Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan

Salafi jihadist militant group in Iraq and Syria

Not to be confused with Jabhat Ansar al-Islam, Ansaru, or Jund al-Islam.

For other uses, see Ansar ul Islam (disambiguation).

Ansar al-Islam

ئەنسارولئیسلام

* Top: Seal of Ansar al-Islam
* Bottom: The Flag of Ansar al-Islam[1]

Leaders|

* Mullah Krekar (2001–03)
* Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (POW)
* (2003–10)
* Abu Hashim al-Ibrahim (2010–14)[1]

Dates of operation|

* In Iraq:
* September 2001 – August 2014[2]
* In Syria:
* 2011 – present[3][4][5][6]

Motives| Establishment of an Islamic state in Kurdistan, and the protection of Kurds
Headquarters| Hamrin Mountains[6]
Active regions| Iraqi Kurdistan,[7] Syria
Ideology|

* Kurdish-Islamic nationalism[8]
* Sunni Islamism[7]
* Qutbism
* Sunni Jihadism

Size| Peak: 700+[9]
Part of|  Rouse the Believers Operations Room[10]
Allies|

* al-Qaeda[8]
* Kurdistan Brigades
* Taliban[11]
* Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
* Iran (2001-2003; alleged)[12]
* Ajnad al-Kavkaz
* Kurdistan Islamic Group (former)
* Islamic Front (2013–2015)
* Guardians of Religion Organization
* Ansar al-Din Front
* Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades

Ahrar al-Sham
Opponents|

* Peshmerga
* Iraq
* Turkey
* Islamic State[13][14]
* Popular Mobilization Forces[15]
* Syria
* Syrian Democratic Forces
* United States
* Iran (after 2014)
* Hezbollah
* Russia

Battles and wars| Iraq War

* Islamist insurgency in Iraqi Kurdistan

Syrian civil war

* Battle of Aleppo
* Aleppo summer campaign
* Idlib demilitarization[10]
* Northwestern Syria offensive

Designated as a terrorist group by| See Section

Preceded by
Jund al-Islam and Kurdistan Islamic Movement splinter

Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan (Kurdish: ئەنسارولئیسلام له کوردستاندا),[16][17] simply called Ansar al-Islam (Kurdish: ئەنسارولئیسلام), is a Kurdish Islamist militant and separatist group.[18] It was established in northern Iraq around the Kurdistan Region by Kurdish Islamists who were former Taliban and former Al-Qaeda volunteers, which were coming back from Afghanistan in 2001 after the Fall of Kabul. Its motive is to establish an Islamic state around the Kurdistan region and to protect Kurdish people from other armed insurgent groups.[19] It imposed strict Sharia in villages it controlled around Byara near the Iranian border.

The group was a designated terrorist organization in the United Nations, Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and a known affiliate of the al-Qaeda network.[20]

On 29 August 2014, 50 members and commanders of Ansar al-Islam announced that they were joining ISIS individually, however Ansar al-Islam continued to oppose ISIS and kept functioning independently. Abu Khattab al-Kurdi was among those who left Ansar al-Islam for ISIS, and he later became an ISIS commander.[21][22] When a previously unknown Kurdish militant group using white flags appeared in Iraq in 2017, Iraqi security and intelligence officials argued that this was splinter group of Ansar al-Islam, which reportedly still had hundreds of fighters operating in the Hamrin Mountains.[6]

## Name

[edit]

Their official name is "Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan", meaning "Supporters of Islam in Kurdistan", but they are called "Ansar al-Islam" for short.[23][17]

The group received the nickname "Kurdish Taliban"[24][25] because it was made up of Kurds who fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan,[26] and for their similarity with the Taliban, including how both of them established Islamic Emirates under Sharia law,[27][28] both of their fighters were Islamist but had some nationalism (Taliban with Pashtun, Ansar with Kurdish),[29] and both of them harshly persecuted non-Muslims.[30][31]

## History

[edit]

### Formation

[edit]

Ansar al-Islam seeks to establish an "Islamic state" under Sharia law, as well as to obtain and preserve the "legitimate rights" of the Kurds.[32]

Ansar al-Islam was formed in September 2001 from a merger of Jund al-Islam (not the Egyptian Jund al-Islam), led by Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i, and a splinter group from the Kurdistan Islamic Movement led by Mullah Krekar. Krekar became the leader of the merged Ansar al-Islam, which opposed an agreement made between IMK and the dominant Kurdish group in the area, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The group later made allegiance to al-Qaeda and allegedly received direct funds from the terror network.[33]

Ansar al-Islam initially comprised approximately 300 men, many of them Kurdish veterans of Jihad in the Soviet–Afghan War.

The two IMK splinter groups that formed Jund al Islam on 1 September 2001, had some early battlefield successes in the same month when it killed 42 PUK-Peshmerga fighters in an ambush, which led to them drawing in more IMK leaders in their ranks, on 10 December 2001, the group became known as AAI (Ansar al-Islam).[17]

During the Islamic Emirate of Byara near the Iranian border, there were allegations of logistical support from "powerful factions in Iran".[34]

The roots of Ansar al-Islam can be traced to the mid-1990s. The group consists of various Islamist factions that splintered from the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (IMK). In 2001, shortly before the 9/11 attacks, leaders of several Kurdish Islamist factions visited the al-Qa'ida leadership in Afghanistan planning to create a base for al-Qa'ida in northern Iraq. A document found in Kabul stated the group's objective which was to "expel those Jews and Christians from Kurdistan and join the way of jihad, and rule every piece of land with Islamic Sharia law." This was also confirmed by the Los Angeles Times, based upon interviews with an Ansar prisoner, which stated that in October 2000, Kurdish Islamist leaders sent jihadists to Osama bin Laden's camps, and they received the message from bin Laden that all Kurdish Islamist groups should unite into a single group.[35]

### Period up to the Iraq War

[edit]

