Military of the Islamic State

Military of the Islamic State
Military of the Islamic State
Active	1999–2014 (as an insurgent force under various names); 2014–present (officially as part of the Islamic State)
Country	Main:; Afghanistan; Democratic Republic of Congo; Egypt; Iraq; Libya; Mozambique; Nigeria; Pakistan; Somalia; Syria; Yemen; In the Levant; 5,000–10,000 (UN Security Council 2019 report); 70,000 (Russian military estimate in 2014); 100,000 (IS claim in 2015); 5,000–15,000 (Defense Department estimate); 2,000–5,000 (State Department estimate) Outside the Levant West Africa: 7,000–10,000 (Feb. 2015 estimate of Boko Haram fighters); Libya: estimates vary; 5,000–6,500 (Feb. 2016, New York Times citing Pentagon officials); "about 5,000" (Feb. 2016, al-Jazeera citing "security analyst"); "up to 6,500" (Feb. 2016, CNN citing "several U.S. intelligence officials"); Jordan: several thousand members of Salafi jihadist groups that have pledged allegiance to ISIL (Jordan Times, 2014); Several Jordanian jihadist ideologues have endorsed ISIL; ISIL sleeper cells exist in the country (about 20 killed by Jordanian security forces, and many more arrested, from 2014 to April 2016); 2,000+ Jordanians became IS foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria.; Turkey: nearly 1,000 arrested by Turkish security forces in 2015; Egypt: 1,000-1,500 members of ISIL's Sinai Province, primarily in North Sinai Governorate where Sinai insurgency is ongoing (May 2016, Wilson Center estimate); Yemen: "dozens"; (Jan. 2015, CNN citing Yemeni official) "about 300" (June 2015, Aimen Dean estimate to Reuters); By March 2016, ISIL numbers in Yemen were falling; Afghanistan and Pakistan (ISIL's "Khorasan Province"): 300 (Jan. 2015, ISIL commander claim, cited by New York Times); 2,000, including 500 in allied Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan group (Sept. 2015 estimate by spokesman for Abdul Rashid Dostum, reported by AP); Somalia: 200–300; Algeria: unknown; Saudi Arabia: unknown, presence in central Saudi Arabia; Saudi authorities have arrested more than 1,600 suspected ISIL supporters (Wilson Center, 2016); Russia: unknown, North Caucasus region (Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria). In June 2015, ISIL accepted the pledge of allegiance of the formerly al-Qaeda-affiliated Caucasus Emirate, which became ISIL's "Caucasus Province" (Wilson Center, 2016); Jammu and Kashmir, India: about 30 youth from area thought to have become ISIL foreign fighters (Oct. 2014, Times of India citing security agencies); Europe: unknown; presence of sleeper cells and lone wolf operatives and ISIL is thought to have attempted to smuggle militants to Europe;
Headquarters	Raqqa, Syria (2013–2017)
Engagements	War in Afghanistan (2001–present); Iraq conflict ; Syrian Civil War; Boko Haram insurgency; Second Libyan Civil War; Sinai insurgency; Yemeni Civil War (2015–present); Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir; Somali Civil War (2009–present); Moro conflict; Gaza–Israel conflict; For more details, see List of wars and battles involving ISIL
Commanders
Current; commander	Abu Suleiman al-Naser † ; (Current Head of Military Council) Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti †; (second-in-command in Syria, late 2016); Abu Omar al-Shishani † ; (leading field commander); Abu Waheeb † ; (Commander in Anbar, Iraq); Muhammand Abdullah (Commander in Libya); Shadi el-Manaei ; (Commander in Sinai); Hafiz Saeed Khan † ; (Emir in Afghanistan and Pakistan); Abu Muhammad al-Kadari † (Commander in North Caucasus);
Insignia
Black Standard (variant)

The Military of the Islamic State is the fighting force of the Islamic State (IS). The total force size at its peak was estimated from tens of thousands to over two hundred thousand. IS's armed forces grew quickly during its territorial expansion in 2014. The IS military, including groups incorporated into it in 2014, openly operates and controls territory in multiple cities in Libya and Nigeria. In October 2016, it conquered the city of Qandala in Puntland, Somalia. It conquered much of eastern Syria and western Iraq in 2014, territory it lost finally only in 2019. It also has had border clashes with and made incursions into Lebanon, Iran, and Jordan. IS-linked groups operate in Algeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and in West Africa (Cameroon, Niger, and Chad). In January 2015, IS was also confirmed to have a military presence in Afghanistan and in Yemen.

The Islamic State's military is based on light infantry mobile units using vehicles such as gun-equipped pick-up trucks (technicals), motorbikes and buses for fast advances. They have also used artillery, tanks and armored vehicles, much of which they captured from the Iraqi and Syrian Armies.

IS has a long history of using truck and car bombs, suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices. They have also deployed chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria.

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