Deir ez-Zor - Hugo Kaaman

Bouquet of Death: Why ISIS Fighters Bring Flowers to Suicide Bombings

Recently I wrote a short article for Popular Front that was just released, about why IS fighters sometimes mount flowers to their SVBIEDs. The article can be read here on the new Popular Front website.

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March 14, 2019

Car bombs / Deir ez-Zor / Iraq / IS (Islamic State) / Mosul / SVBIED / Syria / Tal Afar / VBIED

Islamic State & The Cross-Provincial Use of SVBIEDs

After the Islamic State had ascended to prominence in the period of 2013-14, their state-building venture really took off. The territories in Syria and Iraq under their control were divided into more than a dozen provinces (wilayat), each supervised by its own centrally appointed governor (wali). In turn, each province…

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March 13, 2019

al-Qaeda / Aleppo / Anbar province / Barqah province / bulldozer / Car bombs / Deir ez-Zor / Drones / Front-end loader / Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) / Iraq / Iraqi forces / IS (Islamic State) / Islamic State in Libya / Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN) / Libya / Mosul / Raqqah / RC-VBIED / Remote controlled / Salahuddin / SVBIED / Syria / Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) / VBIED

SVBIEDs & The Offensive Role of Heavy Construction Equipment

In historical and contemporary wars alike, the establishment of qualitative defensive fortifications has been one of the, if not the most important aspect of preparing for the possibility of an armed attack by an opposing force. These defensive fortifications typically take the shape of trenches and earth berms either surrounding…

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February 13, 2019

Barqah province / Car bombs / Covert VBIED / Deir ez-Zor / Drones / Iraq / Iraqi forces / IS (Islamic State) / Islamic State in Libya / Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN) / Libya / Libyan Dawn / Libyan National Army (LNA) / Mosul / Raqqah / Remote controlled / S-75 SAM / SUV / SVBIED / Syria / Tarabulus province / VBIED

The SVBIEDs of the Islamic State in Libya – History & Analysis

*Note*Before delving into the fascinating SVBIED designs constructed and used by the Islamic State contingent in Libya, I've decided to dedicate the first section of this article to the history behind the group's rise and decline in this north-African country. Historical knowledge surrounding this is imperative in order to be…

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February 5, 2019

Through the desert and down the Euphrates – Islamic State SVBIED use & innovation

October 22, 2017 – used by IS in Deir ez-zor province.

Aleppo / Anbar province / Camouflaged SVBIED / Car bombs / Deir ez-Zor / Drones / HMMWV (Humvee) / Homs / Iraq / Iraqi forces / IS (Islamic State) / Mosul / Raqqah / SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) / SUV / SVBIED / Syria / Tal Afar / Tanks

Through the desert and down the Euphrates – Islamic State SVBIED use & innovation

This is the second part of a series of articles covering the IS development and innovation of SVBIEDs from the battle of Mosul to the current situation. The first part covered the similarities between the battles of Mosul and Raqqah, while this part will cover the Islamic State's use of…

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May 29, 2018