The Islamic State (IS) grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq in the 2000s, declaring a caliphate in 2014 across Iraq and Syria. Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, IS seized territory through military offensives and governed via Sharia law, notable for extreme brutality. IS established an economy from oil/gas, taxation, antiquities trafficking and slavery to become financially self-sufficient. An international coalition conducted airstrikes against IS while local forces retook cities like Ramadi and Mosul. Al-Baghdadi was killed in 2019 but IS affiliates remain active as imprisoned fighters may radicalize others in the future.

1. Islamic State
Prof. Dr. Maria Bordas
National University of Public Service
Faculty of Public Governance and International Relations
2020.

2. Motto

3. OUTLINE
Roots of Islamic State (IS)
Characteristic of IS
Economics of IS
Reaction of World and Latest
development
Conclusions and Q/A session

4. 1. Roots of Islamic State
Al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI);
The tactics of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were
considered too extreme by al-Qaida leaders;
Death 2006
AQI
Islamic State
in Iraq (ISI)

5. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
2010: Leader of ISI
2012: Creation of al-Nusra Front in Syria
April 2013: split of al-Nusra Front and creation of Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
June 2013: ISIL more frequantly named as
The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS)
„Caliph Ibrahim”

6. ISIL
Islamic State
in Iraq and
the Levant
(ISIL)

7. ISIS

8. ISIS
December 2013: alliance with former Saddam’s
military and Sunni militias, tribesmen
Occupation of FALLUDJA
Avril 2014: break with al-Qaeda
June 2014: overran MOSUL, advance towards
Baghdad
July 2014: ISIS Declares the Caliphate

9. 2. Characteristic of IS
It is really a state?

10. What is Islamic State?
Islamic State (IS) is a Islamist terrorist group
that has seized large swathes of territory in
eastern Syria and across northern and
western Iraq.

11. The “Black Banner” or “Black
Standard.”
Mohammed: “the banner of the eagle”

12. „shahada”
„Khatam an-
Nabiyyin”
"Seal of the
Prophets"

13. Letter of Muhammad

14. Presence of IS

16. Ambition of IS

17. „Small
ambition”

18. Islamic State in numbers
Controlled area: 35,000 square miles
(roughly size of Jordan or Belgium*);
Troops: tripled in 2014, 100 000 – 130 000**;
In 2014: around 20 000 executed by IS;
Value of IS’s: 2 – 5 billion USD
Daily revenue: around $3,000,000 (oil, gas,
taxes, etc.)
* Just inhabited areas
**However, by November 2014, the Chief of Staff of Iraqi Kurdistan
estimated that ISIL had a total of 200,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria

19. Including uninhabited areas

20. IS territorial losses by end of 2016

23. After WW I

26. Ethnic and religious composition of
Syria

27. Ethnic composition of Iraq

28. Tribes and Major Confederation in Iraq
Basic unit: Khams
(extended family)
Second level: Biet /house/
(vast extended family)
Number of houses: clan or
fakhdh
Group of clans:
Ashira or tribe
Group of tribes:
Qabila
(confederation)

30. Question of Kurds

31. largest ethnic group without a state

34. Division of Kurds
PKK est.:
10 000 fighters
Pesmerga:
150 000 fighters
YPG:
approx. 60 000 fighters

35. Iran: Shia crescent

36. Sunni supporter: Saudi Arabia

37. Two legs of IS: 1st
Syria
2011: Syrian Civil War;

38. Syrian Refugees

39. Syria

40. More than 215,000 dead in four
years of Syria war

41. 2nd leg: Iraq
2011: US withdrawal from Iraq;
2012: series of attacks, situation is worsening
2013: permanent Sunni protest and upheaval,
brutal governmental reactions (Hawija)

42. ISIS used the security gap
the protest movement went into insurgency,
explosion on 10th of June, request for
autonomy Sunni regions
Marriage with ISIS

