ISIS Research Articles

Rethinking Pathways of Transnational Jihad: Evidence from Lebanese ISIS Recruits

Why do some individuals leave everything behind to join extremist organizations abroad? The literature on foreign fighters has grown impressively and yielded important insights in recent years. Three problems persist, however: (1) scholarship grounded in empirical fieldwork remains uncommon. This deficit reflects the scarcity of micro-level data based on individual profiles of jihadi recruits; (2) the studies available overwhelmingly center on Western jihadists even though the majority of foreign fighters who join groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or al Qaeda hail from Arab countries; (3) an artificial rivalry between different explanatory approaches has produced an inconclusive picture of the determinants of radicalization. In this article, I reconsider the various pathways for transnational Jihadi recruitment by drawing upon a unique dataset pertaining to seventy Lebanese militants. I selectively combine elements from multiple perspectives to ponder the pathways of ISIS recruits, but my conclusions can be modified to apply to other circumstances.

Citizenship Deprivation as a Counterterrorism Measure in Europe

Since the proclamation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Caliphate in June 2014, an unprecedented number of jihadi supporters in Europe have left their countries to fight alongside the organisation in Iraq and Syria. Over the years, ISIS has lost much of its territory and was militarily defeated in 2019, leaving a large number of members waiting in Kurdish camps and Iraqi prisons for their fate to be decided. Instead of repatriating foreign fighters, many European countries have started to use citizenship deprivation as a tool of preventing them from returning. Under the rationale of protecting national security and deterring possible supporters, it has been argued that citizenship deprivation is nothing more than risk exportation, with notable implications for a whole international community. This article provides an overview of the rationale behind citizenship deprivation as a counterterrorism measure and highlights how, from a counterterrorism perspective, shifting the problem instead of addressing it, could be counterproductive and undermine the fight against terrorism. The article concludes that despite numerous implications, following the public pressure to harshly respond to terrorism, it is unlikely that the popularity and use of citizenship deprivation as a counterterrorism measure will be in decrease soon.

Managerial ability, earnings quality and ISIS: evidence from Iraq

PurposeThis study investigates the association between managerial ability and earnings quality in firms listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange and how the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) influences the association.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of firms listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange over the period 2012–2018. Managerial ability is quantified using data envelopment analysis, and earnings quality is measured by earnings restatement, earnings persistence, accruals quality and earnings response coefficient. Panel regression analysis is used to examine the research hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicate that managerial ability positively affects earnings quality of Iraqi firms and that ISIS weakens the relationship between managerial ability and earnings quality. These findings are robust to the alternative measures of managerial ability, as well as to various approaches used to address endogeneity including propensity-score matching and a difference-in-differences analysis.Originality/valueThis study provides insight into the impact of managerial ability on earnings quality in an under-studied emerging market. Furthermore, this study broadens the existing literature about the financial consequences of a modern terrorist group, ISIS.

Culture, conflict and armed non-state actors: cultural heritage protection in a changing operating environment

PurposeThis paper examines the implications, for States Parties, of the 1954 Convention safeguarding regime in the context of contemporary non-international armed conflict and ANSAs, with a general focus on the Middle East and in situ cultural property.Design/methodology/approachAs the nature of conflict changes and armed forces become further engaged in supporting peacekeeping operations and deliver training to host nation security forces, and human security becomes an increasingly important function of military operations, the protection of cultural heritage (as an expression of a people's identity) becomes a significant contribution to individual operations.FindingsInternational obligations to States Parties for the in situ protection of cultural heritage, under both International Humanitarian Law and HC54, become an ever increasing important responsibility for armed forces to help deliver.Research limitations/implicationsWhile NATO is increasingly focussed on the defence of western states parties from threats posed by the Russian Federation, and observing a commercially and military assertive China, a recent report issued by the Pentagon noted that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is regrouping in Iraq faster than in Syria and could regain territory in six to twelve months in the absence of sustained military pressure.Practical implicationsPreservation in situ is used by heritage professionals to refer to the protection of a cultural heritage asset in its original location while the in situ protection of cultural property is a cornerstone topic of the 1954 Hague Convention Special Protection category. The Convention was drafted with international armed conflict in mind but the initial signatories to the Convention had sufficient foresight to consider non-international armed conflict and its potential effect on in situ cultural property by parties to the conflict, including Armed Non-State Actors (ANSA)Social implicationsUN Security Council Resolution 2449 (December 2018) recognized the negative impact of the presence, violent extremist ideology and actions on stability in Syria and the region of both Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF). This includes not only the devastating humanitarian impact on civilian populations but also the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage.Originality/valueANSAs comprise individuals and groups that are wholly or partly independent of State governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals, such as Islamic State. As such, the military operating environment has changed since 1954.

