DAESH

clear and present danger

for all of Europe!
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www.noterror.eu

INTROduction
This brochure focuses on the actions
of DAESH and other jihadist groups
because they represent the first danger
today for our Western societies.

It must however NOT be seen as

anti-Muslim or anti-Islam website!
We believe the terrorists have nothing to
do with the true values of Islam!
On the contrary, the crimes committed by DAESH and so-called islamists
groups are against all the teachings
of Islam!

HISTORY OF DAESH
The origins of DAESH can be found by looking at the
history of the creation of Al Qaeda (AQ) in Iraq which
followed the American military occupation of that
country. AQ in Iraq made headlines on many occasions between 2004 and 2006 and became infamous
for its many bloody attacks. The Jihadist movement in
Iraq suffered major setbacks after US troops were able
to turn several Sunni tribes against it, as a response
to the bloody attacks that the Jihadists were blindly
carrying out among civilians.
In 2006, AQ in Iraq established with 5 other Jihadist
groups and several Sunni tribes, the Mujahideen Shura
Council. This Council started by proclaiming an Islamic
State in Iraq, followed by the inclusion of Syria and
Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, the name of AQ fell into
obsolescence, and the Jihadist movement came to be
referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIS), also known by the Arabic acronym DAESH.
Though marginalized for several years, two elements
triggered a rebirth of this Jihadist structure: the sectarian politics of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
who treated the Sunni population as second class
citizens and the war in Syria.
Last June, DAESH and a large number of Sunni tribes
launched a wide attack that pushed the Iraqi army

back toward the gates of Baghdad.

In Iraq, DAESH carefully planned its presence, by
organizing these past few years, truly organized and
targeted terrorist attacks against tribal leaders, security forces, and state infrastructures. These campaigns
weakened the security apparatus, as well as the Sunni
opposition to DAESH. This thus paved the way to
the crushing Sunni offensive of last summer in Iraq.
The resentment of the Sunni population toward the
sectarian politics of the Shiite prime minister took care
of the rest.
Interestingly, DAESH was not the only side in this
Summer 2014 offensive, as other groups, both religious
and not, participated in the events.
DAESH Jihadists have also participated in the war
against the Syrian regime. This has allowed money to
flow in the direction of the group from countries that
are opposed to the Bashar Al-Assad regime, and the
arrival of thousands of foreign voluntary fighers.
With the extensive media coverage afforded to
DAESH, and the groups military victories, it has
become the most attractive group for a number of
Jihadists. Some estimates would place the number
of DAESH fighters somewhere between 20,000 and
75,000, at least 16,000 of which come from countries

other than Syria or Iraq. These 16,000 foreigners come

from 74 countries! If the majority comes from Saudi
Arabia, Gulf countries, the Maghreb and Chechnya,
some are from Asia-Pacific (Including China!). Some

4,000 are estimated to have come from European

countries. Foreign Jihadists are especially present on
the Syrian stage.
Besides individuals, at least 3 distinct organizations trade
militants in large quantities and in a systematic way:
the Caucasus Emirate (group that exists in the
Russian Caucasus)
Pakistani Taliban (TTP)
t he Peoples Mojahedin of Iran (Iranian opposition)
If DAESH started out with Al Qaeda as its reference
point, it quickly distanced itself from the latter as soon
as a conflict arose between itself and the al-Nusra
Front. AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri chose to back
the al-Nusra Front and asked DAESH to dissolve its
Syrian branch and join al-Nusra. DAESH, however,
refused. As a result, al-Nusra was recognized by AQ
as its Syrian branch DAESH was furious about that
decision! The conflict between the two organizations
escalated until the involvement of arms turned against
and among brothers who had now become enemies.
DAESH did not hesitate, in January of 2014, to execute
over a hundred al-Nusra Front prisoners.

Leadership and structures of DAESH

DAESH (also known as ISIS) is led by a single
leader: Caliph Ibrahim! In reality, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi. Arrested in Iraq by US troops in 2005,
he was surprisingly released in 2009.
He appointed an Emir for Syria, Abu Muhammad
al Adnan al-Shami, who is also the spokesman
for DAESH.
The Caliph is assisted by a council
about which little is known
There are also provincial governors.
There is a military council
For judicial matters, the Caliph is
supported by an Advisory Council.
DAESH has a media branch
whose aim is to construct and
disseminate propaganda videos,
known as the Furqan Media Center.
In terms of strategy, DAESH has developed an
efficient and highly motivated light infantry force,
with extensive combat experience from years of
war in Iraq and from combat in Syria, but also
with fighters from the Balkans and Chechnya.
This type of highly mobile light infantry unit is

