Military intervention against ISIL

In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS or Daesh, calling itself the Islamic State) militants during the first half of 2014, and internationally condemned brutality, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many states began to intervene against ISIL in Syria and Iraq, and three states, later, intervened or surveilled on ISIL in Libya.

In mid-June 2014, Iran, according to American and British information, started flying drones over Iraq, and, according to Reuters, Iranian soldiers were in Iraq fighting ISIL. Simultaneously, the United States ordered a small number of troops to Iraq and started flying manned aircraft over Iraq.

In July, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran sent Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft to Iraq, and Hezbollah purportedly sent trainers and advisers to Iraq to monitor ISIL’s movements. In August 2014, the U.S. began a campaign of airstrikes on ISIL targets in Iraq, and, according to American website Business Insider, Iran also began air combat against ISIL. Since then, nine countries, allied with the US in some coalition, have also executed airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq, and nine countries, including the US, have performed strikes on ISIL in Syria.

5 September 2014 coalition
On the margins of the 4/5 September 2014 NATO summit in Wales, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on 5 September invited Ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark for a separate meeting in which he pressed them to support the fight against ISIL militarily and financially. Those nine countries agreed to do so by supporting anti-ISIL forces in Iraq and Syria with supplies and air support, according to a statement that day of Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagel.

15 September coalition
On 15 September 2014, on the ‘International Conference on Peace and Security in Iraq’ hosted by the French President François Hollande in Paris, 26 countries were represented: the countries that on 5 September in Wales (see above) had agreed on a coalition against ISIL but except Australia and Poland, and furthermore Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Spain. They committed themselves to supporting the Iraqi government with military assistance in its fight against ISIL, and they reaffirmed their commitment to UNSC Resolution 2170 of 15 August (condemning all trade with ISIL and urging to prevent all financial donations and all payments of ransoms to ISIL), so reported the French government.

3 December coalition
On 3 December 2014, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, diplomats /(foreign) ministers from 59 countries gathered to plot a way forward against the threat of ISIL. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the gathering, that “defeating the ideology, the funding, the recruitment” of Daesh (ISIL) must be the primary focus of their discussion, more important than airstrikes and other military action. The countries represented on 3 December were: the 10 countries of the above-mentioned 5 September coalition in Wales (see above); the extra 18 countries of the 15 September coalition in Paris (see above) but except China and Russia; and 33 additional countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Sweden, Taiwan and Ukraine. They agreed to a strategy that included:
 * exposing ISIL’s true nature;
 * cutting off ISIL’s financing and funding;
 * supporting military operations.

Iranian intervention
In mid-June 2014, according to American and British sources Iran sent Qasem Soleimani, major general of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC), to Iraq help it organize against ISIL, Iran started flying drones over Iraq, and, according to sources like Reuters, Iranian soldiers were in Iraq fighting ISIL.

One war correspondent suggested that Iran on 21 June “joined the air war” of Iraq against ISIL.

In July, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran sent several Su-25 aircraft to Iraq, supported by Iranian/Iraqi ground crews trained in Iran. In early August, those Su-25 began combat against ISIL, according to Business Insider.

By September, according to Business Insider, Iranian Quds Force personnel were deployed to Samarra, Baghdad, Karbala, and the abandoned U.S. military post formerly known as Camp Speicher. At the end of November 2014, an Israeli website claimed to have seen Iranian F-4 Phantom II jet-fighters bombing ISIL in northeastern Iraq; the U.S. army vaguely confirmed this.

In March and May 2015, American commentators indicated Iranian general Qasem Soleimani as ‘leading Iraq’s military strategy against ISIL’.

Iraq
Already ‘for a long time’ before June 2014, Hezbollah had some presence in Iraq of advisers offering guidance to Shia fighters, according to a Hezbollah commander interviewed by newspaper The National. In June 2014, Hezbollah reportedly set up a dedicated command center in Lebanon to monitor developments in Iraq. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on 17 June said that the party was "ready to sacrifice martyrs in Iraq five times more than what we sacrificed in Syria in order to protect shrines."

In July 2014, Hezbollah sent more technical trainers and advisers to Iraq, to monitor ISIL’s movements, according to a Hezbollah commander interviewed by newspaper The National in the United Arab Emirates. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah commander Ibrahim al-Hajj was reported killed in action near Mosul.

An August Reuters story reported there were "dozens" of Hezbollah "battle-hardened veterans" in Iraq, while the Christian Science Monitor reported the party had deployed a 250-man unit "responsible for advising, training, and coordinating the Iraqi Shiite militias."

In February 2015, Nasrallah admitted that he had sent troops to fight in Iraq.

