ISIS 101*
Everything you should know about a group you don’t want anything to do with
The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) has been dominating the news for the speed and ferocity of the atrocities it has been committing in Iraq. Don’t settle with just being familiar with this group by name. Learn about the this group’s history and the potential threat it may pose beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria to include the United States and U.S. interests abroad.
U.S. Department of State designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The group became an al-Qa’ida affiliate during Operation Iraqi Freedom and fought the Coalition forces and the Iraqi government; it has undergone a series of changes under different leaders and taken on a more Iraqi character, while its ties with al-Qa’ida’s Senior Leadership have weakened. The group has bolstered its ranks, acquired military equipment, trained fighters, and received funding from Sunni Muslims, particularly in the Arab Gulf states, as a direct result of its participation in the civil war in Syria.
Most recently, ISIS has launched an unprecedented assault throughout northern and western Iraq and seizing control of key cities vital to the country’s economy. Although its operations have been geographically limited so far, the primary threat ISIS poses to the U.S. and the West is from volunteers from countries throughout Europe, Australia, and North America, who have trained alongside the terrorist group and could potentially return home to mount terrorist attacks.
History
The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) has also been referred to as the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) and the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL). The references to the Levant and Sham indicate that the group’s territorial ambitions are not limited to Syria and Iraq, but that it seeks to establish an Islamic State just Syria and Iraq and into what the area traditionally included, i.e. Lebanon, Jordan, and parts of Israel and southern Turkey. The group was founded by Jordanian jihadist, al-Zarqawi during Operation Iraqi Freedom to fight U.S. and Coalition Forces in 2004. The group was originally called Jama’at al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad (the Unity and Jihad Group.) Later that year, Zarqawi swore allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and the group’s name was changed to Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (The Base Organization of the Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers, i.e. Iraq), which became commonly known as al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI), an official affiliate of the international terrorist organization.
Under al-Zarqawi’s leadership, AQI was responsible for scores of atrocities and mass-casualty attacks aimed at intensifying sectarian bloodletting in Iraq. AQI’s attacks prioritized the targeting of Shi’ite Muslims and alienated the country’s Shi’ite population; however, the group became the target of outrage and condemnation from Sunni Muslims because of the group’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians [see video] and the harsh brand of fundamentalist Islam it imposed in areas where it had influence. The Iraqi affiliate received substantial criticism from al-Qa’ida for its harsh tactics, which alienated large segments of the Iraqi people.
Two factors have largely helped revitalize and strengthen ISIS since 2011, when it was effectively neutralized by the U.S. forces and Sunni militia groups which formed under the National Council for the Awakening of Iraq. The first is the permissive operating environment and abundant resources and recruits made available by the ongoing civil war in Syria, and the second is the increasing hostility and disenfranchisement felt by large portions of Iraq’s Sunni population over the policies of Iraq’s Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Leadership
ISIS is currently led by an individual identified as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who reportedly holds a Ph.D from Baghdad’s Islamic University. Al-Baghdadi shuns publicity and takes great pains to conceal his location and movements. The 42-year-old took command of the group in 2010 and oversaw the coordination of mass casualty attacks often targeting Iraqi military and police, while indiscriminately killing Shi’ite and Sunni civilians. He was reportedly detained in 2005 and held at Camp Bucca in Iraq where a military official claimed he said “I’ll see you guys in New York” while being remanded to the custody of Iraqi authorities in 2009. While it is likely that this was merely a snide remark rather than an explicit threat, al-Baghdadi eventually made it out of Iraqi custody, and in July 2012, he broadly threatened attacks against the United States, stating “You will see the mujahideen (holy warriors) at the heart of your country since our war with you has only started now.”
Activity In Syria
Since the Syrian civil war started in 2011, ISIS viewed the country as a logical venue for expanding its operations. A member of the group, Abu Muhammad al-Joulani, was dispatched to Syria and established a group that was named Jabhat al-Nusra (the al-Nusra Front) as a branch of ISIS. It initially fought in concert with other rebel militias and Sunni insurgent groups against the Bashar al-Assad regime and combating Shi’ite fighters. Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, whose operatives had years of experience building improvised explosive devices (IEDs), staging deadly small arms assaults, and mounting vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attacks against U.S., Coalition, and Iraqi forces throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, proved a formidable adversary in Syria, launching some of the deadliest and most brutal attacks against the Syrian regime. Given the group’s increasing involvement in the Syrian conflict, in April 2013 al-Baghdadi formally announced that his group, the Islamic State of Iraq, would be changing its name to the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, demonstrating its recent gains and territorial ambitions in the region. Al-Baghdadi also claimed that his unit would be merging with the al-Qa’ida affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra—a decision which was rejected and denied by the latter.
Threat to the United States and the West
Although ISIS has not demonstrated the ability to attack the United States, foreign terrorist organizations typically exploit conditions of lawlessness and instability abroad and may seek to use the safe haven provided by recently seized territory as a training ground and staging point for future international strikes. ISIS’ ongoing offensive in northern Iraq has greatly increased its financial resources and access to military equipment and munitions, significantly escalating its potential to project its operations outside Syria and Iraq.
Despite ISIS’ current conflict with al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership, the group continues to attract Western recruits and other foreign fighters. Westerners, including at least one American, who have traveled abroad, have been killed fighting alongside ISIS in Syria. In recent months, there have been several arrests in Europe of individuals with alleged ties to ISIS. It has been widely reported that hundreds of foreign recruits are believed to have made their way to Syria, and ISIS is one of several al-Qa’ida-inspired violent extremist groups that these individuals may have linked up with. While most Western ISIS recruits have come from Europe, U.S. and Canadian citizens have been linked to the group. While returnees may be tasked with conducting support duties for ISIS, the possibility remains that passport-holding foreigners may use their training and fighting experience to engage their own home countries in terror attacks.
*The information contained in this blog is composed from open source material previously consolidated and openly published by the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau
