War against the Islamic State
Many states began to intervene against the Islamic State, in both the Syrian civil war and the War in Iraq, in response to its rapid territorial gains from its 2014 invasion of Iraq, widely condemned executions, human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian civil war. In later years, there were also minor interventions by some states against IS-affiliated groups in Nigeria and Libya. All these efforts significantly degraded the Islamic State's capabilities by around 2019–2020. While moderate fighting continues in Syria, as of, IS has been contained to a small area and force capability.
In mid-June 2014, Iran, according to American and British information, started flying drones over Iraq, and, according to Reuters, Iranian soldiers were in Iraq fighting IS. Simultaneously, the United States ordered a small number of troops to Iraq and started flying crewed aircraft over Iraq. In July 2014, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran sent Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft to Iraq, and Hezbollah purportedly sent trainers and advisers to Iraq in order to help Shia militias to monitor IS's movements. In August 2014, the US and Iran separately began a campaign of airstrikes on IS targets in Iraq. Since then, fourteen countries in a US-led coalition have also executed airstrikes on IS in Iraq and in Syria. Starting from September 2014, United States began closely co-operating with Saudi Arabia and Jordan to wage a co-ordinated aerial bombing campaign against IS targets across Iraq and Syria.
In September 2015, Russian forces launched their military intervention in Syria to support that country's ally Bashar al-Assad in the fight against the Islamic State. Although Moscow officially portrayed its intervention as an anti-IS campaign and publicly declared support for the "patriotic Syrian opposition", the vast majority of its bombings were focused on destroying bases of the Syrian opposition militias of the Free Syrian Army and Southern Front. On the other hand, United States and its Western allies have been opposed to the former Ba'athist regime for its purported state-sponsorship of terrorism, violent repression of Syrian revolution and extensive use of chemical weapons. The US-led coalition trained, equipped and supported secular Free Syrian and Kurdish militias opposed to the Assad government during its anti-IS campaign. In the months following the beginning of both air campaigns, IS began to lose ground in both Iraq and Syria. Civilian deaths from airstrikes began to mount in 2015 and 2016. In mid-2016, the US and Russia planned to begin coordinating their airstrikes; however, this coordination did not materialize.
As of December 2017, IS was estimated to control no territory in Iraq, and 5% of Syrian territory, after prolonged actions. On 9 December 2017, Iraq declared victory in the fight against ISIL and stated that the War in Iraq was over. On 23 March 2019, IS was defeated territorially in Syria after losing the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani, after which the group was forced into an insurgency. IS's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died during a US special operations raid in northern Syria in October 2019 and was succeeded by Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. The United Nations estimated in August 2020 that over 10,000 IS fighters remained in Syria and Iraq, mainly as sleeper cells.
International coalitions against the Islamic State
US-led coalitions
On the margins of the 4/5 September 2014 NATO summit in Wales, on 5 September 2014, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry invited Ministers of Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom, for a separate meetingin which he pressed them to support the fight against ISIL militarily and financially. Those nine countries agreed to do so by supporting anti-ISIL forces in Iraq and Syria with supplies and air support, according to a statement that day from Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagel. In September 2014, Jordanian and Saudi Air Forces began their co-ordination with United States to wage a joint aerial bombing campaign against IS bases in its territories across Iraq and Syria.
On 17 October 2014, the Department of Defense formally established Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve —"in order to formalize ongoing military actions against the rising threat posed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria."
On 3 December 2014, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, diplomats and foreign ministers from 59 countries gathered to plot a way forward against the threat of ISIL. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the gathering, that "defeating the ideology, the funding, the recruitment" of Daesh must be the primary focus of their discussion, more important than airstrikes and other military action.
The countries represented on 3 December were: the nine countries of the above-mentioned 5 September coalition in Wales ; the extra 18 countries of the 15 September France-led coalition in Paris except for China and Russia; and 33 additional countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Sweden, Taiwan and Ukraine.
They styled themselves as the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , and agreed to a strategy that included:
- exposing ISIL's true nature;
- cutting off ISIL's financing and funding;
- supporting military operations.
France-led coalition
In retaliation for the November 2015 Paris attacks, the French Air Force significantly intensified airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria, hitting among other targets the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL. The French Navy deployed the aircraft carrier with eighteen Rafale, eight Mirage 2000, two E-2 Hawkeye and 4 helicopters. The aircraft carrier travelled with the frigate and.
Russia-led coalition
At the end of September 2015, Russia, Iraq, Iran and Syria set up a 'joint information center' in Baghdad to gather, process and analyse intelligence regarding ISIL and operations near the Syria-Iraq border. On 30 September 2015, Russia began its air campaign on the side and in support of the Syrian government.Russia was also reported to have reached agreements on co-ordination of operations in Syria with Jordan and Israel.
On 14 March 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial withdrawal from Syrian territory, citing the success of the ongoing ceasefire and greater security of the Syrian government.
On 10 December 2017 Vladimir Putin ordered a similar withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria, stating that a complete withdrawal would be dependent on the ongoing situation.
Muslim states' coalition
On 14 December 2015, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud announced that 34 countries would join in the fight against Muslim extremism, which he called a "disease." Based out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the coalition includes Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, Togo, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.Syria
US-led intervention in Syria
Hostage rescue attempt
On 4 July 2014, the U.S. bombed the "Osama bin Laden" ISIL military base in the village of Uqayrishah, Syria. Two dozen American Delta Force operators then touched down in an effort to rescue hostages, including James Foley. The effort failed, with the hostages having been moved to another location days prior. In a series of videos, Foley, Steven Joel Sotloff, and several more hostages were murdered.Aerial surveillance
On 26 August 2014, the U.S. began sending surveillance flights, including drones, into Syria to gather intelligence. The Syrian Arab Republic was not asked for permission.On 28 August, speaking about combating ISIL in Syria, President Obama said "we don't have a strategy yet."
The British Royal Air Force has been operating over Syria in a surveillance role since 21 October 2014, making the UK the first Western country other than the United States to operate in both Iraq and Syria simultaneously.
Arming and training rebels
At the direction of President Obama, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency played an active role since the early stages of the Syrian Civil War. The U.S. initially supplied the vetted militias of the Free Syrian Army with non-lethal aid but soon escalated to providing training, money, and intelligence to the rebel commanders. In June 2014, Obama requested Congressional authorization of $0.5 billion to train, arm and support vetted Free Syrian militias as a counter-force against both Assad regime and IS.On 17 September 2014, the House of Representatives voted to authorize the proposal to train and arm pro-Western Free Syrian militias, with the objective of training 5,000–10,000 troops. Syrian opposition's National Revolutionary Coalition welcomed Obama's announcement of extending the anti-IS bombing campaign into Syria, stating:
“The Syrian Coalition... stands ready and willing to partner with the international community not only to defeat ISIS but also rid the Syrian people of the tyranny of the Assad regime”
The United Kingdom announced in March 2015 that it would send 75 military personnel to help train Western-vetted Free Syrian militias in the use of small arms, infantry tactics and basic medical skills. The training was supposed to take place in Turkey as part of the U.S.-led effort.
According to the United States Department of Defense, Saudi Arabia proposed that they could provide training to Syrian rebels so they could return to Syria and battle ISIL. The effort to train a large force of Syrian rebels from anti-Assad factions to fight ISIL ultimately failed, with only 54 fighters in Division 30 trained and many captured, killed or not fighting.