helped in Iraq by the road infrastructure that was

developed under Saddam Hussein. It is possible
to move a large number of fighters on fast heavily
armed pick-up style vehicles quickly and over long
distances. DAESH used the technique widely to
launch aggressive raids with units ranging from
just one company to a platoon (30
to 100 men) and were aimed at
attacking army positions and escaping quickly. Car bombs were also
used in support of these attacks.
This kind of tactic is only possible
when the opponent (the Iraqi
army) lacks information, but especially means of observation. This is
very surprising since in theory, the
Iraqi army could count on the support of the US Army, who are recognized experts
in this field.
DAESH, of which many of its leaders come from
Saddams army and therefore have received Soviet
training, also utilizes artillery barrage when it has
the opportunity.
As a military and terrorist plan, DAESH practices

centralization of control but decentralization of

execution. In other words, the strategic guidelines
are clearly defined by a single authority but dis-

cretion is allowed as to the means and tactics to

achieve the goals.

Global Jihad
Other jihadi groups are rife in Iraq and Syria. Although other groups exist: nationalist, religious but
less radical, etc., we only mention here the jihadist
type groups
Jaish al-Mujahideen (Army of Holy Warriors) :
Iraqi group, Salafist with nationalistic tendencies.
Ansar al-Islam (Guardians of Islam) : Originally
Iraqi rebel group, but began to send volunteers to
Syria. The group originated in Kurdistan. The group
recently announced that it would dissolve and join
DAESH. A minority of the group seems to reject
this plan.
Ahrar al-Sham (Free Men of the Levant) : Supported by Qatar. This probably explains the fierce
competition against DAESH and the fighting that
broke out between the two groups in January 2014.
Its estimated strength is between 10,000 and 20,000
fighters. Many of its leaders are former Al Qaeda.
Ahrar al-Sham was decapitated by bombing that
killed 47 of its leaders in September 2014.
Ansar al Sham (Supporters of the Levant):
Contains many Caucasians in its ranks, mainly
active in the region of Latakia.
Suqur-Al-Sham (Falcons of the Levant)

J abhat al Nusra (Nusra Front): Founded in 2011.

Salafist and close to Al Qaeda to which it swears
allegiance. The most powerful jihadist group alongside DAESH and with which it was in competition
that went as far as armed confrontation and reciprocal massacres. Has 7000 fighters. Active in Syria
and Lebanon, but not in Iraq up until now. Twelve
of its members were arrested in May 2013 in Turkey
while trying to buy sarin gas. Supported by Turkey
and Saudi Arabia.

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Liwa al-Islam (Flag of Islam) : Jihadist group

funded by millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia.
Trained by Pakistani instructors. Has 25,000 fighters. Its members participated in the massacre of
Adra, industrial city where the men in this group
murdered dozens of civilians belonging to Alawite,
Christian, Druze and Ishmaelite minorities.
L
 iwa al Tawhid (Unity Brigade) : Founded
in 2012 with the support of Qatar. Its strength
is estimated to be 10,000. In open conflict with
DAESH executed a hundred of its men captured
in January 2014.

Liwa al Ummah (Banner of the Nation) : Created

in 2012, largely composed of Libyan Islamists.
DAESH has been or is open and armed conflict with
the bulk of Syrian rebel groups including jihadist
groups. And while it does not flinch away from combat with them, or even executing prisoners of competing groups, it is not the only one to lead a ruthless
fratricidal war. Since September 2014, the Jabhat al
Nusra is suspected of 12 murders or attempted murders of rebel leaders belonging to the Ahrar al Sham,
Liwa al Ummah and Harakat Hazm groups.

Crimes against minorities and opponents

Wherever DAESH has established itself, the same
treatment is seen for religious minorities or opponents:
Dhimmis statutes for minorities: Christians subject
to a special tax and expulsion of those who refuse
to submit to it or to convert
Abductions of minorities and especially the Yazidis
including many women who were sold as slaves
Destruction of churches such as the burning of
the archdiocese of Mosul on July 17, 2014
Destruction of historic religious sites
considered heretic, such as the tomb
of the prophet Jonah
Prohibitions of many subjects: history, philosophy, chemistry, modern
biology and Darwins theory
Crucifixion
Execution of thousands of prisoners: Shiites, members of the
Iraqi army, members of the Syrian
army, prisoners of other rebel
groups, members of the Yazidi
community
Between August and October, the
slaying of four Western hostages

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Europe
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Irak

