Sargon of Akkad
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4. Origins of Suicide Attackers
Between 1 December 2015 and 30 November 2016, just 20 percent of IS’s suicide attackers – whether they were VBIED drivers, inghimas operatives, or HBIED bombers – were ‘foreign fighters’. Indeed, the vast majority were local to the region within which their operation took place (hence, they were mainly Iraqis or Syrians). It is not possible to determine whether the largest proportion of suicide attackers was from Iraq or Syria because, besides those that refer to their towns or cities of origin, there are three kunyas that could mean an individual was from these states – “al-‘Iraqi,” which denotes that a fighter is from Iraq, appeared in 182 cases; “al-Shami”, which denotes that they were Syrian, appeared in 104; and “al-Ansari,” which signifies that they were a local supporter of IS without detailing where they were from, appeared in 196. Both Iraqis and Syrians could use the “al-Ansari” kunya. Whatever the case, given the widespread belief that it is foreigners that make up the bulk of IS’s suicide cadres, these figures are striking indeed.
In total, 186 foreigners died as suicide operatives in the year in question. Fifteen were commemorated with the kunya “al-Muhajir,” which, similar to “al-Ansari,” indicates they were foreign but does not specify a country of origin. The remaining individuals – 86 percent of whom died as VBIED operators – hailed from 31 states. Most came from Tajikistan, followed by Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Russia. Tajikistan’s presence at the top of this list is curious. Over the twelve months in question, significantly more Tajiks died in VBIED and inghimas operations in Syria and Iraq than any other foreign national. This figure is even more striking when considered on a per capita basis, and suggests that Tajiks were being singled out for use in suicide attacks at least in part because of their nationality.40 While a similar phenomenon appears to be the case with the other top-scoring states, the disproportionality of Tajikistan is strange indeed. It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why this might be, but it is worth noting that the man currently rumoured to be IS’s highest military authority – Gulmurod Khalimov – is a Tajik national.41
I cannot copy the report directly but this is the most important data:
Figure X: Suicide Attacker Origin 01/12/15-30/11/16 (Iraq and Syria combined)
74% local, 20% foreign and 6% unidentified.
Figure XI: Attacker Origin - Syria 01/12/15-30/11/16
65% local Syrians, 22% foreign, 13% unidentified.
Figure XII: Attacker Origin - Iraq 01/12/15-30/11/16
77% local Iraqis, 19% foreign, 4% unidentified.
Figure XIII: Nationality of Foreign Suicide Fighters 01/12/15-30/11/16
Tajik: 27
Saudi: 17
Moroccan: 17
Tunisian: 14
Russian: 13
Egyptian: 11
Palestinian: 9
Iranian: 7
Chinese: 7
Libyan: 4
Uzbek: 4
Turkish: 4
Sudanese: 4
Jordanian: 4
Lebanese: 3
Yemeni: 2
Malaysian: 2
Kazakh: 2
Indonesian: 2
Indian: 2
German: 2
French: 2
British: 2
Algerian: 2
Afghan: 2
Pakistani: 1
Kenyan: 1
Irish: 1
Emirati: 1
Dutch: 1
Belgian: 1
See page 21-23.
The research paper was written in February 2017.
It can be read in its entirety here below:
https://icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ICCT-Winter-War-by-Suicide-Feb2017.pdf
Fair to say that a few myths have been erased once and for all. Who would have known that supposed Sunni Persians (Tajiks) would be the most fierce foreign ISIS fighters in conflicts that take place far away from their lands and which do not involve their people or immediate security. And 7 Iranian citizens as well. Well, well, well. Somebody will make a fuss about this report very soon despite this source being neutral and being the most respected source (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague) of its kind.
Also it's worth noticing that suicide bombing itself (at least in an Islamic/Muslim context) was first invented and sponsored by Pro-Wilayat al-Faqih Mullah (Iranian regime in case anyone is in doubt) regime groups.
