The Islamic State started as an Al Qaeda splinter group. It was previously called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It has declared itself as a caliphate and claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world. It is an unrecognised state and in its self-proclaimed status it aspires to bring most of the Musliminhabited regions of the world under its political control beginning with territory in the Levant region which includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and part of southern Turkey. It has been designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the group of grave human rights abuses.

As a result of alleged economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis, ISIS has significantly gained support, in Iraq, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now reportedly killed in a US air attack in Iraq. After entering the Syrian civil war, it has established a large presence in Syria. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has estimated in September 2014 that in both countries it has between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters. ISIS had close links to Al Qaeda until February 2014 when, after an eight-month power struggle, Al Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality.

The IS currently controls hundreds of square kilometres of territory and it ignores international borders. It has a presence from Syria’s Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad. It rules by Sharia law. Its fighters are mostly Saddam Hussein’s military (former Iraqi soldiers ) which was disbanded and were unable to serve under the new Iraq Government.

The aim of ISIS is to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria. Its long-term objective is the establishment of a worldwide Caliphate, reflected in frequent media reports by means of images of the world united under a ISIS banner.

Territory

ISIS has rapidly expanded its control over Iraq and Syria by seizing towns and cities near major supply routes, critical infrastructure and border crossings.

Over the summer of 2014, the group has penetrated deeper into Syria, regaining some territory it had lost to other rebel groups and capturing several government military bases. It is still trying to consolidate its control along the border between Iraq and Syria. They have experienced some setbacks in Iraq, where American airstrikes helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces reclaim the Mosul Dam and the Turkmen city of Amerli.

Money Supply to the Islamic State

Millions of dollars in oil revenue have made ISIS one of the wealthiest terror groups in history. Experts estimate the value of the output from the dozen or so oilfields and refineries under its control in Iraq and Syria at $1 million to $2 million a day. The Islamic State is reportedly selling oilstored or produced in areas under its control at a steep discount to market prices. Truck loads are being smuggled through the border with Turkey.

The group controls many of Syria’s eastern oilfields. In July 2014, ISIS fighters took control of the country’s largest oilfield, Omar, which was producing about 30,000 barrels a day when it was fully functioning. Recently it was producing about a third of that or less.

On August 21, 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the extremist group ISIS, already a formidable military force, has enhanced its power by amassing huge piles of cash, thanks in part to individual donors from the Middle East. Fabius said that beyond military support, Western and Middle East countries must agree on measures to dry up the Islamic State’s finances because the Islamic State’s vast cash resources have allowed it to remunerate foreign fighters who have joined its cause and to secure weapons, ammunition and food supplies to function like a full-fledged army.

ISIS Armaments

ISIS armaments are predominantly a mix of veteran Soviet tanks; large, advanced US-made systems; and black market arms. Tanks acquired from the Syrians included T-72, a relatively modern Soviet design, and the T-55, a post-World War II model. They have also captured Chinese copies of Soviet field and anti-aircraft guns from the Iraqi and Syrian armies. Both countries are known to have bought directly from China over a decade ago. According to Brown Moses, a UK based blog, that has emerged during the Syrian civil war as the foremost authority on the weapons used in that conflict, ISIS has now obtained rocket launchers, grenade launchers and American-made M60 machine guns from Croatia through Saudi Arabia.

ISIS has managed to infiltrate Iraqi bases in Mosul, gaining access to sophisticated US weaponry. They have apparently taken enough US weapons from the Iraqi military in Mosul. According to various media reports, ISIS can’t really use many of the modern US weapons that fell into its possessions, and knows it and has therefore destroyed much of the heavy equipment it captured in Iraq: M1 tanks, M113 armoured personnel carriers, MRAP heavy armoured trucks, and other multimilliondollar pieces of equipment which they knew they couldn’t use. Many of the advanced pieces of US equipment have been destroyed so that the Iraqi Army cannot use them in the future, according to media reports.

