War against ISIS

The **War against ISIS** was a series of campaigns by a variety of nations against the Islamic State, a terrorist organization that seized control of swaths of originally Syria and Iraq, but also Libya and Palestine, between late 2013 and September 2016. In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State militants during the first half of 2014, and internationally condemned brutality, reported human rights abuses, many states launched interventions in Iraq and Syria, mostly led by either the United States or Iran. The Syrian Civil War and the Second Libyan Civil War merged into the War against IS, with several other wars being started as a result, such as the Gaza Civil War, the Third Intifada and the Saudi Civil War, as well as the escalation of the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The nations fighting ISIS had different and often conflicting goals. Although it is difficult to determine exactly when the war began, but historians generally agree the War in Libya ended with the defeat of IS by Egypt and Tunisia, the War in Iraq ended with defeat of IS by Iran and its Shia Arab and Kurdish allies in August 2016 and in Syria when a Turkish-led coalition of NATO, Jordan and Israel finally defeated IS in Syria with the capture of Damascus on 29 September, 2016. Although the Islamic State ceased to exist as a *de facto* state in the Fertile Crescent, IS survived as a terrorist organization well past September 2016 and conducted numerous attacks against sovereign nations. IS also played a crucial role is the Egyptian Civil War and the formation of the North African Caliphate as a result. IS helped Somali Islamists in the Horn of Africa War and helped Islamist forces defeat Algeria government forces in the Second Algerian Civil War leading the annexation of Algeria by the North African Caliphate.

## Background and Course of War

### Iraq War

The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, which toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. However, the war continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. The United States officially withdrew its troops from Iraq in 2011, but the insurgency and various dimensions of the civil armed conflict have continued. As a result of the war, Iraq held its multi-party elections in 2005, and Nouri al-Maliki later became Prime Minister the following year. The Maliki government enacted policies that was widely seen as having the effect of alienating the country's Sunni minority, which worsened sectarian tensions.

Between January and June 2014, ISIL militants seized at least 70% of the Anbar Province, including the cities of Fallujah, Al Qaim, Abu Ghraib and half of the provincial capital of Ramadi during the Anbar campaign. In early June 2014, following its large-scale offensives in Iraq, ISIL seized control of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq, the nearby town of Tal Afar and most of the surrounding Nineveh province. ISIL also captured parts of Kirkuk and Diyala provinces and Tikrit, the administrative center of the Salahuddin Governorate, with the ultimate goal of capturing Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

In an August offensive, ISIL captured Sinjar and a number of other towns in the north of the country. Almost 200,000 civilians, mostly Yazidis, managed to flee from the fighting in Sinjar city, about 50,000 of them fled into the Sinjar Mountains, where they were trapped without food, water or medical care, facing starvation and dehydration. They had been threatened with death if they refused conversion to Islam. A UN representative said that "a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Sinjar." By the end of the month, ISIL massacred 5,000 Yazidi men, with killings running in the hundreds in different villages. Prompted by the siege and killings of the Yazidis, on 7 August, President Barack Obama authorized targeted airstrikes in Iraq against ISIL, along with airdrops of aid. The UK offered the US assistance with surveillance and refuelling, and planned humanitarian airdrops to Iraqi refugees.

Mid-October, ISIL forces captured the city of Hīt, after the 300-strong Iraqi Army garrison abandoned and set afire its local base and supplies and about 180,000 civilians (including refugees of the previous Anbar offensive) fled the area. Later that month, Operation Ashura is launched by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militas, scoring a major victory and retaking the strategic town of Jurf al-Sakhar near Baghdad, and securing the way for millions of Shia pilgrims who were going to Karbala and Najaf On the Day of Ashura. Kurdish forces, meanwhile, recaptured Zumar.

### Syria Offensive

On 18 September, the ISIL overran the FSA-held town of Azaz in the north. The fighting was the most severe since tensions rose between militant factions in Syria earlier in the year. Soon after ISIL captured Azaz, a ceasefire was announced between the rival rebel groups. However, in early October, more fighting erupted in the town. Conflict was renewed over Azaz in early October and in late November ISIL captured the border town of Atme from an FSA brigade. In 3 January 2014, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front launched an offensive against ISIL in Aleppo and Idlib governorates. On 26 April, the FSA announced they had begun an offensive against ISIL in the Raqqa Governorate, and had seized five towns west of Raqqa city.

Starting on 5 June, ISIL seized swathes of territory in Iraq in addition to heavy weapons and equipment from the Iraqi Army, some of which they brought into Syria. Government airstrikes targeted ISIL bases in Ar-Raqqah and Al-Hasakah in coordination with an Iraqi Army counteroffensive. On 7 August, ISIL took the Brigade 93 base in Raqqah using weapons captured from their offensive in Iraq. Multiple suicide bombs also went off before the base was stormed. On 13 August, ISIL forces took the towns of Akhtarin and Turkmanbareh from rebels in Aleppo. ISIL forces also took a handful of nearby villages. The other towns seized include Masoudiyeh, Dabiq and Ghouz.