Upon its founding, Ansar al-Islam declared a holy war on all secular political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. Throughout 2002, AAI carried out attacks on those Kurdish groups and targeted assassinations, particularly on high-level PUK members, as well as engaging in battles and skirmishes with the PUK. The attacks allowed the AAI to control their own area in northeast Iraq, called the Islamic Emirate of Byara, under its spiritual founder and leader Mullah Krekar. Sharia Law was implemented, enforcing it through the bombing of businesses it deemed in-Islamic, acid attacks on women it deemed immodest and beheading of those it deemed apostates.[17]

In the Islamic Emirate of Byara, villages were subjected to harsh Sharia law; musical instruments were destroyed and singing was forbidden, although nasheeds were allowed, and Ansar al-Islam released many nasheeds in the Kurdish language. Girls were not allowed education, and the only school for girls in the area was destroyed, and all pictures of women removed from advertisement labels. Sufi shrines were desecrated and the Yarsan religious minority were forced to convert to Islam, flee, or be killed. Former prisoners of the group also claim that Ansar al-Islam routinely used torture and severe beatings when interrogating prisoners. Beheading of prisoners had also been reported.[36]

In late 2001 and early 2002, AAI received an inflow of foreign jihadist volunteers fleeing Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. AAI took advantage of the larger numbers and used them for better defense from PUK. One of the foreign jihadists was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who stayed with them shortly.[17]

Peshmerga and US Special Operations

Prior to the US 2003 invasion of Iraq, paramilitary teams from the Special Activities Division (SAD) and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group entered Iraq and cooperated with PUK -Peshmerga to attack Ansar al-Islam. Together they launched Operation Viking Hammer in March 2003 which dealt a huge blow to the terrorist group which resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of terrorists and the uncovering of a potential chemical weapons facility at Sargat, as well as the end of the Islamic Emirate of Byara.[37][38] After about fifteen reporters (including NY Times, LA Times, ABC, and BBC) visited Sargat, they searched another location that was supposed to be a chemical weapons factory, which Colin Powell spoke about, they saw nothing but a studio which AAI planned to turn to a TV and radio station. They claimed that the studio was going to be used to make Ansar al-Islam propaganda.[39][40][17][41]

### Iraq War

[edit]

Further information: Ansar al-Sunna

In 2003, many Kurdish youths of Ansar al-Islam were killed by Iraqi Arab members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in Baghdad due to fears that Kurds were taking over the Jihad movement in Iraq.[42]

In September 2003, some members of Ansar al-Islam, who had fled to Iran after the 2003 joint Iraqi-US operation against them, announced their allegiance to a new group called Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna, which was mostly Arab and was dedicated to expelling U.S. forces from Iraq. Ansar al-Sunna became a prominent insurgent group active in the so-called Sunni Triangle, carrying out kidnappings, suicide bombings, and guerilla attacks.

In November or December 2007 the Ansar al-Sunna group acknowledged that it was an offshoot of Ansar al-Islam, and briefly went to using that name, before changing it to Ansar Al Ahlu Sunna.[17][43][44]

### Iraqi Insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)

[edit]

Ansar al-Islam remained active after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq of 2011, taking part in the insurgency against Iraq's central government. The group has claimed attacks against Iraqi security forces, particularly around Mosul and Kirkuk.[8]

### Syrian Civil War

[edit]

Ansar al-Islam has established a presence in Syria to take part in the Syrian Civil War, initially under the name of "Ansar al-Sham",[45] later under its own name. The group cooperated with the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades to bomb Syrian military compounds in Damascus in August 2012.[46] It also played a role in the Battle of Aleppo and collaborated with several other Salafist groups including al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front and the Islamic Front.[8] Ansar al-Islam remained functioning when many high-ranking members joined ISIS.[47]

In 2016, they fought alongside the Al-Nusra Front in Aleppo during a major offensive in the city.[5] A military commander of the group, Abu Layth al-Tunisi, was reportedly killed in combat during this operation, likely in southwest Aleppo.[48][49] By July 2018, the Syrian faction of Ansar al-Islam (not to be confused with the Syrian Ansar al-Sham group, which fought in the same area) was active in Idlib and Latakia Governorate, raiding local Syrian Army outposts.[50] Following the Turkish-Russian agreement to demilitarize Idlib in September 2018, the Syrian branch of Ansar al-Islam joined the Rouse the Believers Operations Room with other al-Qaeda-linked groups to oppose any attempts to demilitarize northwestern Syria.[10]

### Reported re-emergence in Iraq

[edit]

Further information: White Flags

After the defeat of ISIL and the recapture of Tuz Khurmatu by Turkmen and Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces during the 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, the town and its surroundings came under almost daily rocket attacks by a militant faction that used a white flag with the blackhead of a lion. These "White Flags", led by Assi al-Qawali, reportedly consisted of Kurdish Islamist militants, ex-ISIL fighters, and Kurdistan Democratic Party supporters who claimed to be fighting to "liberate the Kurdish lands occupied by the Iran-backed Shia militias". Iraqi security and intelligence officials said that intelligence reports made it likely that this new group was a front organization of Ansar al-Islam, which reportedly still had hundreds of fighters operating in the Hamrin Mountains.[6][51]

On 30 October 2019, Ansar al-Islam claimed responsibility for an IED attack on a Popular Mobilization Forces vehicle in the Diyala Governorate in northeastern Iraq.[52]

## Alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's regime

[edit]

In a "Special Analysis" report from July 31, 2002, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded the following regarding possible connections between Saddam's regime and Ansar al-Islam: "The Iraqi regime seeks to influence and manipulate political events in the Kurdish-controlled north and probably has some type of assets in contact with Ansar al-Islam, either through liaison or through penetration by an intelligence asset."[53]

In January 2003, the U.S. alleged that Ansar al-Islam provided a possible link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, and said to prepare to unveil new evidence of it.[54] Ansar al-Islam's leader, Mullah Krekar, in January 2003, denied all allegations of links of Ansar al-Islam with Saddam Hussein's government.[54] Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, in January 2003, agreed with Krekar that there was zero proof of links between Ansar al-Islam and Saddam Hussein's government.[54]