The container and force schemas in political discourse

Abstract The paper focuses on metaphors based on the image schemas of container and force that were employed by U.S. President Barack Obama in the campaign against ISIL (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Systematic metaphors based on the schemas of container and force illustrate the strategy of the international alliance against ISIL’s activity. The strategy included the isolation of the organization, the restriction of the flow of foreign fighters and financial resources to the area controlled by ISIL as well as planning military operations designed to weaken the influence of the organization. The analysis has been conducted on the corpus of political speeches delivered by the speaker in the period from June 2014 to September 2016. Theoretical framework that is employed in the analysis of primary data is grounded in Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) which explores ideological aspects of discourse.

#ShamimaBegum: An analysis of social media narratives relating to female terrorist actors

This study explores the constructions of gender in social media narratives regarding Shamima Begum, a British born woman who travelled to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Using the Twitter hashtag #ShamimaBegum – developed in response to Begum’s expressed interest in returning to the United Kingdom to give birth to her third child – we employ critical discourse analysis to examine social media users’ responses to Begum’s case across a 3-week period. We portray how the vernacular narratives constructing femininity, gender, and their relation to terrorist activity are built on the expectation that the female actor should express remorse for her actions and is judged according to certain perceptions of maternalism, religion, and victimhood. We also explore the absence of considered agency in the narratives about women engaging in and disengaging from violent activities, demonstrating the weight of race, religion, and gender in shaping narratives surrounding perceived violent women.

Self-managing terror: Resolving agency problems with diverse teams

I examine a principal-agents model of subversion with externalities to illustrate a novel mechanism for why diversity can be valuable to organizations: teams of diverse agents can self-manage and discourage their teammates from subversion through compromise. In contrast to standard “ally-principle” type results, I find that integrating more extreme agents can result in better-behaved teams. The model describes, among other cases, radical Islamist terror groups that use foreign fighters. Because foreign and domestic fighters have conflicting preferences over how they want to subvert, integrated teams may self-manage with efficiency gains for the principal. This model explains variation in agency problems and foreign fighter usage in major insurgent groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq, the Haqqani Network, and the Islamic State. Additionally, the theory here can explain management practices in a wide range of alternate settings, for example, where a busy or constrained principal cannot easily implement auditing or incentive contracts.

Terrorist Peer Review: Which Autonomous Attacks Does ISIL Accept for Publication?

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claims some attacks by autonomous jihadists in the West, but not all of them. This article argues that ISIL selectively takes credit for attacks that fit tactical norms laid out in the group’s propaganda. These norms include lethality toward the victims and martyrdom for the assailant. Probit regression analyses of a new database of autonomous attacks in the West confirm that lethality and martyrdom increase the probability of ISIL’s official propaganda claiming a given incident. The Islamic State’s “peer review” and selective credit-claiming incentivize autonomous jihadists to adopt more lethal and suicidal tactics so that their actions will gain acceptance and they will be recognized as soldiers of the caliphate.