American jets began bombing ISIL in Syria on 23 September 2014, raising U.S. involvement in the war-torn country. At least 20 targets in and around Raqqa were hit, the opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Foreign partners participating in the strikes with the United States were Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. The US and "partner nation forces" began striking ISIL targets using fighters, bombers and Tomahawk missiles, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

### Rise in Libya

In September 2014, an IS delegation that had been dispatched by the group's leadership arrived in Libya. The representatives included Abu Nabil al Anbari, a senior aide to al-Baghdadi and a veteran of the Iraq conflict, the Saudi Abu Habib al-Jazrawi, and the Yemeni or Saudi Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi, a militant and preacher from Syria. On 5 October 2014, the Islamic Youth Shura Council-aligned militant factions came together and pledged allegiance to ISIL. After the pledging ceremony, more than 60 pickup trucks filled with fighters cruised through the city in a victory parade. A second more formal gathering involving a larger array of factions took place on 30 October 2014, where the militants gathered to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the city square.

On 13 November 2014, al-Baghdadi released an audio-recording in which he accepted pledges of allegiance from supporters in five countries, including Libya, and announced the expansion of his group to those territories. He went on to announce the creation of three "provinces" in Libya, Barqa (Cyrenaica) in the east, Fezzan in the south, and Tripolitania in the west. In December 2014, IS recruiters in Turkey told their Libyan associates to stop sending fighters to Syria and to focus on domestic attacks instead, according to the *Wall Street Journal*. In the following weeks, Libyan militants that pledged allegiance to IS become increasingly aggressive, carrying out attacks against oil installations and an international hotels, performing mass executions and attempting to take over further Libyan territory.

In June 2015, IS launched an offensive to capture Tobruk and other eastern Libyan cities from the Libyan government. Throughout June, IS managed to capture several towns between Benghazi and Tobruk, and managed to come within only 5km of the border with Egypt. By 27 July, IS troops had solidified their control in Eastern Libya. On 1 August, Ansar al-Sharia swore their allegiance to IS, allowing the group to expand their control in Libya much further, past Benghazi. In September, with IS moving west in Libya, NATO launched a series of airstrikes from bases in Italy. In October, IS forces began engaging Libyan Dawn troops around Sirte. By 15 October, Libyan Dawn forces had withdrawn from Sirte.

### Iranian Intervention in Iraq

After IS seized Mosul in June 2014, Iraqi Ayatollah Sistani issued a call to arms for Iraqi Shia militia to defend Baghdad and the Shia holy cities of Samarra, Karbala and Najaf from the IS threat. Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani coordinated the ground war against IS between Iraqi regular forces and Shia militia commanded by the government in Baghdad and Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting in the north frequently visiting the Iraqi capital and various forces fighting IS on the ground while sending Iranian advisors, soldiers and airmen to assist the Iraqis.

In July, the Iraqi forces and Iranian Quds Force launched an offensive into the Anbar Province. However, the offensive stalled and quickly was cancelled before August. On 12 August, Qassem Soleimani visited the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government to coordinate further offensives against IS. Three days later, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev announced plans to deliver two dozen Sukhoi jets to assist the Iraqi government.

On 26 October, IS launched a renewed offensive against Samarra, in an attempt to surround Baghdad. IS faced stiff resistance from Iraqi Army units and fanatical resistance from Shia militia units defending the Shia shrine in the predominantly Sunni city. The U.S. refused the Iraq government's request for airstrikes in the battle, noting the reputation of Shia militia for brutality towards Sunni civilians and not wanting to be seen as taking sides in a sectarian war. On 1 November, the Quds Force reinforced the Iraqi forces, and Soleimani assumed command of all ground forces. Throughout November and December, front lines in Samarra moved little. On 5 January 2016, several IS suicide bombers infiltrated the defences of Samarra and detonated explosives in the Al-Askar shire, destroying the building. The Iraqi and Iranian forces managed to push IS away from Samarra.

On 30 March 2016, Iranian Revolutionary Guard began crossing the border into Iraq in support of the government. On 10 April, the Revolutionary Guard in coordination with Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in Diyala province.

### Invasion of Libya

On 2 April 2016, the United States, Italy, Britain and France launched airstrikes, hitting both Libyan Dawn and IS targets in Libya. The following day, President of Egypt Abdel al-Sisi ordered the Egyptian army to cross the border into Libya, beginning the invasion of Libya. On 7 April, Tunisia launched their offensive into Libya in coordination with NATO forces.

