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| Daesh (ISIL) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Daesh (ISIL) |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Abu Musab al-Zarqawi |
| Active | 1999–present (disputed) |
| Area | Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sinai, West Africa, Afghanistan |
| Ideology | Salafi jihadism |
| Status | Insurgent, proscribed |
Daesh (ISIL) Daesh (ISIL) is an armed Salafi-jihadist organization that emerged from armed insurgencies in Iraq and Syria and declared a transnational caliphate in 2014, provoking regional and international military campaigns by states and coalitions such as the United States and Russia. Its leadership, austere interpretation of Sunni Islam, and tactics have driven global counterterrorism responses by entities including NATO and the United Nations Security Council. The group’s territorial rise and subsequent territorial collapse reshaped geopolitics across the Levant, Maghreb, and Sahel.
The organization is commonly referred to by several names used by actors such as the United Nations and national governments, including acronyms associated with the Arabic name and translations that reference a self-declared Caliphate and a purported state in Iraq and Syria, terms that feature in diplomatic statements by the European Union and the United Kingdom. Media outlets like the BBC and The New York Times vary in usage, while scholars in institutions such as Brookings Institution and RAND Corporation analyze naming as a policy and propaganda issue. Some states adopt derogatory or alternative designations to delegitimize the group, a practice evident in statements by the French Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Roots trace to insurgent networks active after the 2003 Iraq War and fighters linked to Al-Qaeda franchises, evolving from leaders associated with the Iraqi insurgency and militant nodes tied to figures like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and later commanders who clashed with the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Ideology synthesizes elements from texts and clerics debated in institutions such as Darul Ifta and polemics against doctrines defended by scholars aligned with Muslim Brotherhood-related movements. The group advances a puritanical interpretation of Sharia as framed in its own publications and rhetoric targeting rival Sunni and Shia actors including the Government of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic, and transnational sectarian networks centered in Qom and Najaf.
Command evolved from centralized emirates to a networked model integrating provincial affiliates such as those in Libya, Sinai Peninsula, West Africa, and Khorasan Province in Afghanistan. Senior figures such as succession lines discussed after the death of prominent leaders were targeted by strikes from the United States Central Command and intelligence operations by agencies like the MI6 and Mossad. Affiliates coordinate with or splinter into groups linked to local insurgencies including factions in Anbar Governorate, Aleppo Governorate, and Derna District, while oversight and disputes have featured courts and administrations modeled on institutions seen in historic entities like the Ottoman Empire and modern state bureaucracies.
Peak territorial control included major urban centers such as Mosul and Raqqa, which served as administrative and propaganda hubs until counteroffensives by coalitions involving Iraq, the Syrian Democratic Forces, the International Coalition against ISIL, and air campaigns by the United States Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Forces. Key battles and sieges encompassed the Battle of Mosul (2016–17), operations in Raqqa (2017), and campaigns in Palmyra, with logistical routes contested along corridors including Euphrates River valleys and border crossings near Al-Shaddadi. Regional theaters extended to insurgent warfare in Benghazi, Boko Haram-affected regions of Nigeria, and clashes in Helmand Province.
Revenue streams combined illicit oil sales from fields in Iraq and Syria, taxation and extortion in occupied territories, antiquities trafficking via networks touching Antiquities trade markets, kidnapping-for-ransom operations involving actors across the Levant and Maghreb, and donations routed through sympathetic diaspora nodes in Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Recruitment leveraged online platforms and social media ecosystems centered on narratives referencing events such as the Syrian Civil War and battles like Ramadi, drawing foreign fighters from states including Tunisia, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and Germany. Propaganda apparatus produced magazines and videos that circulated through platforms monitored and sometimes removed by corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and communications firms regulated under laws in the United States and European Union.
Documented abuses include mass executions, enslavement, sexual violence, ethnic and religious persecution targeting communities such as the Yazidis and Assyrian people, and the destruction of cultural heritage sites including antiquities in Palmyra and museums catalogued by institutions like UNESCO. Investigations by bodies including the International Criminal Court-linked experts, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and UN commissions documented patterns consistent with war crimes and crimes against humanity, prompting legal and humanitarian responses by entities such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Responses encompassed multinational military interventions by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, unilateral strikes by states including the United States and Russia, intelligence cooperation through mechanisms like Interpol and bilateral agreements, sanctions regimes enacted by the United Nations Security Council, and legal measures by national courts in the United Kingdom, France, and Iraq. Non-military measures included deradicalization programs in countries such as Germany and Jordan, border security enhancements coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and humanitarian assistance channeled via organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Territorial defeat after operations culminating in the fall of remaining strongholds prompted transitions to insurgency, with affiliates and sleeper cells reconstituting activity in regions such as the Sahel, Sinai, and Khorasan Province, while lone-actor attacks occurred in cities including Paris, Manchester, and Istanbul. The phenomenon influenced doctrinal revisions in counterterrorism by militaries like the US Army and legal adaptations in domestic legislation in states such as the United States and United Kingdom. Its legacy includes significant demographic displacement documented by the International Organization for Migration, enduring regional instability affecting reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Syria, and scholarly debates in institutions such as Harvard University and Georgetown University on radicalization, post-conflict governance, and transitional justice.