In February 2003, then-United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told the United Nations Security Council that "Baghdad has an agent in the most senior levels of the radical organization, Ansar al-Islam, that controls this corner of Iraq. In 2000 this agent offered al-Qaeda a safe haven in the region. After we swept al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, some of its members accepted this safe haven."[55]

In March–April 2003, BBC reported that a captured Iraqi intelligence officer had indicated that a senior Ansar al-Islam leader, Abu Wail, was a former Iraqi intelligence officer.[56] "If that was true, then Saddam's regime had some influence on Ansar al-Islam, Saddam's interest could have been to have Ansar al-Islam as a force directly opposing Kurdish independence in northern Iraq", said BBC.[56] Although that claim was proven wrong, due to the fact that Ansar al-Islam themself declared an independent emirate, from both Iraq and Kurdistan, and their leader supported Kurdish independence and was only against the Kurdish parties, due to their secularism.[57]

In January 2004, Colin Powell acknowledged that his claims about Ansar al-Islam's alleged ties to Saddam Hussein had no reliable evidence; he told reporters at a State Department press conference that "I have not seen smoking gun, concrete evidence about the connection, but I do believe the connections existed."[58]

The Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq, issued in 2004, concluded that Saddam Hussein was aware of Ansar al-Islam and al-Qaeda's presence in northeastern Iraq, and that he considered the groups a threat to his regime and the intelligence collection operations which his regime attempted against them. The Defense Intelligence Agency stated that senior Ansar al-Islam detainees revealed that the group viewed Saddam's regime as apostates, and denied any relationship with them.[59]

The U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence in September 2006 confirmed that: "Post-war information reveals that Iraq viewed Ansar al-Islam as a threat to the regime and attempted to collect intelligence on the group".[60]

After Powell had left office, in an interview, he told Barbara Walters that he considered his claims of ties between Saddam Hussein and Ansar al-Islam made a "blot" on his record, and that he felt "terrible" about the claims that he made which turned out to be false. He said, "There were some people in the intelligence community who knew at that time that some of these sources were not good and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up. That devastated me." When asked specifically about a Saddam–al-Qaeda connection, Powell responded, "I have never seen a connection. I can't think otherwise because I'd never seen evidence to suggest there was one."[61]

## Swedish fund-raising case

[edit]

Ali Berzengi and Ferman Abdullah, the owner of a falafel stand in Stockholm, raised money for what they claimed was poor children and Muslims. The money was then transferred through Abdullah's food stand, using the hawala transfer system.[62] The Swedish Security Service was informed in 2002 that people in Sweden had transferred money to Ansar al-Islam.[63] On April 19, 2004, Berzengi and Abdullah were arrested along with another Kurd from Iraq, Shaho Shahab, and Lebanese-born Bilal Ramadan. Ramadan was released in September after a court found that there wasn't enough evidence to keep him in custody. Shahab was released in December after the government decided to deport him to Iraq. However, since Shahab risked the death penalty in Iraq, the deportation was not carried out.[64] In Abdullah's apartment, the police found a letter from a man who claimed to have contact with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, as well as a detailed manual on how to understand coded language.[62]

On May 12, 2005, Abdullah and Berzengi were convicted of "planning of terrorist offences" (Swedish: förberedelse till terroristbrott) and "planning of public devastation" (Swedish: förberedelse till allmänfarlig ödeläggelse) by the Stockholm District Court. The Stockholm District Court said that Abdullah and Berzengi had transferred approximately one million SEK to Ansar al-Islam. According to the court there was strong evidence that the collected money had the specific purpose of financing terrorist attacks. Much of the evidence presented consisted of secret wire-tappings from U.S. and German intelligence sources. In the recordings, Abdullah and Berzengi used coded language to describe the attacks. Berzengi, who according to the court, was the mastermind, was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, and Abdullah was sentenced to six years.[65] The Svea Court of Appeal later reduced the sentences to five years for Berzengi, and four and a half years for Abdullah.[66] The appeal to the Supreme Court was denied.[67] They both are to be deported to Iraq after serving their sentences in Sweden. Abdullah is currently serving his sentence at the Norrköping Prison.[62]

Berzengi and Abdullah's conviction was the first conviction since the new Swedish terrorism legislation was taken into effect on July 1, 2003. It was also the first ever conviction in Western Europe of people financing terrorism.[62]

## Links to al-Qaeda

[edit]

One of Ansar al-Islam's leaders, Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i, was trained by al-Qaeda during his stay in Afghanistan.[56] Another early leading figure of Ansar al-Islam, Abu Abd al-Rahman, who was killed in October 2001, was convicted by the U.S. of ties to al-Qaeda.[56] In a report dated July 31, 2002, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that "Ansar al-Islam is an independent organization that receives assistance from al-Qaeda, but is not a branch of the group."[53]

In early 2003, less than 10 percent of individuals in Ansar al-Islam were both Taliban and al-Qaeda members.[56] This, and the information about Shafi'i and Abd al-Rahman, led Colin Powell in January 2003 to claim that ties between Ansar al-Islam and al-Qaeda exist,[56] and that the U.S. was preparing to unveil new evidence of it.[54]

Mullah Krekar in January 2003 denied links of Ansar with al-Qaeda.[54] U.S. terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, who supported Krekar against the claims that Ansar al-Islam had ties to Saddam Hussein, confirmed that Ansar al-Islam had ties to al-Qaeda. "Ansar al-Islam has links with al-Qaeda. In fact, it is an associate group of al-Qaeda".[54] In March–April 2003, Mullah Krekar again protested against such links, and said to newspaper Al-Hayat that he had contacts with the American government prior to 11 September 2001, and possessed "irrefutable evidence against the Americans" and that he was "prepared to release it" if the U.S. made more claims of him being "linked to terrorism".[56]

## Designation as a terrorist organization

[edit]

