IS (Islamic State) - Hugo Kaaman

The Strategic Logic of SVBIEDs – Part 1 – Mirroring the Conventional

Note: This article was written in the latter half of 2021, and has NOT been factually updated since then. I am publishing it in its original state, without edits. The use of suicide car bombs, or Suicide Vehicle-Borne IEDs (SVBIEDs) by non-state actors has evolved substantially over the past decade. The SVBIED,…

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January 26, 2025

Baghdad / Barqah province / captured car bomb / captured SVBIED / Captured VBIED / Car bombs / Covert VBIED / Iraq / IS (Islamic State) / Islamic State in Libya / Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) / ISWAP / Libya / Libyan Dawn / Libyan National Army (LNA) / Mosul / parked VBIED / SVBIED / Tarabulus province / VBIED

An Explosive Renewal of the Islamic State in Libya? (Guest Post)

This is the first guest post on my website, written by the knowledgeable Calibre Obscura. As this topic revolves around IS' use of SVBIEDs in Libya, my previous in-depth article on the topic is a good primer. Late in the day on June 6th 2021, a local police facility on…

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September 17, 2021

Aleppo / Camouflaged SVBIED / captured car bomb / captured SVBIED / Captured VBIED / Car bombs / Covert VBIED / IS (Islamic State) / ISI (Islamic State of Iraq) / Mosul / SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) / SVBIED / Syria / up-armoured SVBIED / VBIED

Triumph & Symbolism – What Happens To Captured Car Bombs

Ever since the conflicts in Syria and Iraq progressed toward semi-conventional fighting in 2013-2014, up-armoured suicide car bombs, or Suicide Vehicle-Borne IEDs (SVBIEDs) have been a recurring feature of the battlefields. Lacking air superiority, non-state actors in both countries have resorted to using these weapons as a form of "poor…

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April 26, 2021

Car bombs / cinema / cinematic depictions / Damascus Time / film / IS (Islamic State) / Media / mock SVBIED / Mosul / movie / palmyra / SEAL Team / SVBIED / Syria / Tanks / up-armoured SVBIED / VBIED

Cinematic Depictions of Up-Armoured SVBIEDs: A Review

Following the rise of the Islamic State (IS), directors around the world have sought to capture this multi-faceted phenomenon on the big screen. Movies and TV shows have covered IS in different ways, with stories ranging from the qualms of IS foreign fighters to the grinding counter-IS fight undertaken by…

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February 17, 2021

Anbar province / Car bombs / Fallujah / HMMWV (Humvee) / Iraq / IS (Islamic State) / Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) / ISWA / ISWAP / Jaish Khalid Bin al-Walid (JKBW) / Liwa Shuhada al-Yarmouk (LSY) / Mosul / Ninawa / SVBIED / Syria / Transplanted armour / VBIED / Wilayat Hawran

Transplanted Armour: The Franken-SVBIEDs of the Islamic State

In the process of capturing a piece of territory that at its height was larger than the UK, the Islamic State (IS) was able to capture large quantities of armoured vehicles from its opponents. While many of these vehicles (primarily those of Soviet origin) were reinserted into their stated combat…

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January 18, 2021