43. Current
situation
as of
16/02
2017

44. Strategic
level
Opeartional level
Tactical level

45. Abu Arkan al Amiri
Abu Muhammad al Adnani

47. Our Old Friend: Omar al-Shishani
The Chechen

52. The Kurds are in fight

53. After Mosul….

54. Air campaign against IS
(Operation Inherent Resolve lead
by U.S. Central Command)

56. James Wright Foley
beheading

57. Now it is really
happened….

58. „Jihadi John” alias
Mohammed Emwazi
He was killed in an air
strike lead by U.S.
forces last November
Confirmed by IS

59. Kobani

61. Kurdish woman

63. Rehana

64. Kobani

65. ISIS advance

66. Peshmerga and air strikes

67. Turkey
TR is supporting IS and Palestine terrorists

68. ISIS pushed back

69. YPG is valuable ally for US but it is
a terrorist group for Turkey

70. Military Capabilities

71. High mobility

72. High Mobility

73. Weaponry

74. Heavy weapons

75. Air assets
3 fighters (Sukhoi) of IS has been shout
down by Syrian Air Force

76. More than 2000 airstrikes
• More than 3000 targets (58 tanks, 900 vehicles,
52 bunkers, 673 combat position, around 1000
other buildings)
• Around 5000 bombs
• 15 000 combat sorties
F/A-18F Super Hornet

77. Confirmed air strikes

79. Results of air strikes
2000 killed fighters of IS
costing about $8 million daily
LIMITED and
VERY
COSTLY!!!!

80. Perfect targets

81. IS reaction to the air strikes

82. Mixt of conventional and
asymmetric army

83. The best weapon: media
al-Furqan Institute for Media Production
the al-Hayat Media Center
the Ajnad Media Foundation
use of social media

84. al-Furqan Institute for Media
Production

85. Children soldier

86. Terror of IS

87. Ethnic and religious cleansing

88. Childrens

89. Slavery

90. Extreme brutality

91. Extreme brutality against Christians

92. Mass killing

93. 29 July 2014:
Butchering
1500 POWs of
Iraq’s Army

94. Iraqi sinkhole mass grave for
4,000 ISIS victims

95. Order of IS
stoning

97. Execution publicly

98. Beheading as
a daily practise

99. Quasi-state
Anthem: "My Nation, Dawn Has Appeared”
(Dawn is the name of IS in Arabic language)
Motto:
"Remaining and
Expanding

100. Education

101. Culture of death

102. Sharia

103. Money

104. No smoking Islamic State

105. Execution of homosexuals

106. 3.Economics of Islamic
State

107. Motto
„To wage war, you need first of all money;
second, you need money, and third, you
also need money”
/Prince Raimondo Montecuccoli/

108. The ISIS Business Model
8 million people are living under IS control
ISIS has created a number of revenue streams
“half-mafia-style commercial enterprise, half
pious international charity”
significant difference between ISIS and other
terrorist organizations is that ISIS has managed
to establish its own economy that is mostly
cash-based

110. OIL
38%
NATURAL GAS
17%
CEMENT
10%
PHOSPHATE
10%
EXTORSION
12%
K&R
4%
DONATIONS
2%
WHEAT
7%
Islamic State funding sources by type

111. The looting of banks in Mosul in 2014
20 private banks
and 15 or so
government
bank branches
2 bn USD

112. Illicit arms trade

113. Taxation and extortion
Islamic State generates up to $360 million
per year though taxation and extortion
Customs tax and passage fees (Drivers have
reported paying anywhere from $200 to $1,000
in fees and bribes to move goods into IS
territory in Iraq)
Business tax: 10-35%
Utilities tax: 20 USD/month
Religious tax: Christians: half an ounce of
pure gold (to secure their protection)

114. Underground
trade of
antiquities

115. Apamea on July 2011

116. Apamea on July 2015

117. Palmira
Several hundreds places like Palmira

118. Statues from Palmira
Approx. 250 000 $ each

119. Tax on illicit trade of antiquities
IS is taxing the illicit trade under the Islamic
principle of Al-Khums (the Arabic word for one-
fifth)

120. Donations to ISIS
Rich individuals of Gulf states
Exp.: Abdulrahman al-Nuaymi (Qatar) 2 m USD
~ 100 m USD/year

121. Slave
trade
around 4,000 Yazidi women and girls

122. Selling Human Organs
Approx. 2 million
USD / year

123. Kidnappings
80 journalist kidnapped
about 20 percent of ISIS’s revenue
ISIS has received $20 million in ransoms
so far this year

