A Rogue State Along Two Rivers
How ISIS Came to Control Large Portions of Syria and Iraq
The Euphrates
Aleppo: Ejected by Other Rebel Groups
In 2013, ISIS emerged from the remnants
of Al Qaeda in Iraq and began to operate in Syria. The vacuum created by
the country’s civil war provided a place for ISIS to rebuild. Syrian
rebel groups initially welcomed ISIS as an ally, but soon realized that
they did not have the same goals. ISIS was more interested in forming an
Islamic state than in toppling the Syrian government — and had no
problem with killing other insurgents to make it happen. These tensions
culminated in a revolt against ISIS. The group was driven out of Aleppo,
Syria's largest city, in January by the other rebel groups.
Jarablous: Supply Routes
ISIS Control
After being pushed out of Aleppo, ISIS
moved east, attacking rebel bases and taking over towns like this one,
near the border with Turkey, that are arteries for money and supplies.
Maskana: Terror Through Social Media
ISIS Control
ISIS may practice a seventh-century version of Islam, but its public outreach is thoroughly modern.
It has used Facebook as a death-threat generator; the text-sharing app
JustPaste to upload book-length tirades; and YouTube and Twitter to post
gruesome videos and photos to terrify its enemies (reportedly
live-tweeting the amputation of a man's hand in this town, for example).
Raqqa: Instituting Strict Rules
ISIS Control
Via Associated Press
In keeping with its goal of creating an
Islamic state, ISIS has instituted strict rules in most of the towns it
has seized. In this city, which was the provincial capital and is now
ISIS's de facto capital, smoking and music are banned, women must cover
their faces and shops must close at prayer time. The punishment for not
complying: execution in the main square.
Deir al-Zour: Besieging a Provincial Capital
Attacked by ISIS
Ahmad Aboud/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
While ISIS holds sway over much of the
oil-rich province of which this city is the capital, control of the
capital itself has been split among other rebel groups and the Syrian
government. ISIS took control of a bridge leading into the city,
creating a partial blockade.
Abu Kamal: Erasing the Syria-Iraq Border
ISIS Control
ISIS seized the Syrian side of this
border crossing on June 30 after brutal clashes with a Syrian insurgent
group. Now, with both sides of the crossing under its control, ISIS can
move men and supplies easily between Iraq and Syria. It is also another
step closer to achieving its goal of creating an Islamic state across
the two countries.
Qaim: Iraqi Forces Flee Border Post
ISIS Control
ISIS took control of this crossing on
June 22 after Iraqi troops, sent to reinforce the border, fled. Members
of that unit said they were eager to fight but that their commanders failed to provide them with water and food, causing them to abandon their positions.
Rawa: Without a Fight
ISIS Control
ISIS captured this town and neighboring Ana
after Iraqi troops fled, though a government spokesman said the
security forces withdrew as a “tactical” move to reinforce troops in
other areas.
Haditha Dam: Concerns About Sabotage
With the nearby towns of Rawa and Ana under ISIS control, officials are concerned that the group could capture Haditha Dam,
Iraq’s second-largest, and wreak havoc. When ISIS fighters seized the
Falluja Dam in April, they opened it, flooding crops as far as 100 miles
south. The water washed east as well, reaching Abu Ghraib, near
Baghdad. On the other hand, ISIS fighters have been in control of the
Tabqa Dam in Syria for months without major incident.
Ramadi: The Government Provides an Opening for ISIS
ISIS Control
Tensions between this city’s residents,
who are mostly Sunni, and the central government had been brewing here
for at least a year. Then in December, Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal
al-Maliki, ordered security forces to dismantle a protest camp
— an outlet for disenchanted Sunnis angered at their treatment by the
Shiite-dominated government. The action ignited days of violence and
created the opening ISIS needed to seize parts of the city, the
provincial capital.
Falluja: A Symbolic Fall
ISIS Control
Mohammed Jalil/European Pressphoto Agency
Just days after the raid on the camp in Ramadi, ISIS fighters destroyed the Police Headquarters and mayor’s office here,
planted their flag on government buildings and decreed the city to be
theirs. Ten years earlier, American forces had captured this city from
Qaeda-style insurgents at a considerable cost of American lives.
Abu Ghraib: Escapees Fuel Insurgency
ISIS received an influx of recruits after a prison break in July 2013
at the detention center here. The escapees, who were imprisoned by the
Maliki government or during the American occupation, are now among
ISIS's leaders and foot soldiers. The group also attracts militants from
around the world. Its recruits are better paid, better trained and
better armed than other rebel groups and even the national armies of
Syria and Iraq, according to leaders of rival factions.
Renewed Efforts to Control Anbar
Tensions in Anbar, the Iraqi province
at the heart of the Sunni resistance after Saddam Hussein was deposed,
were largely contained until about 2012. But the withdrawal of American
troops and growing resentment over Shiite political domination gave ISIS
— newly strengthened in northeastern Syria — an opening to lead an
insurrection. Months before the dramatic fall of Mosul, ISIS had already
seized many towns along the Euphrates in Anbar Province. After the fall
of Mosul, the group captured more towns and key border posts in the
province with little effort.