Social media corporations as actors of counter-terrorism

This article discusses the role of giant social media corporations Facebook, Google (YouTube), and Twitter in counter-terrorism and countering violent extremisms (CT/CVEs). Based on a qualitative investigation mobilizing corporate communications as well as a collection of interviews with European stakeholders, it argues that these firms have become actors in this policy area of what is traditionally considered high politics, through their fundamental role in establishing and enforcing the nascent global governance regime on terrorist communications. Since the emergence of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the studied firms have displayed agency and creativity in their appropriation of this new responsibility, effectively going beyond what was legally required of them. After contextualizing and questioning their involvement, motivated by terrorist exploitation of their services, reputational pressure and the threat of legislation, the article provides an analysis of the firms’ self-regulated commitment to CT/CVE through policymaking, content moderation, human resources, and private multilateralism.

The Politics of Tribalization in Syria

International media outlets have covered the news of Syrian tribes since the beginning of the protest movement that erupted in the country in 2011. This started with the “Friday of Tribes,” when Syrian tribes participating in protests against the Syrian regime in the Syrian city of Dar‘a began chanting “faz‘a” (chanting for support), which meant that they were seeking solidarity from other tribes for defense against the regime's aggression. As the Syrian uprising turned into a civil war that involved many players, some media outlets focused on the scenes of tribal leaders pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or of others being summoned to Geneva, Switzerland, to hold talks with Western powers about the possibility of mobilizing against ISIS militants. One could only wonder exactly why tribal loyalties continued to play such a significant role in the everyday events of the Syrian civil war when many civil society advocates had argued that tribal affiliation in Syria had diminished.

Health Care and Care-Seeking in Mosul 1 Year After Defeat of ISIS.

Our objective was to compare care-seeking patterns in Mosul, Iraq, in 2018, 1 yafter Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) control, with findings from neighborhoods that had been sampled in 2017. For this multi-stage randomized cluster household survey, we created one cluster in each of 20 neighborhoods randomly selected from the 40 neighborhoods in the 2016/17 survey; 12 in east Mosul, 8 in west Mosul. In each, 30 households were interviewed beginning at a randomly selected start house. Questions were derived from the 2016/2017 post-ISIS survey. We interviewed the head of household or senior female in 600 households containing 3375 persons. One year after ISIS, some household demographic shifts had occurred. Diarrhea in children during the past 2 wk decreased from 50.1% to 7.5% (P < 0.001); however, cough/difficulty breathing increased from 15.5% to 33.6% (P < 0.01). Among adults, care-seeking for noncommunicable diseases increased from 22.3% to 43.5% (P < 0.001). Emotional and psychological complaints common in the previous survey were now nearly absent. Pregnancy complications diminished from 65.2% to 15.4% (P < 0.001). Communicable diseases predominated among children and noncommunicable diseases among adults. Access to health care substantially improved, although barriers remained. Satisfaction with services was mixed, with dissatisfaction expressed about testing, medicine access, and costs, but the work of health providers was rated highly.

Silesia to Sinjar: The Export and Adaption of Einsatzgruppen Mobilized Killing Tactics from Eastern Europe to the Middle East

While the Nazi war machine is best known for its use of concentration camps to exterminate vast swathes of Europe’s Jewish population, more than 1.5 million other “undesirables” were executed by mobile killing squads across Eastern Europe. More recently, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) utilized similar tactics to ethnically cleanse the Levant of various racial and religious minorities, relying on an analogous form of execution. The present research note contends, building from these similarities in action, that the methods of genocide employed by ISIS are an adaptation of the tactics developed by German Einsatzgruppen in the 1940s. To argue this point, this note utilizes a comparative framework examining the mobilization, localization, preparation, execution, and burial of both groups, and posits that the similarities are the result of ideological and tactical cross-pollination between Nazis and Islamists during and after World War 2.

Repatriation as a Human Rights Approach to State Options in Dealing with Returning ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters

Since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), debates and questions on what states should do (individually and or collectively) with foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from their countries have become more relevant yet controversial. This article critically investigates whether states of origin have an obligation to repatriate ISIS FTFs under international law as well as what options are available for such countries in dealing with returning ISIS fighters based on a human rights approach. This article also highlights that the current international legal framework is generally moving toward the repatriation of FTFs for the purpose of prosecution and rehabilitation. While states have taken diverse and controversial approaches in dealing with fighters who wish to return, the option to repatriate and fairly prosecute them in their countries of origin is seen as the most comprehensive and preferred approach, not only for the countries of origin but also for the international community as a whole in the long term.