Country  | Date  | References

|
|

Australia | March 2003  | [68]
Canada | 17 May 2004  | [69]
Israel | 2005  | [70]
United Kingdom | 14 October 2005  | [71]
United States | 22 March 2004  | [72]
United Arab Emirates | 16 November 2014  | [73]
Iraq |  | [74]
Japan |  | [75]
Bahrain |  | [76]

## Leadership

[edit]

Ansar al-Islam's first leader was Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i, until shortly after 11 September 2001.[56]

Mullah Krekar in 2001 replaced Shafi'i as leader of Ansar al-Islam, and Shafi'i became his deputy.[56]

On December 15, 2011, Ansar al-Islam announced a new leader, Abu Hashim al Ibrahim.[1] A post about the group was published on Twitter in November 2015, by Abu al-Waleed al-Salafi, stated that "a number of leaders of the group, including Abu Hashim Al Ibrahim, the emir of the group, were arrested in early 2014"; the article does not mention a new leader.[47]

## Claimed and alleged attacks

[edit]

On February 18, 2001, four Kurdish Ansar al-Islam members assassinated Franso Hariri while he was on his way to work.[77][78] Two previous attempts had been made on his life in Erbil in 1994 and 1997 at the same place and the same street, but he escaped from both.[79][80]

On March 22, 2003, Ansar al-Islam detonated a car bomb, killing Australian journalist Paul Moran and several others. The group was also accused of the attempted bombing of a United States Department of Defense office in Erbil, on September 9, 2003, which killed three people.

On February 1, 2004, suicide bombings hit parallel Eid-celebrations arranged by the two main Kurdish parties, PUK and KDP, in the Kurdish capital of Erbil, killing 109 and wounding more than 200 celebrators.[81] Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility, and stated that the motive was to support "our brothers in Ansar al-Islam".

In November 2008, an archbishop in Mosul received a threat signed by the "Ansar al-Islam brigades", warning all Christians to leave Kurdistan or else be killed.[82]

Another attack was the stabbing of a police officer in Berlin on September 17, 2015, by Ansar al-Islam operative Rafik Yousef, who previously attempted to assassinate Ayad Allawi.[83][84][85]

In March 2019, Ansar al-Islam began directly attacking Turkish forces in Syria.[86]

## See also

[edit]

* Islamic Movement in Kurdistan
* Islamic Union of Kurdistan
* Islamic Group of Kurdistan
* Islamic Kurdish League
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Kurdish Revolutionary Hezbollah
* Partiya İslamiya Kurdistan
* Kurdish Hezbollah
* Islamic Kurdish Society
* Islamic Fayli Grouping in Iraq
* List of armed groups in the Iraqi Civil War
* Al-Nusra Front
* Islamic State
* Rawti Shax

## References

[edit]

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## Further reading

[edit]

* Micah Zenko (2009) Foregoing Limited Force: The George W. Bush Administration's Decision Not to Attack Ansar Al-Islam, Journal of Strategic Studies, 32:4, 615-649

## External links

[edit]

* The Rise and Fall of Ansar al-Islam, Christian Science Monitor
* Ansar al-Islam terrorist attacks
* Human Rights Watch: Ansar al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan
* Radical Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan: Ansar al-Islam
* Zarqawi and the 'al-Qaeda link', February 5, 2003.
* Mullah Krekar arrested( ), March 21, 2003.
* Ansar al-Islam: Postmortem or Prelude to More Attacks?, April 3, 2003.
* Time.com article on first AI suicide attack, February 26, 2003
* Ansar al-Islam: Iraq's al-Qaeda Connection, January 15, 2003
* State Department Designation of Ansar Al-Islam, February 20, 2003
* Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Designation of Ansar al-Islam (Al), Redesignation of Three Others (State Department), March 22, 2004
* Athena Intelligence Advanced Research Network on Insurgency and Terrorism
* The Great Terror, The New Yorker
* The Unknown: The C.I.A. and the Pentagon take another look at Al Qaeda and Iraq, The New Yorker
* Mullah Krekar Interview

* v
* t
* e

Armed groups in the Iraqi conflict

Iraqi government|

* Iraqi Armed Forces
* Iraqi Army
* Iraqi Air Force
* Iraqi Navy
* Iraqi security forces
* Iraqi Police
* Iraqi Police Service
* National Police
* Supporting Forces
* Facilities Protection Service

Ba'athists|

* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
* Fedayeen Saddam
* General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries
* Al-Awda
* General Command of the Armed Forces, Resistance and Liberation in Iraq
* Popular Army
* New Return
* Patriotic Front
* Political Media Organ of the Ba'ath Party
* Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Iraq
* Al-Abud Network
* Free Iraqi Army

Militias and others|

| Shia Islamic militias|

* Popular Mobilization Forces
* Mahdi Army
* Abu Deraa's Mahdi Army faction
* Badr Organization
* Sheibani Network
* Soldiers of Heaven
* Free Iraqi Forces
* Special Groups (Iraq)
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Promised Day Brigade
* Kata'ib Hezbollah
* Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda
* Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
* Kata'ib Jund al-Imam
* Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
* Saraya al-Jihad
* Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces
* Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya
* Quwwat Sahl Ninawa
* Mukhtar Army
* Hezbollah
* Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
* Jaysh al-Mu'ammal
* Liwa Ali al-Akbar
* Islamic Resistance in Iraq
* Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada

|

Sunni Islamic militias|

* Tribal Mobilization
* Awakening groups
* 1920 Revolution Brigades
* Jaish al-Rashideen
* Islamic Army in Iraq
* Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance
* Hamas of Iraq
* Harakat Ahrar al-Iraq

Kurdish militias|

* Peshmerga
* Kurdistan Workers' Party
* Kurdistan Freedom Hawks
* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê

Turkmen militias|

* Iraqi Turkmen Front
* 16Brigade
* 52nd Brigade
* 92nd Brigade
* Brigade of Imam Hussein
* Sayyid al-Shuhada
* Bashir Regiment

