The group we know today as the ‘Islamic State’ only became known as such after a series of successive transformations and name changes over the course of more than a decade. One of its predecessor groups was the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Proclaimed in mid-October 2006[1] after the death of Abu …
The early SVBIEDs of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia (2003-2006)
Prior to the formation of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - or AQAP - in 2009, al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia had been engaged in attempts to lay the basis for a wider insurrection against the Saudi royal family. The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 coincided with a sudden rise in AQ-related attacks in …
The Rocket-upgraded SVBIEDs of Mosul: A story of Islamic State ingenuity
On April 20th 2017, The Islamic State-affiliated 'Amaq News Agency' published a video report from the raging battle in western Mosul. The video, titled "An innovation enters the battlefield in Mosul", showed an Islamic State (hereafter IS) brown camouflaged SVBIED fitted with five rocket pods on the …
The Islamic State’s own SVBIED statistics
Beginning in October 2015 and ending in September 2017, Amaq News Agency (the unofficial IS 'state media') regularly summarised all IS-claimed "martyrdom operations" (suicide bombings) in Syria, Iraq and Libya in infographics released on a monthly basis. Though these infographics looked different …
Through the desert & 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 SVBIEDs …