The mucocutaneous manifestations of sulfur mustard gas on 1024 Iraqi victims: ISIS chemical attack in the South of Kirkuk

The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency and the distribution of symptoms and complications of oculocutaneous and respiratory systems among the individuals with a history of toxic exposure to probably sulfur mustard (SM) gas in Kirkuk, Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) also known as "Daesh." In this cross-sectional study, victims of chemical weapons used by Daesh in TazaKhurmatu, Kirkuk, Iraq on March 9 2016 were evaluated 2 days after exposure by the Iranian medical team, with a focus on skin, eye, and lung lesions using a standardized medical evaluation sheet. A total of 1024 Iraqi who are of the ages 2 through 86 claimed exposure to SM were evaluated. Of this number, 480 were male (46.87%) and 544 patients were female (53.13%). We found 66 and 30 subjects who had a moderate or severe injury on cutaneous, ocular, and respiratory organs respectively. The cutaneous injury was the most severe medical complaint, and 24 cases had severe skin lesions including erythema, bulla, and necrosis in folds (groin and genitalia), and the dependent areas. The evidence of environmental contamination with mustard gas includes the smell of garlic odor and the presence of black oil in the environment (ground, soil, and wall). The high number of chemical victims with severe skin lesions rather than eye and lung lesions can be attributed to the transformation of mustard gas to the liquid form at low temperatures in the winter season in Kirkuk. Additionally, increased skin lesions in the buttock and lumbosacral area were probably owing to indirect exposure to the contaminated tools and environment.

Discrimination against Muslims, the role of networks and terrorist attacks in Western Europe: the cases of United Kingdom, France, and Italy

AbstractIn the last few years, a wave of Islamist-related terrorist attacks took place in Western Europe, mainly in France and Belgium but with relevant episodes also in the United Kingdom whereas so far Italy did not suffer any attack of this kind. Each of these countries hosts a large number of Muslim immigrants and communities, participated in military missions in the Middle East, and has been repeatedly threatened by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or other Islamist-related radical groups. What then explains the difference in the number and intensity of Islamist-related terrorist attacks in Western European countries? Using qualitative cross-case comparison case studies and relying on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and the Association of Religion Data Archive (ARDA), I argue that countries directly discriminating toward Islamic communities are more likely to suffer these kinds of attacks because this discrimination causes grievances against the host state within the discriminated minority. This effect is higher in the presence of religious and cultural networks where these grievances can be brought at the center of the public debate and be connected together because of the presence of large audiences, resulting in the possible development of more radicalized positions of small portions of the discriminated community. This is particularly true for highly secular states like France, where the interpretation of secularism makes accommodation for religious minorities extremely challenging, also resulting in laws that regulate religious behavior of minorities, therefore increasing outrage and frustration of the minority group.

Posttraumatic stress disorder correlates among internally displaced Yazidi population following Islamic state of Iraq and Syria attacks in Iraq

BackgroundIn 2014, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took over one-third of Iraq. This study measured the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Iraqi Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and examined associated demographic and traumatic risk factors.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in April–June 2015 at the Khanke camp, northern Iraq. Trauma exposure and PTSD were measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (Iraqi version).ResultsOf 814 adult Yazidi IDPs, 34% screened positive for PTSD. Avoidance and intrusion symptoms had the highest means (M = 3.16, SD = 0.86 and M = 2.63, SD = 0.59 respectively). Associated factors of PTSD included exposure to a high number of traumatic events, unmet basic needs and having witnessed the destruction of residential or religious areas (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.02–1.9 and OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01–1.53 respectively). Being a widow was the only linked demographic factor (OR = 15.39, 95% CI: 3.02–78.39).ConclusionsHigh traumatic exposure, specifically unmet basic needs and having witnessed destruction, was an important predictor of PTSD among Yazidi IDPs. These findings are important for mental health planning for IDPs in camps.