US War Efforts against IS

President Barack Obama has vowed that the United States will not fight another ground war in Iraq, seeking to reassure Americans about the level of US involvement after General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff,, suggested combat troops could be deployed against ISIS forces. President Obama, who has spent much of his presidency distancing himself from the Iraq War, stressed during a speech at Mac-Dill Air Force Base in Tampa that air strikes would be the central US contribution to the fight against ISIS, along with coordinating a coalition that he said now includes more than 40 countries.

Commander Bill Urban, a Pentagon spokesman, said: “As of December 11, 2014, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on August 8, 2014, is $1.02 billion and the average daily cost is $8.1 million.” The Pentagon’s latest statistics show that as of December 19, 2014, the US and its coalition partners had flown 1,371 airstrikes in both countries – 799 in Iraq and 572 in Syria. More than 1,600 American advisers have been dispatched to help Iraqi forces but Obama does not want them to get involved in ground combat to avoid a repeat of the Iraq War begun by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

International Coalition formed against ISIS

The United States-led coalition to fight the Islamic State militant group continues to grow, with numerous nations providing varying levels of backing in the form of military equipment, aid and political support. In his speech to the United Nations on September 24, 2014, President Obama said, “Already, over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition.” But on September 23, 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry said more than 50 nations have agreed to join the coalition. And in a document released by the State Department, 62 nations (including the European Union and the Arab League) are listed as providing support to the US-led coalition. The strongest allies in the coalition are those providing air support to the United States, while others are offering delivery services and some are providing humanitarian aid. The extremist group is believed to have recruits from 51 countries.

A Fractious Coalition

Strategic analysts are not at all confident of the coalition formed by the US for war against the ISIS. The basic doubts arise from the true intention of all coalition partners. The difficulties faced by coalition partners dictate the duplicity of their actions. Iraq has a new government of Haider al-Abadi, who has pledged to fight ISIS and to be more inclusive than the previous regime. But it urgently needs to improve military performance and to win the support of alienated Sunnis. Syria, for effective action against ISIS strongholds, will need to be backed up by more effective Syrian rebel capabilities on the ground – creating a tricky situation for the US, UK and other western backers. Turkey, NAT O’s only Muslim member, is prepared to support only humanitarian actions. Jordan is nervous about direct involvement in US-led effort. It worries about domestic backlash from Sunni extremists. Lebanon fears and attacks from Syria-based extremists and consequent de-stabilisation. It is already hosting millions of Syrian refugees. Hezbollah actively supports Syrian forces and blames the US for not being serious about fighting ISIS and being too close to the Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia is clearly intimidated by ISIS and stung by international criticism that it has created the monster. It has agreed to US request to train Syrian rebels and is reportedly prepared to use air power against ISIS. It is worried about strengthening Assad and Iran. UAE is wary of the threat from Islamists ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to Al Qaeda and ISIS and is happy to blur the huge differences between them. It is believed to have offered to use its air force to attack ISIS. Qatar is the wealthiest emirate that has backed the Muslim Brotherhood across the Arab world, especially in Egypt, and used Al Jazeera TV as a cheerleader for the changes of the Arab Spring. Like the Saudis, it has ardently backed anti-Assad Islamist rebels in Syria and is now being attacked for supporting ISIS. Kuwait is under pressure to cut off private donations to ISIS. Wealthy businessmen have played a big role in funding anti-Assad rebels. Bahrain has been host to a conference on how to cut off funding to ISIS. Egypt backs the campaign against ISIS but wants a wider international effort against the jihadis of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, an Al Qaeda affiliate operating in Sinai. It has complained about the non-delivery of US Apache helicopters to fight its own ‘war on terror’. Apparently using the ISIS crisis to advance its own interests. Egypt’s grand mufti condemned the terror group as un-Islamic. But there are signs that it sees Assad as the lesser evil in Syria.