On 11 April, Egyptian forces secured control of Tobruk from IS in coordination with NATO airstrikes. The following day, Tunisian forces entered Tripoli and entered several days of fierce fighting with the Libyan Dawn faction. By 16 April, CIA sources estimated that Tunisian troops had control of half of the city. On 17 April, Libyan Dawn forces in Tripoli collapses and Tunisian forces liberated the city.

On 22 April, Egyptian forces easily overwhelmed IS forces in Benghazi, effectively ending IS as a major fighting force in Libya. It is believed that IS sympathizers in Sudan assisted fleeing IS fighters reach Syria via Saudi Arabia and Jordan. On 24 April Egyptian forces linked up with Tunisian and NATO forces in Sirte, marking the effective end to the Libya campaign.

### Expulsion from Iraq

On 24 June 2016, Iran launched Operation Saladin, a final offensive to drive the Islamic State from Iraq. However as a consequence the offensive would push the war into Syria. In July 2016, Iranian-led coalition forces managed to wrestle Tikrit out of IS hands with the support of Russian air power. The Battle of Tirkrit lasted for more than two weeks, drawing in similar offensives being launched by Peshmerga and Iraqi Shia militias. On 12 July, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard declared that Tikrit had been cleared of IS and Ba'athist forces. On 14 July they declared that a final offensive towards Mosul.

On 15 July, Peshmerga forces also began an offensive towards Mosul. In late July, Iranian and Iraqi forces entered Mosul, beginning the Second Battle of Mosul. It is estimated that over 2000 civilians were killed in fierce street fighting between coalition and IS troops. On 25 July, NATO airstrikes across Iraq and Syria inadvertently assisted the Iranian-led coalition in Mosul. On 27 July, the coalitions retook Mosul from IS after nearly two years of its occupation. After Mosul was back in Iraqi government hands, almost half a million refugees began to return to the war-torn city.

After the recapture of Mosul, IS forces began retreating back over the border into Syria. However, the Turkish-led offensive driving through eastern Syria cut off the border, leaving many former fighters stranded in Iraq. On 2 August, Iranian and Iraqi forces begun an offensive to clean up remaining pockets of resistance.

### Fall of Syria

In Syria, IS offensives became bogged down in early 2015 as U.S.-led airstrikes assisted the Free Syrian Army and inadvertently the Assad government consolidate their front lines. On 8 August, the heads of 5000 Kurdish prisoners were placed on display in the Kurdish border town of Kobani. On 12 August, Iranian General Qassem Soleimani visited Damascus to advise the Assad regime on a renewed offensive with rebel and IS forces.

In September 2015, IS troops began to force their way towards the strategic city of Homs, under government and rebel control. The three way fight led to a fierce battle as IS troops tried to drive their way into the city. In December it was reported that IS forces has reached the outskirts of Homs. On 10 December, it was reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been found dead in the presidential palace in Damascus, from unknown causes. No group claims responsibility for the killing. Several theories still remain surrounding the killing; a mutiny by government officials to unite the government and opposition forces, rebel assassination, IS assassination or suicide. The military and Hezbollah form a military junta in Syria. The death of Assad has been called the effective end of the Syrian Civil War.

On 15 December, IS launched a new offensive to take Aleppo in the midst of government forces confusion. Ten days later, despite NATO airstrikes, IS had managed to cut off Aleppo from the north, essentially isolating the city from outside supplies. The threat of an IS onslaught led to the military and FSA to form an effective alliance against the IS to defend Homs. By 3 January 2016, IS troops have driven a wedge between FSA and government forces in Aleppo. On 14 January the CIA reported that IS had managed to acquire UAV drones on the black market. The CIA declared they were developing anti-drone systems to combat the new IS drones.

In early February, several Salafist Islamist factions aligned with the FSA in Aleppo defect and join IS in an attempt to protect themselves. On 17 February, FSA and government troops retreated from Aleppo, leaving the city in the hands of IS. On 4 March, IS and other IS-aligned Islamist groups in the areas around Aleppo launched a significant offensive which captured the government-held and SAA military bases in Deir Ez Zoir. At least 1000 Christians were taken prisoner, 2000 were executed as a warning to Western powers and 488 SAA soldiers and 112 Hezbollah troopers were killed in the centre of Deir Ez Zoir itself.

On 15 March, the Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Nusra Front officially merged with IS, giving IS more control across Syria. On 17 March, IS forces using captured SAA tanks and APC's from Aleppo, commenced a major offensive around Homs, Hama and Damascus from the east and northeast. FSA and moderate Syrian rebel groups were pushed back on all fronts and only just survived the initial assaults. This offensive lasted throughout March and April, with IS finally crushing resistance in Hama and Homs on 19 and 25 April respectively.