Threat of ISIS-Affiliated Foreign Terrorist Fighters Towards Canadian National Security

Since the loss of approximately 98% of their territory, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has become a shadow of its former self. Foreign recruits must now decide whether to leave the region and return home or stay and possibly continue the fight. Those that return constitute a threat to their home environments because of their maintained allegiances to ISIS, state of radicalization, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and improved lethality, and operational effectiveness in conducting acts of domestic terrorism. As a result, this article calls for the development and application of a prosecutorial-reintegrative model that is based off prior research on Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs). The model should also be informed by up-to-date research in the field of deradicalization and disengagement and should consider the different classes of FTFs. Following an understanding of the qualitative differences of ISIS FTFs compared to past foreign fighters, the article concludes that directed counter violent extremist messaging and components of Saudi Arabia’s successful Prevention, Rehabilitation, and After Care (PRAC) program must be factored into any framework for rehabilitation and reintegration while Criminal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act provisions, complemented by evidence gathering strategies, are primarily used to hold FTFs accountable for serious offences.

The Effect of Aerial Bombardment on Insurgent Civilian Victimization

Little is known about how air strikes influence insurgent behavior toward civilians. This study provides evidence that air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) by counterinsurgency forces were a contributing factor in its civilian victimization. I theorize that air strikes expanded the distribution of insurgent fatalities to include higher-echelon membership and, at the same time, imposed psychological impairments on its fighters. As a consequence, these changes relaxed restraints on civilian abuse at the organizational and individual levels. This theory is informed by interviews of ISIS defectors and translations of ISIS documents and tested through a statistical analysis of granular-level data on air strikes and one-sided violence during ISIS’s insurgency. These findings contribute to our knowledge of insurgent behavior and provide important policy implications in the use of air strikes as a counterinsurgency (COIN) tool.

Children of ISIS: considerations regarding trauma, treatment and risk

The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) brought with it a new wave of child soldier. This was characterised by media and propaganda circulating of children as young as four being exposed to detonators and rifles, along with perpetrating acts of violence. However, since the dismantling of ISIS, many of these children are now returning home to countries such as Australia and those in the United Kingdom and Europe; having been exposed to extremist Islamic ideology, radicalisation, and psychological and physical abuse. This review highlights that the trauma experienced by the child soldiers increases the possibility of symptomology associated with depression, anxiety, and externalising problems. Due to the complex and prolonged exposure to trauma, Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) is considered. Alongside mental health symptomology, psychometric risk assessment tools are examined, and suitable psychological services are discussed as possible interventions and support systems for children.

The destruction and looting of cultural heritage sites by ISIS in Syria: The case of Manbij and its countryside

AbstractThe Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) occupied the city of Manbij and its countryside from 23 January 2014 until 12 August 2016. During this period, the region suffered greatly as ISIS monopolized control and brutally imposed its ideology. Fierce battles were fought for the control of oil wells, bakeries, mills, dams, and power stations, all of which were sources of revenue. Antiquities were soon recognized as another potential income source. This article demonstrates the ways in which ISIS began to administer and facilitate the looting of antiquities through the Diwan Al-Rikaz. Within this diwan, ISIS established the Qasmu Al-Athar, which was specifically responsible for looting antiquities. Based on interviews conducted in 2015 and primary documents, this article studies the specific ways in which ISIS facilitated the quarrying and looting of antiquities in Manbij and the rich archaeological sites of its countryside. Further, by examining the damage at a previously undocumented archaeological site, Meshrefet Anz, the looting of antiquities under the direct supervision of the Diwan Al-Rikaz is studied. Using documentary evidence including ISIS’s internal documentation as well as photographs collected by the author between 2014 and 2016, the article demonstrates the methods used by ISIS, reveals its financial motivations, and bears witness to the damage done at specific Syrian heritage sites.