Assyrian/Syriac militias|

| Nineveh Plains|

* Nineveh Plain Protection Units
* Nineveh Plain Forces
* Qaraqosh Protection Committee
* Dwekh Nawsha

|

* Syriac Military Council
* Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam
* Babylon Brigade

Yazidi militias|

* Asayîşa Êzîdxanê
* Êzîdxan Protection Force
* Sinjar Alliance

* Sinjar Resistance Units
* Êzîdxan Women's Units

Insurgents|

| Nationalist Salafis|

* Mujahideen Army
* Mujahideen Battalions of the Salafi Group of Iraq
* Islamic Salafist Boy Scout Battalions
* Mohammad's Army

|

Salafi Jihadists|

* Al-Mustafa Army in Iraq
* Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Black Banner Organization
* Abu Theeb's group
* Abu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
* Hassan Al-Basri Brigades
* Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
* Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah
* Islamic State
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah
* Al-Qaeda in Iraq
* Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Shield of Islam Brigade
* Wakefulness and Holy War
* White Flags

* v
* t
* e

Syrian civil war

Overviews

| Main overviews|

* Syria
* Rojava
* Syrian civil war
* Timeline
* Background and causes
* Syrian peace process
* Syrian government reactions
* Belligerents
* Inter-rebel conflict
* Spillover
* Cities and towns
* Sectarianism and minorities
* Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017–present)

|

Effects and ongoing concerns|

* Casualties of the Syrian civil war
* Refugees of the Syrian civil war
* Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
* Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war

Phases and processes|

* Syrian revolution
* Early insurgency phase
* 2012–2013 escalation
* Ceasefires
* Syrian peace process

World reaction|

* International reactions to the Syrian civil war
* Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war

Specific groups and countries|

* Russian involvement
* Russian intervention
* Turkish involvement
* Turkish occupation of northern Syria
* Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone
* Russian-Turkish agreement on Syria
* US intervention in the Syrian civil war
* 2023 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria
* Kurdish Area in Syria
* Syrian Democratic Forces
* Rojava conflict
* U.S. task force

Agreements and dialogues|

* Russian-Turkish agreement on Syria
* Relations between Syrian government and Kurdish groups in Syria

Timeline

| Background|

* 1963 coup
* 1966 coup
* Corrective Movement
* Islamist uprising
* Latakia protests
* Damascus Spring
* Qamishli riots
* Syrian occupation of Lebanon
* Damascus Declaration
* Human rights in Syria
* 2010s in Syria political history

|

2011
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Syrian Revolution
* Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb
* Siege of Daraa
* Siege of Baniyas
* May Talkalakh siege
* Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh
* June Jisr ash-Shughur operation
* Siege of Hama
* Siege of Homs
* Jabal al-Zawiya operation
* Siege of Latakia
* Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014)
* Rif Dimashq clashes (Nov 2011-Mar 2012)
* Battle of Zabadani
* Battle of Douma
* Daraa Governorate clashes
* Battle of Rastan
* Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush
* Idlib Governorate clashes
* December Jabal al-Zawiya massacres

2012
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* January al-Midan bombing
* Battle of Rastan
* First Battle of Idlib
* Battle of al-Qusayr
* Idlib Governorate operation (Apr)
* Battle of Taftanaz
* May Battle of Rastan
* Houla massacre
* Battle of al-Haffah
* Al-Qubeir massacre
* Battle of Tremseh
* Battle of Damascus
* 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing
* Battle of Aleppo
* Battle of Anadan
* Siege of Base 46
* Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–2013)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Aug-Oct)
* Darayya massacre
* Battle of Khirbet Al-Joz
* Battle of Maarrat al-Numan
* First siege of Wadi Deif
* Battle of Harem
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Nov 2012–Feb 2013)
* Battle of Darayya
* Aqrab massacre
* Hama offensive
* Halfaya massacre
* Battle of Darayya
* Quneitra Governorate clashes
* Talbiseh bakery massacre

2013
Jan–Apr
May–Dec|

* Battle of Safira
* Battle of Shadadeh
* Damascus offensive
* Raqqa campaign (2012–2013)
* Battle of Raqqa (Mar)
* Daraa offensive
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Mar–Aug)
* Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl
* Ghouta chemical attack
* Al-Qusayr offensive
* Battle of al-Qusayr
* Bayda and Baniyas massacres
* Hama offensive
* Hatla massacre
* Khan al-Assal chemical attack
* Khan al-Assal massacre
* Adra massacre
* Battle of Ras al-Ayn
* Battle of Tell Abyad
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Sep–Nov)
* Aleppo offensive (Oct–Dec)
* Battle of al-Yaarubiyah
* Battle of Tell Hamis and Tell Brak (Dec–Jan)

2014
Jan–Jul
Aug–Dec|

* First Inter-rebel conflict
* Battle of Markada
* Deir ez-Zor offensive
* Battle of Morek
* Daraa offensive (Feb–May)
* Maan massacre
* Al-Otaiba ambush
* Idlib offensive
* Battle of Hosn
* Latakia Offensive
* Battle of Al-Malihah
* Kafr Zita chemical attack
* Second siege of Wadi Deif
* Qalamoun offensive (Jun–Aug)
* Battle of Arsal
* First Battle of the Shaer gas field
* Eastern Syria offensive
* Battle of Tabqa Airbase
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Feb–Jul)
* Hama Offensive
* Quneitra offensive
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Aug–Nov)
* Siege of Kobanî
* Homs school bombing
* Daraa offensive (Oct)
* Al-Safira offensive
* Idlib Raid
* Second Inter-Rebel Conflict
* Second Battle of the Shaer gas field
* Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Dec)

