The Islamic terrorist group ISIS is considered by many experts to be the main threat to peace at present. This organization emerged as a separate al-Qaeda cell, but then became a completely independent force. Now it is the largest terrorist organization in the world. The history of ISIS will be the subject of our study.
Background to the creation of ISIS
First, let's find out what is the origin of ISIS, what is the background to its formation. To do this, we will have to look into the 90s of the last century.
At the origins of the group, which later transformed into ISIS, was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Born in 1966, in his youth, he fought against the Soviet army in Afghanistan. After returning to Jordan, he was engaged in activities against the existing regime in the country, for which he has been subjected to seven years of imprisonment since 1992.
In 1999, immediately after his release, az-Zakravi created an Islamic Salafi organization, which took the name "Monotheism and Jihad." The original purpose of this group was to overthrow the royal dynasty in Jordan, which, according to al-Zawravi, pursued an anti-Islamic policy. It was this organization that formed the foundation on the basis of which the ISIS "state" was formed in the future.
After the start of the American operation in Iraq in 2001, representatives of the organization "Monotheism and Jihad" began active work in the country. It is believed that al-Zarqawi became at that time one of the organizers of another large group, Ansar al-Islam. It operated mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the Sunni regions of Iraq. Its formal leader is Faraj Ahmad Najmuddin, who is in a Norwegian prison and leads the activities of Ansar al-Islam from there. From 2003 to 2008, the group took the name "Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna", but then returned to its previous name. After the intervention of the allied forces in Iraq in 2003, many of its fighters joined the organization of Monotheism and Jihad. Currently, Ansar al-Islam is one of the main allies of ISIS.
Alliance with Al Qaeda
It was after the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003 that the organization "Monotheism and Jihad" firmly established itself in this country. She carried out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks, public executions with cutting off heads became a signature chip. Later this bloody tradition, the purpose of which was intimidation, was adopted by the heir of the organization "Monotheism and Jihad" - the ISIS group. “Monotheism and Jihad” became the main anti-government force in Iraq, whose goal was to overthrow the transitional government, destroy the supporters of Shiism and establish an Islamic state.
In 2004, al-Zarqawi swore allegiance to the leader of the then largest Islamic extremist organization, al-Qaeda, Osame bin Laden. Since that time, the Monotheism and Jihad group has become known as Al Qaeda in Iraq. The history of ISIS has since made a new round.
Increasingly, the group, led by al-Zarqawi, began to apply terrorist methods not to the US military, but to the citizens of Iraq - mainly to Shiites. This caused a decline in the popularity of Al Qaeda in Iraq among the local population. In order to regain ratings and consolidate the resistance forces of the coalition forces, in 2006, al-Zarqawi organized the “Mujahideen Advisory Assembly”, which included, in addition to Al-Qaeda, another 7 major Sunni Islamist groups.
But in June 2006, al-Zarqawi was killed as a result of bombing by American aircraft. The new leader of the organization was Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
Islamic State in Iraq
After eliminating al-Zarqawi, the history of ISIS again changed its direction of movement. This time there is a tendency to break with al-Qaeda.
In October 2006, the “Mujahideen Advisory Assembly” proclaimed the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), and did it on its own, without waiting for consent from the leadership of al-Qaeda. But until the final break with this terrorist organization was still far away.
The Iraqi city of Baakuba was proclaimed the capital of this “state”. His first emir was Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, whose past is known only that he is a citizen of Iraq and previously headed the "Consultative meeting of the Mujahideen." In 2010, he was killed in Tikrit after a missile strike by US-Iraqi forces. In the same year, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who was also considered one of the leaders of the ISI, also died.
The new emir of the ISI was a resident of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, previously held in an American concentration camp on suspicion of extremism. The leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq is his compatriot Abu Suleiman al-Nasir. At the same time, he was appointed military adviser to the IGI, and in 2014 became the head of the military council of the Islamic state.
ISIS Education
The emergence of ISIS as an organization, as we see, dates back to the first decade of the 21st century, but the name itself only appeared in April 2013, when ISI expanded its activities to Syria, that is, to the countries of the Levant. Therefore, ISIS is deciphered - the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant. The name of this organization in Arabic transliteration is Daesh. ISIS almost immediately, as it began active operations in Syria, began to attract more and more fighters from other Islamic groups. In addition, militants from the EU, the USA, Russia and several other countries began to flock to this organization.
