Islamic State (IS) is well known for its ability to recruit large numbers of fighters from various countries, including the United States, Europe and Middle Eastern countries. IS also has the capacity to implement strategies that enable it to win decisive battles that contributed to its expansion in Iraq, Syria and Libya. IS militants acquired heavy and advanced U.S. weaponry, after repeatedly defeating the Iraqi security forces, all factors that have contributed to its strength despite the international coalition's efforts to counter the group's danger. IS sets salaries for its fighters, ranging from hundreds of U.S. dollars to a few thousand. The massive numbers of IS foreign fighters: On December 4, 2014, American news gathering website The Fiscal Times, referenced a research, carried out by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC), on IS recruitment of foreign fighters, which played a major role in empowering the extremist group in Syria and Iraq. IS has an all-female British unit, which also includes other nationalities. It resembles a police force in nature, based in the Syrian city of Al Raqqah and tasked with recruiting female fighters in Iraq's Al Anbar province. The group also has a Lebanese unit characterized by a strong online German-language presence used in recruiting foreign fighters, according to the research. The research mentioned that thousands of foreign fighters had joined the Free Syrian Army to combat Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad's regime, before shifting their loyalty to the Libyan Al Nusra Front, then to IS. In September 2014, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated that the number of IS foreign members had reached between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters in Syria and Iraq. While 2,000 Europeans and 100 Americans were fighting within its ranks. The United Nations Security Council issued a report in 2014 saying that 15,000 foreign fighters from 80 different countries had fled to Syria to join IS. However, this number does not include those who were killed, returned back to their countries or joined IS in another country like Iraq. European countries like Britain, France and Germany declared that large numbers of their nationals were fighting alongside IS in Syria. Middle Eastern countries also have thousands of their nationals fighting for IS in Syria, among which Tunisia with 2,000 citizens fighting for IS, according to the report. Veteran fighters among IS' ranks with heavy weaponry: One of the most prominent foreign fighters who joined IS is Abu Omar Al Shishani, a member of the Georgian army intelligence in 2006 who took part in the Russo-Georgian war in 2008 as a sergeant. In 2010, Al Shishani was discharged from the army after contracting tuberculosis. He is recognized among IS fighters for introducing effective battlefield maneuvers, such as feints and encirclement, which gave IS victory in key battles, according to the TRAC research. In June, 2014, The Financial Times published a list compiled by U.S. intelligence and military officials of the possible kind of U.S. heavy weaponry possessed by IS. The list included Stinger missiles, an unknown quantity of M114 Humvees and other armored personnel carriers, in addition to an unspecified number of M198 and a huge amount of explosives. A senior U.S. military officer, who asked to remain anonymous, told FT that such weapons were considered to be "game changing". He added in reference to IS militants: "They took Mosul with what they had from Syria. Now, they have got US army division equipment and are already using that to seize other areas." IS battle strategies and tactics: One of IS' key strengths is its sophisticated strategic and tactical command, Jessica Lewis, a veteran U.S. army intelligence officer with battle experience in Iraq and now a research director at the Institute for the Study of War, told FT. Lewis explained that in July 2012, IS had conducted the first of two intensive insurgency campaigns, which opened the door before the group's expansion in Iraq, Syria and Libya, amongst other countries. She stated that the first campaign, entitled "Breaking the Walls", involved an increasing number of high-explosive truck bombings aiming at provoking Shi'ite unrest and reveal key striking points. The second one "Soldiers Harvest" began in July 2013 with the assassination and bombing of security forces. She revealed that the aim of both campaigns was to weaken military command structures. "These were intelligent campaigns in design: well-resourced, prepared, executed and adapted. These are not things I might associate with a terrorist organization. These are things I associate with an army," Lewis said.
