Territorial control and claims Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

1 territorial control , claims

1.1 iraq , syria
1.2 libyan provinces
1.3 sinai province
1.4 algerian province
1.5 khorasan province
1.6 yemen provinces
1.7 west african province
1.8 north caucasus province
1.9 southeast asia
1.10 islamic state in gaza
1.11 other areas of operation

territorial control , claims

     areas controlled of september 2017      remaining territory in countries isil presence

as self-proclaimed worldwide caliphate, isil claims religious, political , military authority on muslims worldwide, , legality of emirates, groups, states, , organisations, becomes null expansion of khilāfah s [caliphate s] authority , arrival of troops areas . outside iraq , syria, controls territory in sinai, afghanistan, , libya.

iraq , syria

much of raqqa has suffered extensive damage during battle of raqqa in june–october 2017

since december 2013, ongoing clashes have occurred throughout western iraq between tribal militias, iraqi security forces, , isil. in january 2014, isil militants captured cities of fallujah , hīt, bringing of anbar province under control. in june 2014 isil took on iraqi city of mosul. december 2015, islamic state covered vast landlocked territory in western iraq , eastern syria, population estimate of 2.8 8 million people.

in iraq , syria, isil uses many of countries existing governorate boundaries subdivide claimed territory; calls these divisions wilayah or provinces. june 2015, had established official provinces in libya, egypt (sinai peninsula), saudi arabia, yemen, algeria, afghanistan, pakistan, nigeria , north caucasus. since then, isil has continued receive pledges of allegiance , publish media releases groups in countries somalia, bangladesh , philippines, has not announced further official branches, instead identifying new affiliates soldiers of caliphate .

libyan provinces

isil organises libyan branch using country s 3 historical regions, cyrenaica in east, fezzan in desert south, , tripolitania in west. have been active , successful of isil branches outside iraq , syria. has been active particularly around derna, , gaddafi s hometown sirte. group grew following allegiance of militant groups shura council of islamic youth.

isil temporarily controlled part of derna before being driven out in mid-2015 rival militant islamist group, support libyan air force. libya’s interim government launched major offensive against isil territory around sirte in may 2016, capturing city december 2016. libyan national army, led commander general khalifa haftar, has clashed isil, making advances against group in benghazi , ajdabiya.

since battle of sirte (12 may – 6 december 2016) isil lost of territories in libya forces of government of national accord (gna), backed united states. , of 11 november 2017 last pockets of isil-affiliated shura council of benghazi revolutionaries captured lna after 3 years of fighting.

sinai province

on 10 november 2014, many members of group ansar bait al-maqdis took oath of allegiance al-baghdadi. following this, group assumed designation sinai province (wilayat sinai). estimated have 1,000–2,000 fighters. faction of sinai group operates in gaza strip, calling islamic state in gaza. claimed responsibility downing of russian metrojet flight 9268, killed 224 people on board, although egyptian officials disputed claim.

algerian province

members of jund al-khilafah swore allegiance isil in september 2014. isil in algeria gained notoriety when beheaded french tourist herve gourdel in september 2014. since then, group has largely been silent, reports leader khalid abu-sulayman killed algerian forces in december 2014.

khorasan province

on 26 january 2015, khorasan province (wilayat khorasan) established, hafiz saeed khan named wāli (governor) , abdul rauf deputy after both swore oath of allegiance al-baghdadi. name khorasan refers historical region includes afghanistan, pakistan, , other nearby lands .

on 9 february 2015, mullah abdul rauf killed nato airstrike, , replacement, hafiz wahidi, killed afghan armed forces on 18 march 2015. hafiz saeed khan, emir of isil s khorasan province, reportedly killed in drone strike in eastern afghanistan on 25 july 2016.

yemen provinces


current military situation in yemen:

on 13 november 2014, unidentified militants in yemen pledged allegiance isil. december of year, isil had built active presence inside yemen, recruitment drive bringing direct competition al-qaeda in arabian peninsula (aqap). in february 2015, reported members of ansar al-sharia in yemen had split aqap , pledged allegiance isil. yemeni civil war escalated in march 2015, @ least 7 isil wilayat, named after existing provincial boundaries in yemen, claimed responsibility attacks against houthis, including hadhramaut province, shabwah province, , sana province.

zaidiyyah houthis (organised in supreme revolutionary committee) principal enemies of yemen s isil branch. while government supports saudi-led military intervention in yemen against houthis, many in united states special operations command favour houthis, have been effective force in rolling al-qaeda , isil in yemen, hundreds of u.s. drone strikes , large numbers of advisers yemen s military had failed accomplish . guardian reported: 50 civilians die in forgotten war, isis , al-qaida gaining conflict tearing yemen apart , leaving 20 million people in need of aid.

west african province

on 7 march 2015, boko haram s leader abubakar shekau pledged allegiance islamic state of iraq , levant via audio message posted on organisation s twitter account. on 12 march 2015, isil s spokesman abu mohammad al-adnani released audio tape in welcomed pledge of allegiance, , described expansion of group s caliphate west africa. isil publications late march 2015 began referring members of boko haram part of wilayat gharb afriqiya (west africa province). group suffered split in 2016, isil appointing abu musab al-barnawi group s new leader, due disagreements abubakar shekau s leadership. rejected shekau , supporters, continued operate independently.

north caucasus province

some commanders of caucasus emirate in chechnya , dagestan switched allegiance isil in late 2014 , 2015. on 23 june 2015, isil spokesman abu mohammad al-adnani accepted pledges of allegiance , announced new caucasus province (wilayat al-qawqaz) under leadership of rustam asildarov.

southeast asia

on 23 july 2014, abu sayyaf leader isnilon totoni hapilon in philippines swore oath of loyalty abu bakr al-baghdadi, leader of isil. in september 2014, group began kidnapping people held ransom, in name of isil. in 2015, members of khalifa islamiyah mindanao pledged allegiance isil. @ same time, ansar khalifa philippines born merger of ansar khalifah sarangani other umbrella groups pro-isil in nature. in may 2017, pro-isil group called maute group attacked , seized parts of southern philippine city of marawi on mindanao island.

on 17 october 2017, philippine president duterte declared marawi liberated terrorist influence . on 23 october 2017, philippine defense secretary delfin lorenzana announced five-month battle against terrorists in marawi had ended. recapture of marawi government led failure of militants establish provincial isil territory (wilayat) in philippines.

islamic state in gaza

in february 2014, mujahideen shura council in environs of jerusalem declared support isil. on 2 april 2015, elements of group, along members of army of islam , gaza faction of ansar bait al-maqdis, formed sheikh omar hadid brigade, known islamic state in gaza, predominantly operates in gaza strip.

other areas of operation

unidentified militants in saudi arabia pledged allegiance isil – designated province of isil.
the free sunnis of baalbek brigade (lebanon) pledged allegiance isil.
sons of call tawhid , jihad (jordan) pledged allegiance isil.
janood-ul-khalifa-e-hind (india) pledged allegiance isil.
ansar al-khilafah (brazil) pledged allegiance isil.
profetens ummah (norway) pledged allegiance isil.
mujahidin indonesia timur (indonesia) pledged allegiance isil.




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