The Battle of Damascus began on 26 April as IS forces drove south and westwards towards the Syrian capital. Hezbollah moved its remaining forces into Syria to support the government forces. On 5 May, in a desperate attempt to drive back the assault on Damascus, government forces began large scale chemical attacks on IS and FSA forces in the northern and eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital. Aircraft and artillery dropped rounds of phosgene, chorine gas, sarin gas and other deadly chemical agents on concentrations of enemy forces killing thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. On 16 May, the U.S. deployed Special Forces into Damascus to support FSA forces against the government and IS.

On 29 May, IS and Al-Nusra launched a major offensive against Syrian government and FSA forces in the outskirts of Southern Damascus. They advanced quickly into Damascus, taking several rebel-controlled suburbs and areas including the Ghouta district. On 11 June Israel bombarded IS positions in and around Damascus and Daraa to blunt the militants’ offensive towards the Golan. Reports of coordination between the IDF and Hezbollah, sworn enemies, along the frontier with IS surface, although both sides denied cooperating with the other. On 25 June, IS claimed to have captured Damascus after weeks of fierce fighting. Conflicting reports claim government remnants were still actively fighting in the city.

### War in Palestine

*See Full Articles: Gaza Civil War & Third Intifada*

In May, rebellions fueled by Islamic State agitators broke out in the West Bank against the Palestinian Authority. These clashes lead to the deaths of 800 people and a further 1,200 injured. On 25 May, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that there was evidence of the Islamic State orchestrating the rebellions. He also announced that the Israeli Defence Force would be used in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip to restore order to those areas.

On 28 May, Hamas declared that it was at war with several IS-aligned Islamist factions operating in Gaza, starting what many see as the beginning of the Gaza Civil War. Amnesty International estimated that 3000 people died in the conflict between Hamas and IS alone. A further 6000 fled to the border crossings with Israel and Egypt to escape the war. On 2 June, the United States deployed military advisors were deployed to Israel to coordinate the response with the IDF.

On 5 June, the IDF launched its offensive into Gaza, the West Bank and the occupied Golan Heights - a pre-cursor to the Israeli invasion of Syria. On 8 June, Israel launched the largest and most ambitious drone campaign in history, sending dozens of attack drones over Gaza, striking both Hamas and IS targets. On 11 June, Hamas and IS declare and informal ceasefire to drive Israel from Gaza.

On 18 June, Netanyahu stated that "the fight will go on until IS is eliminated in the Palestinian Territories" warning of a whole sale takeover of Gaza and the West Bank by the Islamic State. Israel mobilised an additional 75,000 reserves to fight in the West Bank and Gaza. In early July, the IDF shifted its focus from Jerusalem to controlling Ramallah and the central West Bank. On 15 July, the IDF began to withdraw from the West Banks, claiming that it had eliminated the IS presence. Israel hands security over the PA.

Two days later, Netanyahu declared the unilateral cessation of IDF operations in Gaza, claiming that IS had been eliminated. Some media outlets report that President of Turkey Erdogan and U.S. President Obama pressured Netanyahu into withdrawing from Gaza, and to focus its forces towards Syria.

### Turkish & Coalition Invasion

Only 16 July, Turkey opened up an massive offensive along its entire border with Syria. Airstrike and a massive artillery barrage were launched to clear the way for Turkish forces to advance. Turkish armour and troops began pouring across the frontier, driving to capture Aleppo and Raqqa first. The following day, NATO and their allies launched an air campaign to clear the path for Turkish forces on the ground.

On 23 July, the Turkish Army took control of Raqqa, the former *de facto* capital of IS and their primary base of operations until the capture of Damascus. The CIA and Turkish intelligence attempted to convince many moderate rebel and jihadist factions to defect from IS and join the remnants of the Free Syrian Army. On 26 July, IS launched a counteroffensive, using chemical weapons captured from the Assad regime against Turkish forces. On 30 July, the Turkish Army liberated Dayr-az-Zawr, encountering evidence of mass graves where IS massacred the city’s Christians and pro-Assad POWs.

On 3 August, the Battle of Aleppo began, with Turkish forces wearing chemical suits to defend themselves against possible sarin and chlorine gas attacks. Two days later, the Turkish forces used helicopters to land in and capture the city of Palmyra. By 8 August, the Turkish forces had reached the border with Jordan and Turkish forces shake hands with Jordanian garrisons along the border. On 13 August, remnants of the FSA, Assad regime, Kurdish militias declared the Syrian Federal Republic, backed by the Syrian National Coalition.

Turkish forces managed to capture Aleppo on 17 August. IS captured several American Special Forces in Damascus on 18 August.