Research on the Islamic State, Syria, and Iraq

Hadi al-Adlah, a “martyr” of the Syrian Christian Quwat al-Ghadab militia.

The Orlando Attacks: Islamic State Responsible (June 12)
Jihad Intel
A quick review of reaction from Arabic Islamic State-affiliated social media outlets to the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, culminating in an announcement by IS’s Amaq News confirming that the attack “was carried out by a fighter from the Islamic State.”

Quwat al-Ghadab: A Pro-Assad Christian Militia in Suqaylabiyah (July 3)
Syria Comment
Profile of Quwat al-Ghadab (“The Forces of Rage”), a pro-regime Syrian militia based in the (Greek Orthodox) Christian town of Suqaylabiyah in northwestern Hama province. Founded in 2013 and offering recruits an alternative to compulsory military service and deployment away from home, it functions as an auxiliary alongside the Syrian military and pro-regime National Defence Forces (NDF) for defense of Christian areas against rebel attacks.

“The Dawla Has Arisen": Nasheed from Ajnad Media (July 3)

Translation of a musical chant (nasheed) released by the Islamic State’s Ajnad Media. Unlike most Islamic State nasheeds, which use straightforward classical Arabic, this one uses Bedouin Arabic. Many native Arabic speakers would find this nasheed “difficult to understand,” Tamimi notes.

Observations on the New Islamic State Video ‘Structure of the Caliphate’ (July 6)

Mr. Tamimi discusses a new video released by Islamic State’s al-Furqan Media on the administrative divisions within group’s so-called caliphate. In total, IS counts 35 wilayas (provinces): 19 inside Iraq and Syria and 16 outside. IS hasn’t added any new wilayas since the Caucasus a year ago, suggesting that IS leaders feel wilaya announcements “lack credibility without realisation of governance and administration on the ground.” Tunisia, Indonesia, Somalia and Bangladesh, countries where IS has claimed operations, are not mentioned.

Emblem of Kata’ib al-Jabalawi.

Kata’ib al-Jabalawi: A Pro-Assad Militia from Homs (July 19)
Syria Comment
Profile of Kata’ib al-Jabalawi (Al-Jabalawi Brigades), one of several pro-regime Syrian militias operating in and around Homs (others previously profiled by Mr. Tamimi include Liwa Khaybar and the Leopards of Homs). Mostly Alawite in composition, It is named after a prominent Syrian commander and “martyr,” Mazen Ali Ahmad al-Jabalawi. Like the Leopards of Homs, it is affiliated with the Bustan Association of Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad

Liwa al-Imam al-Mahdi: A Syrian Hezbollah Formation (July 23)
Syria Comment
Profile of a pro-regime Syrian Shi’a militia set up two years ago by the Lebanese Shi’a Hezbollah movement. The commander of the militia’s Imam Ali Battalion, Al-Hajj Waleed, told the author that the militia has suffered a total of 25 dead and 55 wounded fighting on fronts in Deraa, Quneitra, Ghouta, Aleppo and the Ithiriya-Raqqa route. Tamimi notes that the creation of this relatively small militia among others similar in composition and affiliation (others profiled by the author include Quwat al-Ridha in Homs, the National Ideological Resistance in the Tartous/Masyaf area, the Ja’afari Forcearound Damascus, and al-Ghalibun) reflects Hezbollah’s strategy of using “multiple formations and brands,” rather than one single Syrian affiliate.

What Does Jabhat al-Nusra’s Break with Al-Qaeda Mean? (July 28)
Jihad Intel
The author discusses the July 28 announcement by the leader of Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, that his group was splitting from al-Qaeda and henceforth calling itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham [Front for the Conquest of Syria]. The author suggests that the “split” likely reflects an al-Qaeda strategy of integrating its affiliate more deeply into the Syrian environment and protecting it from Western airstrikes.