2015
Jan–Jul
Aug–Dec|

* Air Force An-26 crash
* Daraa Offensive (Jan)
* Southern Syria Offensive
* Eastern al-Hasakah offensive
* Battle of Sarrin (Mar–Apr)
* Battle of Sarrin (Jun–Jul)
* Battle of Bosra
* Idlib Offensive
* Second Battle of Idlib
* Battle of Nasib Border Crossing
* Battle of Yarmouk Camp
* Western al-Hasakah offensive
* Palmyra offensive (May)
* Qamishli bombings
* Tell Abyad offensive
* Kobanî massacre
* Quneitra offensive (Jun)
* Palmyra offensive (Jul–Aug)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Sep)
* Northwestern Syria offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Aleppo offensive (Oct–Dec)
* Al-Hawl offensive
* Homs offensive (Nov-Dec)
* East Aleppo offensive (2015–2016)
* 2015–2016 Latakia offensive
* Tishrin Dam offensive
* Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown

2016
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Second Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Jan)
* January Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Feb)
* Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive (Feb–Mar)
* Al-Shaddadi offensive
* February Homs bombings
* February Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
* Khanasir offensive
* Battle of Tel Abyad
* Battle of Maarrat al-Numan
* Battle of Qamishli (Apr)
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Mar–Jun)
* Palmyra offensive (Mar)
* East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (Apr–May)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Apr–May)
* Northern Raqqa offensive (May)
* May Jableh & Tartous bombings
* Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive (Jun)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Jun–Oct)
* Manbij offensive
* Tokhar massacre
* Southern Aleppo campaign
* Battle of al-Rai (Aug)
* Operation Euphrates Shield
* Aleppo summer campaign
* Western al-Bab offensive (Sep)
* 5 September bombings
* September Deir ez-Zor air raid
* September Urum al-Kubra aid convoy attack
* Aleppo offensive (Sep–Oct)
* Dabiq offensive
* Western al-Bab offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Khan al-Shih offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Raqqa campaign
* Battle of al-Bab
* Aleppo offensive (Nov-Dec)
* Palmyra offensive (Dec)

2017
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Wadi Barada offensive (2016–2017)
* January Azaz bombing
* Desert campaign (Dec 16–Apr 17)
* Idlib clashes (Jan–Mar)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Jan–Feb)
* Daraa offensive (Feb–Jun)
* Southwestern Daraa offensive (Feb)
* Qaboun offensive
* Palmyra offensive
* East Aleppo offensive (Jan–Apr)
* March Damascus bombings
* Al-Jinah airstrike
* Hama offensive (Mar–Apr)
* Battle of Tabqa
* Khan Shaykhun chemical attack
* Shayrat missile strike
* Aleppo bombing
* April Turkish airstrikes
* East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (Apr–May)
* Desert campaign (May–Jul)
* Maskanah Plains offensive
* East Hama offensive
* Battle of Raqqa
* Daraa offensive (Jun)
* Southern Raqqa offensive (Jun)
* Jobar offensive (Jun–Aug)
* Quneitra offensive (Jun)
* Idlib clashes (Jul)
* Central campaign
* Qalamoun (Jul–Aug)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Sep 17–Mar 18)
* Hama offensive (Sep)
* Northwestern campaign (Oct 17–Feb 18)
* Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate
* Battle of Harasta
* Eastern campaign (Sep–Dec)
* Euphrates Crossing offensive
* Mayadin offensive
* Battle of Deir ez-Zor (Sep–Nov)
* Abu Kamal offensive
* Beit Jinn offensive

2018
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Operation Olive Branch
* Battle of Khasham
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Feb–Apr)
* Southern Damascus offensive (Jan–Feb)
* Syrian Liberation Front–Tahrir al-Sham conflict
* Southern Damascus offensive (Mar)
* Douma chemical attack
* Missile strikes (Apr)
* Northern Homs offensive (Apr–May)
* Eastern Qalamoun offensive (Apr)
* Southern Damascus offensive (Apr–May)
* Deir ez-Zor clashes (Apr)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (May–Jun)
* As-Suwayda offensive (Jun)
* Southern offensive
* As-Suwayda attacks
* As-Suwayda (Aug-Nov)
* Qamishli clashes (Sep)
* Missile strikes (Sep)
* Northern border clashes

2019
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* Manbij bombing
* Battle of Baghuz Fawqani
* ISIL insurgency in Deir-ez-Zor
* Dêrik prison escape attempt
* Tell Rifaat clashes
* Northwestern offensive (Apr–Aug)
* June bombings
* Hass refugee camp bombing
* Missile strikes (Aug)
* Turkish offensive into northeast
* Barisha raid
* November bombings
* Israeli missile strikes (Nov)
* Qah missile strike
* Northwestern offensive (Dec 19–Mar 20)
* US airstrikes

2020
Jan–Dec|

* COVID-19 pandemic
* Afrin bombing
* Idlib Governorate clashes
* Kafr-Takharim airstrike
* Ayn Issa clashes
* Deir ez-Zor ambush

2021
Jan–Dec|

* Siege of Qamishli and Al-Hasakah
* Missile strikes (Jan)
* US airstrike (Feb)
* Battle of Qamishli (Apr)
* US airstrike (Jun)
* Daraa clashes
* Tahrir al-Sham–Junud al-Sham conflict

2022
Jan–Dec|

* Battle of al-Hasakah
* Ahrar al-Sham–Levant Front clashes
* Jabal al-Bishrī clashes
* Jarqli airstrikes
* Northern Aleppo clashes (Oct)
* Operation Claw-Sword
* Northwest clashes (Dec)

2023
Jan-Dec|

* Al-Sukhnah attack
* Damascus airstrike
* Hama attack
* Northern border clashes

Spillover|

| Israel and Golan Heights:|

* March 2017 incident
* February 2018 incident
* May 2018 Israel–Iran incidents

|

Iraq:|

* Akashat ambush
* Operation al-Shabah
* April 2014 Iraqi border airstrike

Jordanian border incidents|

* April 2014 Jordanian border airstrike

Lebanon:|

* Lebanese border clashes
* Battle of Sidon
* Iranian embassy bombing in Beirut
* North Lebanon clashes
* Qalamoun (Jul–Aug 2017)

