Abstract
The so-called ‘foreign fighters’ are the most controversial example of the increasing relevance of transnational actors in global politics and contemporary warfare. The border between domestic and international security is becoming blurred due to the potential adverse impacts of these fighters, mainly in terms of consequences related to their experience on the ground (blowback effects, terrorist attacks, radical propaganda, etc.). Despite a mounting interest in this issue, scarce attention has been devoted to the mechanisms through which these foreign fighters are trained and, above all, the ways in which they spread military innovation and adapt across conflicts and crises. Looking at the case study of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), this chapter will investigate the patterns of the military involvement on the battlefield of foreign fighters as well as their role in the process of elaboration and diffusion of approaches, tactics and lessons learnt.
The author is Assistant Professor at the University of Genoa.
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Notes
- 1.
Neumann 2014.
- 2.
Zelin 2014.
- 3.
- 4.
Smith 2006, p. XII.
- 5.
See: European Council, European Security Strategy: ‘A Secure Europe in a Better World’, Brussels, 12 December 2003.
- 6.
Carter et al. 2014.
- 7.
Malet 2013.
- 8.
Hegghammer 2011, p. 77.
- 9.
A ‘veteran’ can be defined as a domestic fighter with prior foreign fighter experience. See Hegghammer 2013.
- 10.
Malet 2013, p. 53.
- 11.
Rich and Counduit 2015.
- 12.
Byman and Shapiro 2014.
- 13.
- 14.
The debate on the main drivers of innovation is still lively and controversial. For a review see: Grissom 2006.
- 15.
Rosen 1988, p. 134.
- 16.
Grissom 2006.
- 17.
Rich and Counduit 2015.
- 18.
Another useful definition is provided by Hegghammer, who considers a ‘foreign fighter’ to be an agent who: ‘Has joined, and operates within the confines of, an insurgency; Lacks citizenship of the conflict State or kinship links to its warring factions; Lacks affiliation to an official military organization; Is unpaid’. Hegghammer 2011, p. 53.
- 19.
Malet 2013, p. 52.
- 20.
After the conflict in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the concept of foreign fighters became synonymous with ‘jihadists’. Despite the limited fighting role of the Arab Afghans on the battlefield, the importance of that period lies in the training, socialization, and networking conducted by those fighters. Unlike in the past, they did not come home after the war, but started a new ‘transnational war’.
- 21.
Hafez 2009.
- 22.
Hegghammer 2013, p. 53.
- 23.
Malet 2013.
- 24.
Bakke 2014.
- 25.
Rich and Conduit (2015) report several cases occurring in Bosnia in the 1990s.
- 26.
According to the ICSR, the countries that provided the highest numbers of foreign fighters are Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. See: ‘ICSR and BBC Publish Global Survey of Jihadist Violence’, 10 December 2014, available at: http://icsr.info/2014/12/icsr-bbc-publish-global-survey-jihadist-violence/. Accessed 2 February 2015. See also Table 2.1 in Chapter 2 on figures related to foreign fighters in the case of ISIL.
- 27.
Ibid.
- 28.
Cordesman 2005.
- 29.
Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism information Centre, May 2014.
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
For an overview of ISIL’s origin see, among others: ‘The Islamic State. Mapping militant organization’, Stanford University, available at: http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/1. Accessed 22 February 2015. ISIL has no formal affiliation with Al Qaeda. The Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, developed a strong rivalry against ISIL. For a detailed analysis on the relationship between the two networks see, among others: Byman 2012.
- 32.
Kilcullen 2009.
- 33.
The US troops left Iraq in December 2011.
- 34.
The most important military action was carried out in July 2013, when Abu Ghraib prison was attacked, and 50 members of Al Qaeda released.
- 35.
The Kurdish militias recaptured the city centre in late January 2015.
- 36.
It is worth noting that in Syria at least 7,000–8,000 Shi’ite foreign fighters are operating in support of Assad. See: ‘Shi’ite Foreign Fighters in Syria’, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism information Centre, 18 March 2014.
- 37.
Stern and McBride 2013.
- 38.
