Failed Daesh Leadership: How the Global Coalition Effectively Removed Daesh’s Command Structure
Since its establishment in 2014, the Global Coalition and its partners have mounted a series of operations to remove Daesh leaders from the battlefield. By systematically targeting high-ranking members, the Global Coalition has dealt significant blows to the group's command structure.
The removal of Daesh leadership has had far-reaching effects on the organisation's ability to operate, reducing coordination across the group’s cells, and causing confusion and disarray among its ranks. Thanks to the efforts of the Global Coalition and its military partners around the world, Daesh leaders now live in anonymity and in hiding.
Over this period Daesh has also experienced significant internal strife, including divisions between cliques based on differences of ideology and strategy, which have fundamentally weakened it as a movement.
2015
August 2015
The first of many significant blows to Daesh leadership takes place. Daesh leader Al-Baghdadi’s second-in-command Fadel Ahmed Al-Hiyali (also known as “Abu Muslim Al-Turkmani”) is killed by the Coalition. Responsible for multiple brutal Daesh attacks in Iraq, his death means that Daesh offensive capabilities are significantly weakened.
2016
March 2016
Daesh’s top finance official is taken out by the Coalition. The US Department of Defence confirms Al-Qaduli (also known as “Abu Ali Al-Anbari”) the second of Baghdadi’s two deputies has been killed in a US Special Forces raid in Syria.
2016
July 2016
A Global Coalition Airstrike in Salah Al-Din, Iraq, takes out Daesh military commander Tarkhan Teymurazovich Batirashvili, also known as “Abu Omar Al-Shishani.” Another significant blow is dealt to Daesh's military leadership.
2016
August 2016
Daesh's spokesman, known as “Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani,” is killed by an airstrike near al-Bab in northern Syria. Al-Adnani was a notorious figure responsible for overseeing Daesh's then sophisticated propaganda. After his demise the group's capacity to spread terrorist propaganda is greatly weakened.
2016
August 2016
Following prolonged dissent and division within its West African branch, Daesh moves to remove then leader of the branch Abubakr Shekau.
2016
November 2016
An internal report is disseminated, acknowledging a rift within Daesh between those considered to be “too extremist” even by Daesh’s standards. It speaks to an ongoing power struggle that will continue to plague Daesh for years.
2018
September 2018
Internal rifts among Daesh fighters reach a new peak when foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) reportedly attempt to assassinate the leader Awad Ibrahim Al-Badri, also known as “Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi” , the first of Daesh’s leaders.
2019
October 2019
Al-Baghdadi is killed in a US military operation in Idlib, northern Syria. The repercussions of the leader’s death are extensive. A significant figurehead, his assassination exacerbates internal rifts and power struggles.
2019
October 2019
Daesh spokesman and propagandist Thaher Salim Muhammad Al-Shahiri, also known as “Abu Hassan Al-Muhajir,” is killed near Jarabulus, northern Syria, by a Global Coalition airstrike .
2022
February 2022
Al-Baghdadi's successor Muhammad Saeed Abdulrahman Al-Mawla (also known as “Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi”) is killed in Atimah, northern Syria, during a Global Coalition operation. His death exacerbates disagreements over the group’s future leadership.
2022
November 2022
A third Daesh leader is killed. The commander , who goes under the same alias as his predecessor (“Abu Al-Hassan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi”), is killed in clashes in Jassim, southern Syria. By this point Daesh is attempting to hide their leaders’ identity to protect their safety. The death of a further anonymous leader compounds challenges for the movement.
2023
June 2023
An anti-Daesh Telegram group obtains and leaks internal letters highlighting tensions within Daesh. The dispute revolves around whether the group is taking sufficient credit for attacks they have carried out in Syria. The leaked documents reveal the turmoil created as a result of being unable to keep their leaders alive, with discussions devolving into turbulent debates where agreement on basic matters like attack claim remains elusive.
2023
August 2023
Daesh’s fourth leader (and the third to go under the alias “Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi”) is announced dead by Daesh.
2023
September 2023
Another set of leaked documents reveals deep ideological divisions continue to afflict Daesh networks in NE Syria.
2024
January 2024
A UN report highlights an easing of hostilities at a local level between Daesh in the Sahel (ISGS) and their nearby al-Qa’ida rival, displaying Daesh’s fluctuating values when they are in a position of weakness.