Support and funding of DAESH

DAESH receives money from wealthy donors from
the Gulf countries. It also takes advantage of captured Iraqi cities by stealing the financial reserves
of the banks. DAESH sells oil from the wells it
possesses, via US oil companies (!!!) and via Turkey.
It is also funded by extortion of individuals and
businesses in occupied areas, plus the illegal trade of
antiquities stolen during looting
Qatar and Kuwait also support DAESH although
they now seem to support other equally jihadist
groups such as al Jabhat al Nusra, Liwa al Tawhid,
Ahrar al Sham and Jaish al-Islam. But given the
number of members of the cited groups rallying to
DAESH, it is likely that it still enjoys some of the
Qatari and Kuwaiti funds
Turkey also has just as murky a role but is much
more active in supporting jihadists. Because of the
anti-Assad and Islamist rhetoric of the AKP and
its turning a blind-eye to jihadists crossing the
country, a growing number of Turkish citizens are
joining the jihadists in Syria. The Turkish intelligence services themselves estimated in June 2014
that 600 700 Turks had joined DAESH, not counting other groups

Furthermore, Turkish support is almost public since

it is common knowledge that some jihadists stayed
in well known hotels in Ankara. The head of Israeli
military intelligence even announced in January
2014 that jihadist groups close to al Qaeda had 3
training camps in Turkey.
Meanwhile, the Combat Terrorism Center at West
Point estimated, in its journal Sentinel, that
Turkey is the country that has most supported the
Syrian opposition. And thats without mentioning its closing its eyes to the transit of men and
weapons that sometimes even leave from Turkey
to make their attacks. It seems that the Jabhat al
Nusra has particularly benefitted from Turkish
leniency.
The influences of each country within the jihadist
movement can be summarized as follows.
Q
 atar: Ahrar al-Sham (HASI), including former Al
Qaeda
U
 SA: Harakat Hazzm, Revolutionary Syrian Front
who made extensive use of American-made TOW
anti-tank missiles in October 2014
V
 arious Gulf countries: Jabhat al Nusra, Liwa al
Tawid, Ahrar al Sham, Jaish al-Islam

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 Saudi Arabia: Jaysh al Islam, DAESH (at least

until January 2014)
In the jihadist world DAESH no longer enjoys unanimity. And while some groups such as Boko Haram
(Nigeria), Abu Sayyaf (Philippines), TTP (Pakistani
Taliban) support it, others criticize it sharply.

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Saudi Arabia: Support No. 1

Saudi Arabia is playing a macabre double game! While
it joins in with the anti-DAESH coalition, it is known
that it has supported the creation of this group and
has largely financed it, both in Iraq and Syria!
It is clear that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have financed it, stated Alain Chouet, a former officer
of the Directorate General for External Security
(DGSE).These two States were financing all the
anti-Assad forces, continued Alain Rodier, a former

member of the same department and researcher

at the French Centre for Research on Intelligence.
And this has benefited, among others, ISIS (another name for DAESH).This support is provided
discreetly through private donations, the action of
Islamic NGOs or through secret services via complex financial arrangements using Saudi offshore
accounts in Bahrain and Sudan.
The shady game of the secret services
As with Al Qaeda and Bin Laden, the Western secret
services seem to have been a liability in the growth
of DAESH. Whether through anti-Bashar phobia,
error, or dark geopolitical calculations, Western
intelligence agencies (British, American, French and
even Israeli) have once again played with fire by
protecting DAESH when in its infancy.

DAESH Terrorist assessment

Arrests of jihadists in Europe
110 in 2009 - 216 in 2013 :

More than double

en44years
ans
in

Fatalities due to jihadist activities in Europe

(19 deaths in 2015)

It is unclear whether DAESH has enough materials

and expertise to exploit such seizures but the risk of
this group one day using weapons of mass destruction is real.
And other jihadist groups seem interested in the
subject, since in September 2013, the Turkish Intelligence revealed the activity of Turkish nationals
seeking to procure sarin gas on behalf of the Jabhat
al Nusra

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(We are in February)

4 times more
than in 2014

And if they had weapons of mass destruction?

Note that in June 2014, DAESH seized fissile type
material (used for the manufacture of nuclear
weapons) from the University of Mosul. But it has
also taken possession of facilities where there were
materials relating to the former chemical weapons
program of the Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein.

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DAESH does not hesitate to kill Muslims who think differently.

JIHADIST RISK IN THE WEST ?