Roggio and Weiss 2014.
- 39.
The information on the camps are usually obtained from videos or pictures posted by insurgents, news accounts, and official press releases after the airstrikes undertaken by the US-led coalition in the operation ‘Inherent resolve’.
- 40.
Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism information Centre, May 2014.
- 41.
Several websites offer online pre-deployment courses.
- 42.
See A. Zelin, ‘The Return of Sunni Foreign Fighters in Iraq’, Washington Institute, available at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-return-of-sunni-foreign-fighters-in-iraq. Accessed 22 April 2015.
- 43.
Hafez 2009, p. 77.
- 44.
Hegghammer 2013, p. 6.
- 45.
On Al Qaeda, Talibans and training camps in Afghanistan see also the UN Security Council Resolution.
- 46.
Byman 2012, p. 5.
- 47.
Hafez 2009, p. 79.
- 48.
See A. Zelin, ‘The Return of Sunni Foreign Fighters in Iraq’.
- 49.
‘Syria: the foreign fighters joining the war against Bashar al-Assad’, The Guardian, 23 September 2012.
- 50.
Malet 2013.
- 51.
Bakke 2014.
- 52.
‘ISIS says Australian teen behind Iraq suicide bombing’, The Daily Star, 12 March 2015.
- 53.
Ibid.
- 54.
Zelin 2014.
- 55.
Reported by Malet 2013, p. 195.
- 56.
Stern and McBride 2013.
- 57.
Bakke 2014, p. 180.
- 58.
For a detailed account of the adaptation of such tactics see: ‘ISIS’ fighting doctrine: Sorting fact from fiction’, Al Akhbar 31 October 2014.
- 59.
Neumann 2014, p. 21.
- 60.
See: ‘The New Jihadism. A Global Snapshot’, ICSR 2014, available at: http://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ICSR-REPORT-The-New-Jihadism-A-Global-Snapshot.pdf. Accessed 23 April 2015.
- 61.
Reported in U. De Giovannangeli, ‘Attentato Charlie Hebdo, escalation dell'offensiva jihadista in Francia’, The Huffington Post, 7 January 2015.
- 62.
See for instance: ‘Syria: the foreign fighters joining the war against Bashar al-Assad’, The Guardian, 23 September 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/23/syria-foreign-fighters-joining-war. Accessed 24 August 2015.
- 63.
See: Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre, May 2014.
- 64.
For a detailed account of the battle see: The Guardian, 23 September 2012.
- 65.
See A. Zelin, ‘The Return of Sunni Foreign Fighters in Iraq’, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-return-of-sunni-foreign-fighters-in-iraq. Accessed 24 August 2015.
- 66.
See, among others: ‘War with Isis: Islamic militants have army of 200,000, claims senior Kurdish leader’, The Independent, 16 November 2014.
- 67.
‘ISIS as an incredible fighting force’, ABC, 25 August 2014.
- 68.
Stern and McBride 2013.
- 69.
Stern 2013.
- 70.
See: ‘ISIS’ fighting doctrine: Sorting fact from fiction’, Al Akhbar, http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/22280. Accessed 24 August 2015.
- 71.
‘How ISIL is funded, trained and operating in Iraq and Syria’, The Telegraph, 23 August 2014.
- 72.
Zelin 2014.
- 73.
‘The Islamic State. Mapping militant organization’, Stanford University. http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/1. Accessed 24 August 2015.
- 74.
‘AQAP announces support for ISIL’, Yemen Times, 19 August 2014.
- 75.
For a detailed analysis see: M. Serafini, ‘Isis si prepara alla cyber jihad’, Il Corriere della Sera, 17 January 2015.
- 76.
Foreign fighters played a relevant role in such activities, also thanks to their previous knowledge and expertise in ‘cyber battles’. Ibid.
- 77.
Buzan and Hansen 2010, p. 1.
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Coticchia, F. (2016). The Military Impact of Foreign Fighters on the Battlefield: The Case of the ISIL. In: de Guttry, A., Capone, F., Paulussen, C. (eds) Foreign Fighters under International Law and Beyond. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-099-2_8
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