For instance during the Afghan-Soviet War there was not a single suicide bombing attack despite more foreigners joining during those 8 years than foreigners joining ISIS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack#Islam
Between 1 December 2015 and 30 November 2016, just 20 percent of IS’s suicide attackers – whether they were VBIED drivers, inghimas operatives, or HBIED bombers – were ‘foreign fighters’. Indeed, the vast majority were local to the region within which their operation took place (hence, they were mainly Iraqis or Syrians). It is not possible to determine whether the largest proportion of suicide attackers was from Iraq or Syria because, besides those that refer to their towns or cities of origin, there are three kunyas that could mean an individual was from these states – “al-‘Iraqi,” which denotes that a fighter is from Iraq, appeared in 182 cases; “al-Shami”, which denotes that they were Syrian, appeared in 104; and “al-Ansari,” which signifies that they were a local supporter of IS without detailing where they were from, appeared in 196. Both Iraqis and Syrians could use the “al-Ansari” kunya. Whatever the case, given the widespread belief that it is foreigners that make up the bulk of IS’s suicide cadres, these figures are striking indeed.
In total, 186 foreigners died as suicide operatives in the year in question. Fifteen were commemorated with the kunya “al-Muhajir,” which, similar to “al-Ansari,” indicates they were foreign but does not specify a country of origin. The remaining individuals – 86 percent of whom died as VBIED operators – hailed from 31 states. Most came from Tajikistan, followed by Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Russia. Tajikistan’s presence at the top of this list is curious. Over the twelve months in question, significantly more Tajiks died in VBIED and inghimas operations in Syria and Iraq than any other foreign national. This figure is even more striking when considered on a per capita basis, and suggests that Tajiks were being singled out for use in suicide attacks at least in part because of their nationality.40 While a similar phenomenon appears to be the case with the other top-scoring states, the disproportionality of Tajikistan is strange indeed. It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why this might be, but it is worth noting that the man currently rumoured to be IS’s highest military authority – Gulmurod Khalimov – is a Tajik national.41
I cannot copy the report directly but this is the most important data:
Figure X: Suicide Attacker Origin 01/12/15-30/11/16 (Iraq and Syria combined)
74% local, 20% foreign and 6% unidentified.
Figure XI: Attacker Origin - Syria 01/12/15-30/11/16
65% local Syrians, 22% foreign, 13% unidentified.
Figure XII: Attacker Origin - Iraq 01/12/15-30/11/16
77% local Iraqis, 19% foreign, 4% unidentified.
Figure XIII: Nationality of Foreign Suicide Fighters 01/12/15-30/11/16
Tajik: 27
Saudi: 17
Moroccan: 17
Tunisian: 14
Russian: 13
Egyptian: 11
Palestinian: 9
Iranian: 7
Chinese: 7
Libyan: 4
Uzbek: 4
Turkish: 4
Sudanese: 4
Jordanian: 4
Lebanese: 3
Yemeni: 2
Malaysian: 2
Kazakh: 2
Indonesian: 2
Indian: 2
German: 2
French: 2
British: 2
Algerian: 2
Afghan: 2
Pakistani: 1
Kenyan: 1
Irish: 1
Emirati: 1
Dutch: 1
Belgian: 1
See page 21-23.
The research paper was written in February 2017.
It can be read in its entirety here below:
https://icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ICCT-Winter-War-by-Suicide-Feb2017.pdf
Fair to say that a few myths have been erased once and for all. Who would have known that supposed Sunni Persians (Tajiks) would be the most fierce foreign ISIS fighters in conflicts that take place far away from their lands and which do not involve their people or immediate security. And 7 Iranian citizens as well. Well, well, well. Somebody will make a fuss about this report very soon despite this source being neutral and being the most respected source (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague) of its kind.
Also it's worth noticing that suicide bombing itself (at least in an Islamic/Muslim context) was first invented and sponsored by Pro-Wilayat al-Faqih Mullah (Iranian regime in case anyone is in doubt) regime groups.
For instance during the Afghan-Soviet War there was not a single suicide bombing attack despite more foreigners joining during those 8 years than foreigners joining ISIS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack#Islam
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