Syria is embraced by the civil war between the government forces of President Assad and a number of anti-government groups of various kinds. Therefore, the Syrian ISIS was able to easily take control of large areas of the country. This organization was especially successful in 2013-2014. The capital was moved from Baakuba to the Syrian city of Al-Raqqa.
At the same time, the territory of ISIS reached its greatest expansion in Iraq. The group took control of almost the entire province of Anbar, as well as the significant cities of Tikrit and Mosul during the uprising against the Shiite government of Iraq.
The final departure from Al Qaeda
Initially, the ISIS “state” tried to act in alliance with other rebel forces in Syria against the Assad regime, but in January 2014 entered into an open armed conflict with the main opposition force - the Free Syrian Army.
In the meantime, ISIS’s final break with al-Qaida has occurred. The leadership of the latter demanded that the IS take the militants out of Syria and return to Iraq. The only representative of al-Qaeda in Syria was to act only the Al-Nusra Front group. It was she who officially represented the international terrorist organization in the country. ISIS refused to comply with Al Qaeda’s leadership requirements. As a result, in February 2014, al-Qaida stated that it had nothing to do with ISIS, therefore, it could not control this organization or be responsible for its actions.
Shortly thereafter, fights broke out between the Daesh fighters and the Al-Nusra Front.
Proclamation of the caliphate
The history of ISIS takes on a completely different scale after the proclamation of the caliphate. This happened at the end of June 2014. Thus, the organization began to aspire not only to primacy in the region, but to supremacy in the entire Islamic world, with the prospect of establishing a world-wide Caliphate. After that, it became simply referred to as the “Islamic State” (IS) without specifying a specific region. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi assumed the title of Caliph.
The declaration of the caliphate, on the one hand, contributed to further strengthening the authority of the Islamic State in the eyes of many Muslim radicals, which led to an increase in the flow of militants wishing to join the group. But on the other hand, this caused an increase in even greater confrontation with other Islamic organizations that did not want to put up with the primacy of IS.
Allied operation against the IG
Meanwhile, the world community has become increasingly aware of the danger that the Islamic state poses, because the territory of ISIS has continued to grow.
In mid-2014, the United States began to provide direct military assistance to the Iraqi government to combat IS. A little later, Turkey, Australia, France, Germany intervened in the conflict. They consistently conducted bombardments of the location of the IS militants throughout 2014-2015 both in Iraq and in the Syrian state.
Starting in September 2015, at the request of the Syrian government, Russia began to take part in the fight against IS. Her aviation forces also began to strike at the location of the extremist group. True, it was not possible to reach agreements on coordinating actions between Russia and the coalition of Western countries, due to a number of contradictions.
The military assistance of the international contingent contributed to the fact that the territory of ISIS in Iraq was significantly reduced. The militants' offensive in Syria was also suspended, and a number of key positions were recaptured from them. IG leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was seriously injured.
But talking about the victory of the coalition over the Islamic state is still too early.
IG distribution
The main arena of the actions of the Islamic state is the territory of Iraq and Syria. But the organization has spread its influence to other countries. ISIS directly controls certain territories in Libya and Lebanon. In addition, the group has recently begun to actively operate in Afghanistan, recruiting former Taliban supporters into its ranks. The leaders of the Nigerian Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram swore allegiance to the caliph of the Islamic state, and the territories controlled by this organization became known as the IS province. In addition, the IG has its branches in Egypt, the Philippines, Yemen and in many other public entities.
The leaders of the Islamic state aspire to control all the territories that were part of the Arab Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire, which they consider themselves the heirs of.
The organizational structure of the Islamic state
The Islamic state in the form of government can be called theocratic monarchy. The Caliph is the head of state. An organ that has an advisory function is called the Shura. Analogues of ministries are the Intelligence Council, military and legal council, health service, etc. The organization consists of many cells in many countries of the world that have a fairly strong autonomy in management.
The territory claimed by the IG is divided into 37 provinces (administrative units).
Prospects
The Islamic state is a relatively young terrorist organization that spreads across the Earth at a very high speed. She claims to be a leader not only in the Middle East region, but throughout the Muslim world. An increasing number of radically minded people are joining its ranks. The methods of fighting IS are extremely cruel.
To stop further progress of this organization can only concerted and timely action by the international community.