ISLAMIC STATE WEAPONS IN HIGH-PROFILE OPERATIONS IN NORTH-EAST SYRIA

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INTRODUCTION

In 2014 IS fighters swept through Iraq and Syria and declared a ‘caliphate’ from the Grand Mosque in Mosul (Figure 1). At the height of their power, IS forces were in possession of advanced weapon systems, could manufacture improvised weapons and explosive devices on a large and sophisticated scale, and were able to tap into regional and international markets to acquire commercial products for the development of explosives.

Following a string of military defeats at the hands of a coalition of international and local security forces, and the collapse of the ‘caliphate’ in March 2019, IS forces learned to operate in a more clandestine manner. Coalition forces assess that current IS capabilities are severely degraded: regular leadership losses, a lack of funds, and limited recruitment capacity prevent IS cells from launching anything but small and opportunistic attacks (DoD IG, 2023)1 . In north-east Syria, however, small cells continue to mobilize, frustrating local security forces and their allies.

On three occasions in 2021 and 2022, these cells attempted to carry out major, complex attacks on detention centres housing IS prisoners and suspected affiliates in Syria.2 All were typical inghimasi operations (from the Arabic word inghamasa, ‘to plunge’). Inghimas are lightly armed operatives—equipped with person-borne improvised explosive devices (PBIEDs)—whose role is to break through battle lines or fortifications and to cause significant damage. Inghimasi fighters differ from most ‘suicide bombers’: although they expect to be killed in action, they may survive and return to their base (Rowley, 2016). Such IS attacks were remarkably successful during the height of the ‘caliphate’ in both Iraq and Syria, while IS affiliates have used this tactic in other locations, including in Europe.

Working on the ground in north-east Syria, CAR field investigators have documented weapons, ammunition, and other relevant materiel that local security forces recovered from each of the three IS inghimasi operations