Turkey:|

* December 2011 Turkish border clash
* 2012 Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown
* 2012 Turkish border clashes
* 2013 Reyhanlı car bombings
* January 2014 Turkish attack in Syria
* Assassination of Andrei Karlov
* Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident
* 2020 Balyun airstrikes
* Operation Spring Shield

Elsewhere:|

* Deir ez-Zor missile strike (Iran)

Belligerents

| Syria|

| Politics of Syria|

* Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region
* Syrian Social Nationalist Party
* Arab Socialist Movement
* Syrian Communist Party

|

Military and militias|

* Syrian Armed Forces
* Syrian Resistance
* PFLP-GC
* al-Quds Brigade
* Palestine Liberation Army

Foreign support|

* Hezbollah involvement
* Iranian involvement
* Liwa Fatemiyoun
* Russian involvement
* medical facility targeting
* military intervention
* Wagner Group
* Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition
* Popular Mobilization Forces

Opposition|

| Interim government|

* National Coalition
* Local Coordination Committees
* Syrian National Council
* Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution
* National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change
* Syrian Revolution General Commission
* Syrian Support Group
* Adopt a Revolution
* Syrian Patriotic Group

|

Opposition militias|

* Syrian National Army
* Free Syrian Army
* National Front for Liberation
* Army of Glory
* Authenticity and Development Front
* Army of Free Tribes
* Revolutionary Commando Army
* Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
* Grey Wolves

Foreign support|

* US intervention
* Jordanian intervention
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Turkey

Autonomous Administration
of North and East Syria|

| DFNS Government|

* Democratic Union Party
* Kurdish National Council
* Smaller political parties

|

SDF militias|

* People's Protection Units
* Women's Protection Units
* Anti-Terror Units
* Al-Sanadid Forces
* Army of Revolutionaries
* SDF military councils
* Syriac Military Council
* Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa
* Northern Democratic Brigade

Support|

* Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
* Kurdistan Workers' Party
* International Freedom Battalion
* Sinjar Resistance Units
* Êzîdxan Women's Units

Islamists|

| Islamic State|

* Military activity of ISIL (Al-Barakah
* Dokumacılar
* Khalid ibn al-Walid Army (Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, Islamic Muthanna Movement, Jaysh al-Jihad)
* Liwa al-Aqsa
* Group of the One and Only
* Liwa Dawud
* Liwa Aqab al-Islami
* Katibah Nusantara
* Katiba al-Bittar al-Libi
* Al-Khansaa Brigade
* Group of the One and Only

|

al-Qaeda and allies|

* Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Khorasan group, Suqour al-Ezz) Jaysh Muhammad in Bilad al-Sham
* Tahrir al-Sham
* Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
* Caucasus Emirate
* Ajnad al-Kavkaz
* Junud al-Makhdi
* Rouse the Believers Operations Room (Ansar al-Tawhid (Firqat al-Ghuraba), Hurras al-Din, Ansar al-Din Front (Harakat Sham al-Islam), Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan)
* Jaish al-Haramoun
* Jaysh al-Sunna
* Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Green Battalion)
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Malhama Tactical
* Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Jama'at Ansar al-Furqan in Bilad al Sham
* Ghuraba al-Sham
* Taliban (Pakistani Taliban, Imam Bukhari Jamaat)
* Fatah al-Islam
* Muhajirin wa-Ansar Alliance (Liwaa al-Umma)

People

* Ammar Abdulhamid
* Ali al-Abdallah
* Adnan al-Aroor
* al-Assad family
* Bashar
* Maher
* Rifaat
* Rami Makhlouf
* Hafez Makhlouf
* Riad al-Asaad
* Anwar al-Bunni
* Fahd Jassem al-Freij
* Suheil al-Hassan
* Haitham al-Maleh
* Moaz al-Khatib
* Kamal al-Labwani
* Hamza al-Khateeb
* Tal al-Mallohi
* Fida al-Sayed
* Riad al-Turk
* Khaled Khoja
* Ammar al-Qurabi
* Suheir Atassi
* Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni
* Aref Dalila
* Farid Ghadry
* Burhan Ghalioun
* Razan Ghazzawi
* Ghassan Hitto
* Salim Idris
* Randa Kassis
* Abdul Halim Khaddam
* Michel Kilo
* Bassma Kodmani
* Ali Habib Mahmud
* Ali Mahmoud Othman
* Ibrahim Qashoush
* Dawoud Rajiha
* Yassin al-Haj Saleh
* Bouthaina Shaaban
* Abdulbaset Sieda
* Riad Seif
* Fadwa Souleimane
* Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid
* Yaser Tabbara
* Razan Zaitouneh
* Rami Jarrah
* Abdurrahman Mustafa
* Fadlallah al-Haji

Related

| Elections|

* 2011 local elections
* 2012 parliamentary election
* 2014 presidential election
* 2015 Northern local elections
* 2016 parliamentary election
* 2017 Northern local elections
* 2017 Northern regional elections
* 2018 local elections
* 2020 parliamentary election
* 2021 presidential election

|

Issues|

* Casualties
* Cities and towns
* Chemical weapons
* Damaged heritage sites
* Foreign involvement
* Human rights violations
* Humanitarian aid
* International demonstrations and protests
* International reactions
* Massacres
* Refugees
* Sectarianism and minorities
* Status of the Golan Heights
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Syrian government reactions

Peace process|

* Arab League monitors
* Friends of Syria Group
* Kofi Annan peace plan
* UN supervision mission
* Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan
* U.S.–Russia peace proposals
* 39th G8 summit
* UN Security Council Resolution 2118
* Geneva II conference
* 2015 Zabadani cease-fire agreement
* Vienna talks
* 2016 Geneva talks
* Idlib demilitarization (2018–present)
* First Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal
* Second Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal
* Syrian Constitutional Committee

War crimes trials|

* Universal jurisdiction trials in Germany

Related topics|

* Exclusive mandate
* Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference
* International recognition of the Syrian National Council
* Syria Files
* Syrian detainee report
* Syrian media coverage
* 2015 European migrant crisis
* Syrian civil war in popular culture