Syria
Syria
Iraq
Lake Assad
Haditha Dam Lake
Lake Tharthar
Lake Habbaniya
Sarrin
ISIS Control
Ain Issa
ISIS Control
Mouhasan
ISIS Control
Tebni
ISIS Control
Suwar
ISIS Control
Mayadeen
Attacked by ISIS
Ana
ISIS Control
Burwana
Attacked by ISIS
Baghdadi
Hit
Attacked by ISIS
Kubaysa
Habbaniya
Attacked by ISIS
Baghdad
Mahmudiya
Madaen
Musayyib
Baquba
Attacked by ISIS
Dujail
Attacked by ISIS
Balad
Tarmiya
The Tigris
After establishing footholds in Syria and Anbar Province, ISIS
turned to northern Iraq. The swift capture of Mosul, Iraq's
second-largest city and a key political, military and commercial hub,
gave ISIS a launching pad for a rapid series of attacks in which its
fighters seized towns along the Tigris River heading south to Baghdad.
Tal Afar: Purported Capture of a General
ISIS Control
Less than a week after the fall of Mosul, ISIS captured this city after a two-day battle
with the Iraqi Army. The militants announced that they had also
captured the commander of Iraqi forces in the city, Gen. Abu al-Waleed,
and planned to execute him in a square in central Mosul. Residents said
the militants used bullhorns to call people to the execution, but it
never took place. General Waleed’s voice was later heard on Iraqi state
television disputing the insurgents’ claims.
Mosul: Iraq’s Second-Largest City Captured
ISIS Control
The rout in Mosul
was humiliating for Iraq’s security forces. Within days of taking over
the city, ISIS issued edicts laying out the strict terms of Islamic law
under which they would govern, and singling out some police officers and
government workers for summary execution. But residents have said that
ISIS has yet to crack down as much as expected.
Hawija: Uneasy Alliances
ISIS Control
ISIS exploited disenchantment among
Iraq's Sunnis to align with other Sunni militant groups, who have been
critical in helping ISIS capture so much territory so quickly. A key alliance of former officers of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party allowed
ISIS to claim cities like Hawija. But they are unlikely to coexist for
long. The Baathists, more secular and nationalistic, have no interest in
strict Islamic law, and there are already reports that the two groups
are fighting each other here.
Baiji: Battle for Oil
Attacked by ISIS
Once dependent on Persian Gulf donors, ISIS is becoming independently wealthy.
The group started building a bankroll after seizing oil fields in
Raqqa, from which it sells much of the crude to the Syrian government.
ISIS also sustains many operations through a combination of border
tolls, extortion and selling grain. The group has been battling for the
refinery here since taking Mosul. If captured, it could provide ISIS
with another potentially lucrative source of income.
Tikrit: Mass Executions
Attacked by ISIS
The day after seizing Mosul, ISIS captured Tikrit,
another major Iraqi city and the hometown of Saddam Hussein. Intending
to ignite fear and anger among Shiites, ISIS boasted on social media
that it executed 1,700 members of the Iraqi military here. The figure
has not been confirmed, but Human Rights Watch said its analysis
suggested that ISIS killed as many as 190 men in Tikrit between June 11 and June 14.
Samarra: Stoking Sectarian War
Attacked by ISIS
ISIS, which has made no secret of its
intention to incite another sectarian war, has been trying to attack a
sacred Shiite shrine here. ISIS fired shells into the shrine on June 30, killing six people but only slightly damaging the holy site. An attack on the shrine in 2006 set off a wave of sectarian violence across the country.
Baquba: Cycle of Violence
Attacked by ISIS
About a week after capturing Mosul, ISIS
militants took control of several neighborhoods here but were pushed
back by security forces. The next day, the bodies of 44 Sunni prisoners
were found in a government-controlled police station in Baquba, about
40 miles north of Baghdad. Baquba, and the surrounding province of
Diyala, is a volatile mix of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, and was the
scene of some of the worst sectarian violence in past years.
Baghdad: Shiite Stronghold
ISIS has pledged to march on Baghdad, but seizing and controlling the sprawling Iraqi capital,
with its large population of Shiites, will be much more difficult than
advancing across the Sunni heartland. Large sections of Baghdad and
southern Iraq’s Shiite provinces have been swept up in a call to arms.
The Shiite supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for all
able-bodied Iraqis to join militia units to fight beside the army
against ISIS.
Mosul Dam Lake
Mahmudiya
Madaen
Dujail
Attacked by ISIS
Balad
Balad Air Base
Attacked by ISIS
Tarmiya
Azwya
Qaiyara Air Base
ISIS Control
Qaraqosh
Dohuk
Sumel
Kalak
Khidir
Tel Isqof
Alqosh
Khalis
Abu Ghraib
Falluja
ISIS Control
454 MILES TO BAGHDAD
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