ConflictBarometer_2015

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
September, Achin district chief Hajji Ghalib Mujahid claimed
that IS controlled several towns in the region and operated
three prisons where up to 19 soldiers and close to 130
religious scholars were held. While a UN report in September
indicated that IS was active in 25 of the 34 Afghan provinces,
the government stressed that IS fighters were only present
in Helmand and Nangarhar.
Inter-militant fighting in Nangarhar's Pachiragam district on
September 4 left at least 23 militants dead. On September
27, ANA forces attacked IS militants in the Achin district,
Nangahar, after IS fighters had attacked several checkpoints
in the region. The fights lasted for over four days and led
to approx. 100 fatalities on the side of the militants, while
there was no valid information about ANA deaths. When
IS militants fired a rocket on a mosque in Achin district on
October 30, six individuals were killed and four wounded.
Clashes between Taliban and IS militants in Zabul province
between November 6 and 9 resulted in up to 100 fatalities
on the side of the combatants and left at least 21 civilians
dead. Numerous IS fighters defected or were captured by
the Taliban. Until November, up to 15,000 families fled
their homes in Nangarhar province due to IS attacks. On
December 4, clashes between IS and security forces in Achin
district resulted in the deaths of at least 22 militants and two
soldiers. During the following two days, the ANSF carried out
several airstrikes in the area, killing at least 49 IS fighters.
On December 16, the government demanded joint operations
with NATO and US forces against IS. Throughout December,
Taliban and IS militants repeatedly clashed in Nangarhar
province, leaving at least 31 militants dead and more than 36
wounded. Another wave of government airstrikes between
December 27 and 28 killed at least 60 IS fighters in Achin
district, while at least 38 militants were killed in similar operations
in Chaparhar district, Nangarhar, the next day. (twt, chf)
ALGERIA
In addition to newly-formed Jund al-Khilafa in Algeria that
had pledged allegiance to IS on 09/14/14, Ansar al-Khilafa
Battaillon, al-Ghuraba Brigade, and al-Ansar Battallion as well
as Humat al-Daawa al-Salafiya, all four comprising former
AQIM fighters, pledged allegiance to IS in May, July and
September.
In April and May, the army conducted several large-scale
military operations directed against Jund al-Khilafa in
Bourmerdés and Bouira Province, leaving a total of at least
26 militants dead. In early June, after IS militants had taken
control over areas in western Libya, the Algerian army raised
its state of alert along its eastern border. In reaction to the
attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia, on June 26, the
Algerian army began to deploy 1,200 troops to its northeastern
border provinces. On July 14, two Jund al-Khilafa emirs
declared war on Algeria. (ala)
EGYPT
In Egypt, the IS branch Wilayat Sinai fought against the
government, which was supported by Bedouin tribes [→
Egypt (Bedouin activists)]. Wilayat Sinai evolved from the Islamist
militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis which had pledged
allegiance to IS on 11/10/14 [→ Egypt (Islamist groups)].
Throughout the year, violence carried out by Egyptian security
forces and members of IS Wilayat Sinai left at least 259
dead and more than 308 injured. Another 224 people were
killed in the downing of a passenger jet.
North Sinai saw repeated clashes, suicide attacks, and abductions.
For instance, on January 13, IS Wilayat Sinai abducted
and killed one Egyptian police officer near Rafah city, North
Sinai. The day after, the police killed 17 suspected members
of the group. On February 6, Egyptian security forces killed
at least 27 IS Wilayat Sinai members in North Sinai. On
March 10, an IS Wilayat Sinai fighter attacked a state security
building in al-Arish, North Sinai, with a truck packed with
explosives. One person died and more than 30 people were
injured. On April 16, members of IS Wilayat Sinai targeted
a police station in the same town with a car bomb, killing
six and injuring at least 40. In response to the roadside
bombing, the Egyptian military shot dead three suspected
militants. One month later, members of IS Wilayat Sinai shot
dead four civilians and injured one on the al-Arish/Rafah
road. On September 16 and 19, members of IS Wilayat Sinai
killed one police officer and one police general in al-Arish.
On November 4, an IS Wilayat Sinai suicide bomber killed
five and injured 10 by driving his car into a police facility in
al-Arish.
Furthermore, IS Wilayat Sinai carried out several simultaneous
large-scale attacks. On April 2, the group attacked five
security checkpoints on the al-Arish/Rafah road, killing 17
and leaving at least 29 injured. Responding to the attacks,
the military shot dead 15 militants in an operation on the
same day. On July 1, IS Wilayat Sinai fighters conducted 15
attacks in the towns of al-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, North
Sinai, killing at least 64 and leaving dozens injured.
On October 31, a passenger jet operated by Russian carrier
Metrojet, en route from Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai Province, to
St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed in the Sinai, costing the lives
of all passengers and crew, 224 in total. On November 18, IS
claimed to be responsible for downing the jet.
However, attacks by IS Wilayat Sinai were not limited to Sinai
Peninsula. On July 11, the group conducted a car bomb attack
on the Italian consulate in the capital Cairo, killing one and
injuring ten. Five days later, IS Wilayat Sinai fired a missile
from Rafah on an Egyptian naval vessel in the waters north
of Rafah, Governorate of Gaza, Gaza Strip. At the beginning
of August, the IS Wilayat Sinai militants executed a Croatian
national kidnapped in Cairo on July 22. In exchange for the
hostage, they had demanded the release of several women
imprisoned in Egypt. The bombing of a Cairo courthouse on
August 20 left at least 29 wounded. On November 28, IS
Wilayat Sinai fighters shot dead four police officers on the
Sakkara road near Giza city, Governorate of Giza.
Throughout the year, several Bedouin tribes renewed vows
to fight IS Wilayat Sinai and engaged in combat. On April 18,
the Tarabin tribe issued a statement vowing that it will fight IS
Wilayat Sinai. Shortly after, the IS group distributed leaflets,
threatening to execute individuals collaborating with the
army. In early May, tribal leaders conducted a meeting of the
''Sinai Tribal Federation'' near al-Arish, issuing a communique
declaring that they would support the army by sending armed
volunteer troops. (ppr)
LEBANON
Clashes between IS and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF),
supported by Hezbollah, continued. The government was
confronted with militant groups such as IS and Jabhat al-
Nusra, who were trying to gain control of Lebanese villages
on the border to Syria.
Firefights were observed throughout the year between the
LAF and Hezbollah, on the one hand, and militant groups,
on the other, mainly around the towns of Arsal, Baalbek,
and Ras Baalbek, Beqaa governorate. Since the 08/02/14
attack by IS and al-Nusra in Arsal, the LAF maintained its hold
on Arsal and continued to execute its security plan in the
Beqaa Valley, which included heightened security measures
185