3. OUTLINE
Roots of Islamic State (IS)
Characteristic of IS
Economics of IS
Reaction of World and Latest
development
Conclusions and Q/A session
4. 1. Roots of Islamic State
Al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI);
The tactics of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were
considered too extreme by al-Qaida leaders;
Death 2006
AQI
Islamic State
in Iraq (ISI)
5. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
2010: Leader of ISI
2012: Creation of al-Nusra Front in Syria
April 2013: split of al-Nusra Front and creation of Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
June 2013: ISIL more frequantly named as
The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS)
„Caliph Ibrahim”
8. ISIS
December 2013: alliance with former Saddam’s
military and Sunni militias, tribesmen
Occupation of FALLUDJA
Avril 2014: break with al-Qaeda
June 2014: overran MOSUL, advance towards
Baghdad
July 2014: ISIS Declares the Caliphate
10. What is Islamic State?
Islamic State (IS) is a Islamist terrorist group
that has seized large swathes of territory in
eastern Syria and across northern and
western Iraq.
11. The “Black Banner” or “Black
Standard.”
Mohammed: “the banner of the eagle”
18. Islamic State in numbers
Controlled area: 35,000 square miles
(roughly size of Jordan or Belgium*);
Troops: tripled in 2014, 100 000 – 130 000**;
In 2014: around 20 000 executed by IS;
Value of IS’s: 2 – 5 billion USD
Daily revenue: around $3,000,000 (oil, gas,
taxes, etc.)
* Just inhabited areas
**However, by November 2014, the Chief of Staff of Iraqi Kurdistan
estimated that ISIL had a total of 200,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
28. Tribes and Major Confederation in Iraq
Basic unit: Khams
(extended family)
Second level: Biet /house/
(vast extended family)
Number of houses: clan or
fakhdh
Group of clans:
Ashira or tribe
Group of tribes:
Qabila
(confederation)
41. 2nd leg: Iraq
2011: US withdrawal from Iraq;
2012: series of attacks, situation is worsening
2013: permanent Sunni protest and upheaval,
brutal governmental reactions (Hawija)
42. ISIS used the security gap
the protest movement went into insurgency,
explosion on 10th of June, request for
autonomy Sunni regions
Marriage with ISIS
76. More than 2000 airstrikes
• More than 3000 targets (58 tanks, 900 vehicles,
52 bunkers, 673 combat position, around 1000
other buildings)
• Around 5000 bombs
• 15 000 combat sorties
F/A-18F Super Hornet
107. Motto
„To wage war, you need first of all money;
second, you need money, and third, you
also need money”
/Prince Raimondo Montecuccoli/
108. The ISIS Business Model
8 million people are living under IS control
ISIS has created a number of revenue streams
“half-mafia-style commercial enterprise, half
pious international charity”
significant difference between ISIS and other
terrorist organizations is that ISIS has managed
to establish its own economy that is mostly
cash-based
113. Taxation and extortion
Islamic State generates up to $360 million
per year though taxation and extortion
Customs tax and passage fees (Drivers have
reported paying anywhere from $200 to $1,000
in fees and bribes to move goods into IS
territory in Iraq)
Business tax: 10-35%
Utilities tax: 20 USD/month
Religious tax: Christians: half an ounce of
pure gold (to secure their protection)
132. The ISIS Economy
No female-run businesses;
IS decide on prices and people have to accept
that and deal with it;
ISIS controls every detail of the economy;
„Good Life” is just propaganda – reality: heavy
taxation and high unemployment
Meat and chicken are only for ISIS
ISIS’s economic persecution is a deliberate
tactic to force people to capitulate and
support the extremists
138. Coalition against IS
62 countries
against IS
(although most play no direct role in the air
strikes) US, UK, France, Bahrain, Jordan,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates /Iran, the BACKER
142. Operation Inherent Resolve
U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 8,125 strikes
(5,321 Iraq / 2,804 Syria).
U.S. has conducted 6,353 strikes in Iraq and Syria (3,695 Iraq /
2,658 Syria)
The countries that have participated in the strikes include:
*In Iraq: (1) Australia, (2) Belgium, (3) Canada, (4) Denmark,
(5) France, (6) Jordan, (7) The Netherlands, and (8) UK
*In Syria: (1) Australia, (2) Bahrain, (3) Canada, (4) France, (5)
Jordan, (6) Saudi Arabia, (7) Turkey and (8) UAE
147. Cost of Operation
As of Jan. 31, 2016, the total cost of
operations related to ISIL since kinetic
operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $9,5
billion and the average daily cost is $11
million for 540 days of operations
169. Lesson learnds
Lot of IEDs, car bombs, snipers
Too many KIAs
Need for Combat Engineers
Military Capabilities of IS are underestimated
5 days 5 weeks
171. Recapture Ramadi
7 month of fight
600 US-led coalition airstrikes
F-16 fighter jets flown by Iraqi pilots
the composition of the Iraqi military forces
– Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS)
– formations from the 8th Iraqi Army Division
– local police, and tribal fighters from the Anbar
province.
– Shia militia just secondary role
182. New leader
Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-
Salbi;
one of the terror group’s founding members and
has led the enslavement of Iraq’s Yazidi
minority
184. Conclusion
Many of its militants are now in
prison, but that doesn’t mean the
battle is over. In 2020, conflict
could rise anew.
each party is fighting its own war
185. Conclusion
With so many ex-Islamic State
foreign fighters in prisons in
different countries now, their
recruitment base has only
grown.
America’s conflict with Iran is
making the fight against it more
complicated