* Category

Militant Islamism

* 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
* 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
* Abu Mohammad al-Julani
* 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
* 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

* v
* t
* e

Militant Islamism in South Asia

Ideology|

* Deobandi
* Deobandi jihadism
* Wahhabism
* Salafi movement
* Salafi jihadism
* Pan-Islamism
* Pashtunwali

Phenomena|

* Islamic extremism
* Islamic fundamentalism
* Islamic terrorism

Organisations|

* Taliban
* Haqqani network
* Jamaat al Dawa al Quran
* Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
* Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
* Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami
* Lashkar-e-Omar
* Jundallah
* Ansarul Sharia Pakistan
* Haji Namdar Group
* Ahrar-ul-Hind
* Hizbul Mujahideen
* Jaish-e-Mohammed
* Al-Badr (Jammu and Kashmir)
* Tehreek-e-Azaadi Jammu and Kashmir
* Lashkar-e-Taiba
* Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
* Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh
* Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam
* Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
* Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh
* Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
* Indian Mujahideen
* Popular Front of India
* Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
* Karnataka Forum for Dignity
* Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan

Leaders|

* Syed Ahmad Barelvi
* Hibatullah Akhundzada
* Riaz Basra
* Jalaluddin Haqqani
* Qari Hussain
* Mullah Akhtar Mansour
* Baitullah Mehsud
* Mohammed Omar
* Mullah Muhammad Rasul
* Hafiz Muhammad Saeed

Related|

* Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)
* Shabana
* Talibanization

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

* v
* t
* e

Militant Islamism in Southeast Asia

Ideology|

* Islamism
* Jihadism
* Salafi jihadism
* Pan-Islamism

Phenomena|

* Islamic extremism
* Islamic fundamentalism
* Islamic terrorism

Organisations|

* Abu Sayyaf
* Al-Ma'unah
* Ansar Khalifa Philippines
* Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
* Barisan Revolusi Nasional
* Darul Islam
* Front for the Liberation of Champa
* Indonesian Mujahedeen Council
* Islamic Liberation Front of Patani
* Jamaah Ansharusy Syariah
* Jemaah Islamiyah
* Jamaah Ansharut Daulah
* Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid
* Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao
* Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia
* Laskar Jihad
* Maute group
* Moro Islamic Liberation Front
* Mujahedeen KOMPAK
* Mujahidin Indonesia Timur
* Patani United Liberation Organisation
* Pattani Islamic Mujahideen Movement
* Runda Kumpulan Kecil
* United Mujahideen Front of Pattani

Leaders|

* Abdullah Sungkar
* Abu Bakar Bashir
* Abu Sabaya
* Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani
* Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi
* Azahari Husin
* Dulmatin
* Khadaffy Janjalani
* Les Kosem
* Mahmud Ahmad
* Murad Ebrahim
* Noordin Mohammad Top
* Nur Misuari
* Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo
* Zulkifli Abdhir

* Events

* South Thailand insurgency
* Timeline of events
* Islamic insurgency in the Philippines
* Cross border attacks in Sabah
* Insurgency in Aceh
* 1985 Borobudur bombing
* Sauk Siege
* Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings
* 2000 Sipadan kidnappings
* 2000 Philippine consulate bombing
* Rizal Day bombings
* Dos Palmas kidnappings
* Singapore embassies attack plot
* 2002 Bali bombings
* 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing
* 2004 Palopo cafe bombing
* 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing
* Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta
* 2005 Tentena market bombings
* 2005 Bali bombings
* 2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls
* 2005 Palu market bombing
* 2007 Basilan beheading incident
* 2009 Jakarta bombings
* 2013 Ekayana Monastery bombing
* Mamasapano clash
* 2016 Jakarta attacks
* 2016 Movida Bar grenade attack
* 2016 Davao City bombing
* 2016 Samarinda church bombing
* 2017 Jakarta bombings
* 2018 Mako Brimob standoff
* Surabaya bombings
* 2018 Lamitan bombing
* 2019 Jolo Cathedral bombings
* 2020 Jolo bombings
* 2021 Makassar cathedral bombing
* Indonesian National Police headquarters shooting
* Datu Paglas market occupation
* Indonesian People's Da'wah Party crackdown
* Istana Negara attempted shooting
* Astana Anyar bombing
* 2024 Ulu Tiram police station attack

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

* v
* t
* e

Militant Islamism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ideology|

* Jihadism
* Salafi jihadism
* Pan-Islamism

Phenomena|

* Islamic extremism
* Islamic fundamentalism
* Islamic terrorism

Organisations|

* Al-Shabaab
* Islamic Courts Union
* Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
* Hizbul Islam
* Boko Haram
* Ansaru
* Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
* Al-Mulathameen
* Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
* al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
* Ansar Dine
* Al-Mourabitoun
* Katiba Macina
* Ansarul Islam
* Katibat Salaheddin
* Ansar al-Sharia (Mali)
* Ansar al-Sharia (Mauritania)
* Allied Democratic Forces
* Islamic State
* Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
* Islamic State – West Africa Province
* Islamic State - Central Africa Province
* Islamic State in Somalia
* Islamic State - Mozambique Province
* Ansar al-Sunna (Mozambique)

Leaders|

* Ali Yassin Mohamed
* Hassan Dahir Aweys
* Fuad Qalaf
* Abdul Qadir Mumin
* Mokhtar Belmokhtar
* Abou Zeid
* Abdelmalek Droukdel
* Abubakar Shekau
* Ahmad Umar
* Mohammed Yusuf
* Iyad Ag Ghaly
* Amadou Koufa
* Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
* Sedane Ag Hita
* Ibrahim Malam Dicko
* Djaffar Dicko
* Musa Baluku

Events|

* Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
* Mali War
* Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
* Jihadist insurgency in Niger
* Somali Civil War (2009–present)
* Boko Haram insurgency
* Insurgency in Cabo Delgado

* Part of Islamism
* Militant Islamism in
* MENA region
* South Asia
* Southeast Asia

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[POW]: Prisoner of war
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