126. around 300 oil wells in Iraq alone

127. Oil in Syria
ISIS possesses about 60 percent of
Syria’s total production capacity
around 385,000 barrels a day

130. Oil

132. The ISIS Economy
No female-run businesses;
IS decide on prices and people have to accept
that and deal with it;
ISIS controls every detail of the economy;
„Good Life” is just propaganda – reality: heavy
taxation and high unemployment
Meat and chicken are only for ISIS
ISIS’s economic persecution is a deliberate
tactic to force people to capitulate and
support the extremists

133. Financing terror
Muslim Financing House (Central Bank)
90 banks in Iraq, 100 banks is Syria
Own currency

134. 4. Reaction of World

135. 135
Reaction of muslims

137. US changed his policy

138. Coalition against IS
62 countries
against IS
(although most play no direct role in the air
strikes) US, UK, France, Bahrain, Jordan,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates /Iran, the BACKER

141. US: leading role

142. Operation Inherent Resolve
U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 8,125 strikes
(5,321 Iraq / 2,804 Syria).
U.S. has conducted 6,353 strikes in Iraq and Syria (3,695 Iraq /
2,658 Syria)
The countries that have participated in the strikes include:
*In Iraq: (1) Australia, (2) Belgium, (3) Canada, (4) Denmark,
(5) France, (6) Jordan, (7) The Netherlands, and (8) UK
*In Syria: (1) Australia, (2) Bahrain, (3) Canada, (4) France, (5)
Jordan, (6) Saudi Arabia, (7) Turkey and (8) UAE

144. France

145. United Arab
Emirates

147. Cost of Operation
As of Jan. 31, 2016, the total cost of
operations related to ISIL since kinetic
operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $9,5
billion and the average daily cost is $11
million for 540 days of operations

148. Latest development
Cyber attack of ANONYMUS
„War is declared. Get prepared”

149. Burning alive of
Jordanian pilot

150. Jordan: revenge and “earth-
shattering” response

151. United Arab Emirates

152. Barqa Province of the Islamic State.
(Islamic state in Libya)

153. Revenge of Egypt

154. Islamic State’s expansion plan

155. Islamic State affiliates in North
Africa

157. Islamic State in Egypt

158. Egyptian reaction

160. Egypt bloodies war against
terrorism

161. Russian intervention in Syria

163. Russian airstrikes

164. ISIS strikes back

165. Terrorist serial attacks in Paris

166. French reaction

167. Tikrit
More than 1 month of fight
20-30000 versus 1-2000
Mainly Shia militia + Islamic Republican Guard

168. Revenge

169. Lesson learnds
Lot of IEDs, car bombs, snipers
Too many KIAs
Need for Combat Engineers
Military Capabilities of IS are underestimated
5 days 5 weeks

170. Ramadi

171. Recapture Ramadi
7 month of fight
600 US-led coalition airstrikes
F-16 fighter jets flown by Iraqi pilots
the composition of the Iraqi military forces
– Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS)
– formations from the 8th Iraqi Army Division
– local police, and tribal fighters from the Anbar
province.
– Shia militia just secondary role

172. Deadly reaction of IS

173. Bombing in Istanbul

176. Finally Turkey has decided to
fight against IS
4,000–8,000 troops

177. GERMANY
Germany to send up to 1,200 troops;
Six reconnaissance jets;
satellite reconnaissance;
Air tanker

178. Poland

179. Mosul

180. Raqqa

181. Al Bagdadi killed on 26/10/2019

182. New leader
Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-
Salbi;
one of the terror group’s founding members and
has led the enslavement of Iraq’s Yazidi
minority

183. December 2019: The Year the
Islamic State Lost Its Last
Strongholds

184. Conclusion
Many of its militants are now in
prison, but that doesn’t mean the
battle is over. In 2020, conflict
could rise anew.
each party is fighting its own war

185. Conclusion
With so many ex-Islamic State
foreign fighters in prisons in
different countries now, their
recruitment base has only
grown.
America’s conflict with Iran is
making the fight against it more
complicated

186. Thank you for your attention!
Questions?