Territory of the Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS) had its core in Iraq and Syria from 2013 to 2017 and 2019 respectively, where the proto-state controlled significant swathes of urban, rural, and desert territory, mainly in the Mesopotamian region.[14] Today the group controls scattered pockets of land in the area, as well as territory or insurgent cells[14][16] in other areas, notably Afghanistan, West Africa, the Sahara, Somalia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[17] As of 2023, large swathes of Mali have fallen under IS control.[18]
Islamic Stateالدولة الإسلامية
ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah
ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah
Unrecognized proto-state
Designated as a terrorist organization
Abu Arkan al-Ameri
1999
October 2004
13 October 2006
8 April 2013
3 February 2014
29 June 2014
10 July 2017
19 March 2019
27 October 2019
3 February 2022
right
In early 2017, IS controlled approximately 45,377 square kilometers (17,520 square miles) of territory in Iraq and Syria and 7,323 km2 of territory elsewhere, for a total of 52,700 square kilometres (20,300 sq mi).[14] This represents a substantial decline from the group's territorial peak in late 2014, when it controlled between 100,000 and 110,000 square kilometres (39,000 and 42,000 sq mi)[14][19] of territory in total.[14][20] IS territory has declined substantially in almost every country since 2014, a result of the group's unpopularity and the military action taken against it.[14] By late March 2019, IS territory in Syria was reduced to only the besieged 4,000 km2 (1,550 sq mi) Syrian Desert pocket.[21] The enclave was surrounded by Syrian government forces and its allies.[22][23][21] The Syrian military conducted combing operations and airstrikes against the pocket, but with limited success.[24][25] IS propaganda claims a peak territorial extent of 282,485 km2.[26]
The majority of the Islamic State’s territory, population, revenue, and prestige came from the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria.[14] In Afghanistan, IS mostly controls territory near the Pakistan border and has lost 87% of its territory since spring 2015.[14] In Lebanon, IS also controlled some areas on its border at the height of the Syrian war. In Libya, the group operates mostly as a moving insurgent force, occupying places before abandoning them again.[27] In Egypt, the group controls 910 km2 of land centered on the village of Sheikh Zuweid, which represents less than 1% of Egypt's territory.[14] In Nigeria, Boko Haram (at the time an IS affiliate) controlled 6,041 km2 of territory at its maximum extent in 2014, though most of this area was lost amid military reversals and a split within Boko Haram between pro- and anti-IS factions.[14] By late 2019, however, IS's African forces had once again seized large areas in Nigeria;[28] as of 2021, IS's African forces still run their own administrations in territories they control.[29][30] As of 2022, most of IS's territory is confined to northeastern Nigeria and northern Mozambique, alongside large swathes of eastern Mali.[18]
Background[edit]
The fifth edition of the Islamic State's Dabiq magazine explained the group's process for establishing new provinces. Jihadist groups in a given area must consolidate into a unified body and publicly declare their allegiance to the caliph. The group must nominate a Wāli (Governor), a Shura Council (religious leadership), and formulate a military strategy to consolidate territorial control and implement Sharia law. Once formally accepted, IS considers the group to be one of its provinces and gives it support.[31] Dabiq has acknowledged support in regions including East Turkestan, Indonesia and the Philippines, and claimed that IS would eventually establish wilayat in these areas after forming direct relationships with its supporters there.[31]
Overview[edit]
IS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said "the legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the khilafah's [caliphate's] authority and arrival of its troops to their areas."[32] IS thus rejects the political divisions established by Western powers during World War I in the Sykes–Picot Agreement as it absorbs territory in Syria and Iraq.[33][34][35] The Long War Journal writes that the logical implication is that the group will consider preexisting militant groups like Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) illegitimate if they do not nullify themselves and submit to IS's authority.[36]
While branches in Libya and Egypt have been very active and attempted to exercise territorial control, branches in other countries like Algeria and Saudi Arabia have been less active and do not seem to have a strong presence.[37][38]
Since 2022, there have been no further provinces officially announced by IS. This is despite the group receiving public pledges of allegiance from militants in countries like Somalia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, and subsequently releasing statements and videos from those regions through its official media channels.[39][40][41] Analyst Charlie Winter speculates that this is due to the lackluster performance of many of IS's existing provinces, and that IS's leadership seems to be identifying new affiliates as simply "soldiers of the caliphate."[42]
Loss of "caliphate" territory led IS to conduct more terrorist attacks abroad.[43]
Administrative organization[edit]
Provinces[edit]
The Islamic State's main base of operations was in their territory of Ar-Raqqah in Syria, until 2017, where it was recaptured by the Syrian Democratic Forces. From there, orders were given to affiliate groups, called wilayat, spread across the Levant, Asia and Africa. Few of these wilayat have declared their capital cities, with the exception of al-Sham with Ar-Raqqah,[1] al-Iraq with Mosul, and Central Africa with Mocímboa da Praia.[145] It also had claims on the entirety of the Muslim world, including Central Asia, the former Ottoman Balkans, South East Asia, and the northern part of Africa.[146][147] Other times, however, it expressed also a desire for world domination, with labels on certain areas of the old world as well as the new world.[148][149]