Military Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

1 military

1.1 number of combatants
1.2 conventional weapons
1.3 non-conventional weapons

military

number of combatants

estimates of size of isil s military vary widely, tens of thousands 200,000. in 2015, journalist mary anne weaver estimated half of isil fighters foreigners. un report estimated total of 15,000 fighters on 80 countries in isil s ranks in november 2014. intelligence estimated increase around 20,000 foreign fighters in february 2015, including 3,400 western world. in september 2015, cia estimated 30,000 foreign fighters had joined isil.

according abu hajjar, former senior leader of isil, foreign fighters receive food, petrol , housing, unlike native iraqi or syrian fighters, not receive payment in wages.

conventional weapons

isil relies on captured weapons major sources including saddam hussein s iraqi stockpiles 2003–11 iraq insurgency , weapons government , opposition forces fighting in syrian civil war , during post-us withdrawal iraqi insurgency. captured weapons, including armour, guns, surface-to-air missiles, , aircraft, enabled rapid territorial growth , facilitated capture of additional equipment. example, isil captured us-made tow anti-tank missiles supplied united states , saudi arabia free syrian army in syria.

non-conventional weapons

the group uses truck , car bombs, suicide bombers , ieds, , has used chemical weapons in iraq , syria. isil captured nuclear materials mosul university in july 2014, unlikely able convert them weapons. in september 2015 official stated isil manufacturing , using mustard agent in syria , iraq, , had active chemical weapons research team. isil has used water weapon of war. group closed gates of smaller nuaimiyah dam in fallujah in april 2014, flooding surrounding regions, while cutting water supply shia-dominated south. around 12,000 families lost homes , 200 km² of villages , fields either flooded or dried up. economy of region suffered destruction of cropland , electricity shortages.

during battle of mosul reported commercially available quadcopters , drones being used isil surveillance , weapons delivery platforms using extemporised cradles drop grenades , other explosives. isil drone facility became target of royal air force strike aircraft.