Of the 16,000 foreign volunteers (conservative
estimate) that DAESH has 12,000 come from the
Muslim world (see table below). The rest (4000)
come from Western countries.
Foreign volunteers
Muslim
world
Western
countries
Number
Monde m
usulman Number
Nombre Pays
Occidentaux
Nombre
Tunisian
Tunisiens
Saudi
Saoudiens
Jordaniens
Jordanian
Moroccan
Marocains
Libanais
Lebanese
Libyan
Libyens
Turkish
Turc
Egyptian
Egyptiens
Tchtchnes
Chechen
Palestiniens
Palestinian
Kuwaiti
Koweitiens

3.000
2.500
2.089
1.500
890
550
400
358
186
114
71

French
France
British
GB
German
RFA
Belgian
Belgique
Australian
Australiens
Dutch
Pays Bas
Danish
Danois
USA
Austrian
Autrichiens
Norvgiens
Norwegian
Irish
Irlandais
Swedish
Sudois
Swiss
Suisses

1.000
1.500
500
250
250
120
100
70
60
50
30
30
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Some have tried to continue the Jihad in the

Western countries.
Mohammed Merah: murdered French soldiers
and Jewish children in France, 3 years ago
Mehdi Nemmouche: Alleged perpetrator of the

attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels killing

4 in May 2014
Ibrahim Boudina: French citizen arrested on his
return from Syria in spring 2014 in possession of a USB memory containing the plans for building
bombs. A firearm and
bomb building materials were also found
in a box near his
home
Mohammad
Ali Baryalei:
DAESH recruiter established
in Australia and
arrested in September 2014 for plotting
to film the kidnapping
and execution of an Australian
family to have been taken at random
M
 artin Roleau-Couture, young Canadian converted to Islam who purposely ran over and killed a
soldier in the suburbs of Montreal, October 20 2014

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Michael Zehaf-Bibeau: Canadian, 32, converted to Islam who led an attack against the Parliament in Ottawa, October 22, 2014
On 22 September 2014, Abu Mohammed Al Adnan, the DAESH spokesman called for unbelievers
belonging to the coalition countries to be killed,
wherever they are and even if they are civilians.
There is particular risk from lone wolves, radicalized through the Internet or in prison. But we
cannot exclude the formation of sleeper cells.
But the biggest risk of all lies in individuals returning from Syria who may commit spontaneous
but very deadly attacks such as that conducted by
Mehdi Nemmouche.
From lone wolves to organized packs
While producing this leaflet, we learned that

events proved us to be horribly right with the

deadly attacks in Paris, Copenhagen and the
bloody dismantling of a terrorist cell in Belgium.
In Paris, we were faced not with lone wolves, but
an autonomous pack that hit targets and chose its
own scenario, while taking instructions transmitted by pro-jihadist Internet sites and forums.
Each of the killers then claims to be part of the
group to which he feels closest, depending on his
contacts in Syria, Yemen or elsewhere: Al Qaeda
for the Kouachi brothers and DAESH the Islamic
state, for Coulibaly. In Belgium, it seems that here,
there was very much a network authorized, funded and under the orders of DAESH! A network
that had planned complex attacks and large scale
violence: attacks on the police, attacks on public
transport, etc...

REMEMBER
DAESH is genuine international army with real

military and organizational capabilities.

DAESH is a real and immediate threat to global
security and stability!
DAESH is, for obscure reasons of regional
policy, supported by a number of Arab-Muslim
countries and especially the Gulf countries
Foreign jihadists in Syria represent a major threat to their country of origin when they
return there!
Salafism and Wahhabism (Saudi version of Salafism) are intolerant and archaic visions of Islam.
They are nourishment and ideological justification for many terrorist groups. These ideologies
are broadcast using mega petrodollars by Saudi
Arabia and Qatar, and even in Europe. In doing so,
they create hundreds of fanatics who are all time
bombs installed in the heart of Europe.
The Western policy of playing a double game is
a bloody failure (laxity towards these groups and
supporting them while struggling timidly against
terrorism). If Western countries do not stand up
and fight radically and efficiently against the

jihadists and their Qatari and Saudi sponsors, the

risks faced by the European population are real
and very significant!
One of the ways to fight against DAESH and
groups of this nature would be for European
countries to seriously review their policy towards
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and not hesitate to sanction them for their support of terrorism!

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DAESH is supporting or has been supported,

among others, by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan,
the United Arab Emirates.

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Brochure produced by the

European Information
Centre on Terrorism
BP 71 - 1000 Bruxelles
www.noterror.eu
info@noterror.eu

This brochure focuses on the

actions of Islamist and jihadist
groups because they represent
the first danger today for our
Western societies.
It must however NOT be seen
as anti-Muslim or anti-Islam
brochure! Our only goal is to
inform about actions of groups
manipulated by extremists.
DAESH should not be seen as
a religious organization but as
a kind of cult manipulated for
political reasons.