism in
* South Asia
* Southeast Asia
* Sub-Saharan Africa

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