Analysis of ISIS

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria controls territory greater than many countries and now rivals Al Qaeda as the world’s most powerful jihadist group. Consequent to their geostrategic gains, the cruelty and violence resorted to by IS against their opponents indicate a strong ideological force behind the supporters of the organisation. Mass executions, crucifixion and torture are their hallmark which snuffs out local dissent. These activities are similar to the listed terrorist organisations around the world. This serves two purposes. One is that through their activities dissent is suppressed and an aura of legitimacy is created. This in turn leads to strategic gains.

The ease with which IS has expanded through Iraq owes a large part to the resentment held by the Sunni minority towards Shia strongman Nouri al-Maliki, the former Prime Minister of Iraq. This resentment has been the product of poor policies and political choices that have led many to believe that he was manipulating the political system for personal gains at the expense of the Sunni minorities. Joshua Brown in his article on “Islamic State: A Geopolitical Analysis” writing for the Australian Institute of International Affairs says. “This resentment within the Sunni communities has allowed IS to incite sentiments of victimisation, as well as notions of cultural redemption. Hence, this has, at the least, resulted in largescale apathy towards the organisation’s expansion and, more worryingly, brutal forms of fanaticism in their supporters. Although the crisis is not specifically the result of the Sunni-Shia split, it seems as if Maliki is trying to take advantage of it by mobilising his Shia allies. If he is successful, the implications are broad for the region.”

The Iranian response to the situation is also a result of this. It has given them an opportunity to extend their support to the Shia community in Iraq in the hope of extending their regional influence in Iraq. In the meanwhile Maliki claimed that IS is secretly being funded by the Gulf countries, suggesting vested interests from the south that run contrary to Iran’s wishes.

In this ensuing turmoil, the Kurdish Peshmerga have also managed to solidify long held territorial claims. Ironically, while this directly challenges the territorial holdings of IS; this move also complicates Turkish and Iranian positions and influences in the area, with both now being forced into tentative negotiations with the minority group. The current state of affairs in this region is also being seen as the US’s neglect of responsibilities to stabilise the region after the Iraq invasion. This scenario has left other countries outside the region with few options beyond the usual ‘wait and watch’.

Global Efforts to Halt Movement of Terror Recruits

In the meanwhile, the world is waking up to the perils of allowing terrorist organisations like the ISIS to flourish. The UN Security Council, at a meeting chaired by President Obama, unanimously passed a resolution on September 24, 2014, cracking down on the flow of foreign fighters to militant organisations such as ISIS. The council voted 15-0 to compel countries to make it a crime for their citizens to travel abroad to fight with militants or recruit other people to do it. Obama is the only American President to chair a Security Council meeting. He also did it in 2009. He said that resolutions alone would not be enough because promises on paper can’t keep us safe. He further said that lofty rhetoric and good intentions would not stop a single terrorist attack and they needed to be translated into action.

Indian Connection

In mid-2014, it was reported that there were 39 Indians who are captives of IS in Iraq. Since then contradictory reports have been received over their safety. The government continues to believe that they are alive but is not aware of their location.

In August 2014, parents of three Muslim boys in three different Indian states reported to the police that their sons – aged between 18 and 30 – had left home, leaving notes behind that announced they were joining the ISIS to fight in Iraq and Syria.

There is a view that given the benign form of Islam followed by such Indian Islamic hotspots as Kashmir, IS will not get very far. But it was an Al Qaeda affiliate that launched an attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. It was a Muslim of Kashmiri origin who was hanged for that attack.

Media has reported the dispatch of Syed Asif Ibrahim, Director, Intelligence Bureau, for a week-long trip to Saudi Arabia to discuss radicalisation of Muslim youth over the Internet. He has been instrumental in breaking up of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and arresting Yasin Bhaktal the co founder of IM.

It seems that Saudi Arabia has assured India that it will not allow any Haj pilgrims to stray into Syria or Iraq.

Incidents have also been reported by the media of seperatist elements flying the IS flag in Srinagar. It is now high time for the Central Government to take note of the IS activities in India.