Lebanon
In June 2015, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed that ISIL and Nusra had taken a foothold in Lebanon and that fierce battles were raging between them and Hezbullah, as well as each other.

American-led intervention in Iraq
After having started flying manned aircraft over Iraq and sent some troops to Iraq in June, the U.S. in August 2014 began supplying Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga with weapons, humanitarian droppings of food for refugees fleeing from ISIL, and airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq.

On 9 August, speaking about U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, President Barack Obama said "this is going to be a long-term project." Since then, nine countries, allied with the US, have also executed airstrikes on ISIL in Iraq and various countries contributed military aid to Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces, and humanitarian aid.

16–19 August, according to the U.S., Kurdish and Iraqi forces with the help of U.S. airstrikes took back the Mosul Dam, the largest dam in Iraq. (For further wins and losses of Iraq against ISIL, see Iraq War (2014–present).) President Obama announced on 10 September 2014 that the number of airstrikes in Iraq would increase and that he dispatched 500 more US troops to Iraq.

Military aid to Kurds and Iraqis
On 5 August 2014, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and the U.N., wrote in the Washington Post that the United States is involved in "the direct supply of munitions to the Kurds and, with Baghdad's agreement, the shipment of some Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program weapons to the Kurds." The United States moved from indirectly supplying Kurdistan with small arms through the CIA to directly giving them weapons such as man-portable anti-tank systems.

In a coordinated effort led by the United States, many allied countries including NATO members and Middle Eastern partners have supplied or plan to supply Iraqi and/or Kurdish forces with heavy military equipment, small arms, ammunition, non-lethal military gear, and training support.

Building Partner Capacity (BPC)
The Building Partner Capacity (BPC) program is meant to help the Iraqi government to prepare forces for the counter-attack against ISIL and the regaining of its territory. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, by May 2015 a dozen countries had committed themselves to the BPC program: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom and United States, and 6,500 Iraqi forces had been trained by BPC.

Humanitarian efforts
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, supported by international partners, launched a large humanitarian effort to support refugees stranded in northern Iraq. This included air-dropping tens of thousands of meals and thousands of gallons of drinking water to Yazidi refugees stranded in the Sinjar Mountains and threatened by advancing ISIL forces, between 7–14 August 2014, in what was later described as "the first mass air delivery of humanitarian cargo since the outbreak of violence in East Timor in 1999."

Thousands of Yazidis and other Iraqi civilians fled to the area following attacks on their villages and the town of Sinjar throughout late July and early August 2014.

Several human rights and observer organizations in the region reported that those who fled to the mountains were subjected to starvation, and lacked clean drinking water and medical care for several months as ISIL militants surrounded them. Hundreds of men, women, and children were abducted and killed.

In response to the immediate threat to the approximately 30,000 people trapped on the mountain, coalition aircraft commenced humanitarian aid drops. These air drops included basic supplies such as food, water, and shelter and were conducted at low flight levels by coalition transport aircraft under the threat of ISIL surface-to-air attacks.

In direct support of humanitarian aid drops, CF-18’s provided top cover for a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-130 Hercules transport aircraft on 20 November, ensuring the transport crew was able to safely parachute supplies to waiting refugees below. Canadian fighter jets remained in close proximity to the transport aircraft to protect it from ISIL surface-to-air threats or attacks.

American airstrikes
In June 2014, U.S. forces had started undertaking reconnaissance missions over northern Iraq.

On 7 August, President Obama gave a live address describing the worsening conditions in Iraq and that the plight of the Yazidis particular had convinced him that U.S. military action was necessary to protect American lives, protect minority groups in Iraq, and to stop a possible ISIL advance on Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish Autonomous Region. On 8 August, the United States started to bomb ISIL targets in Iraq. By 10 August, assisted by these air attacks, Kurdish forces claimed to have recaptured the towns of Mahmour and Gweyr from Islamic State control. Additional Iraqi airstrikes conducted in Sinjar were reported to have killed 45 ISIL militants and injured an additional 60 militants. On 11 August, a spokesman of The Pentagon said the airstrikes had slowed down ISIL’s advance in northern Iraq, but were unlikely to degrade ISIL’s capabilities or operations in other areas. Between 8 and 13 August, U.S. airstrikes and Kurdish ground forces enabled 35,000 to 45,000 of Yazidi refugees to escape or be evacuated from the Sinjar Mountains.

On 16 August, U.S. air power began a close air campaign aimed at supporting the advance of Kurdish fighters moving toward the Mosul Dam. Kurdish sources commented that it was the "heaviest US bombing of militant positions since the start of air strikes". Obama on 17 August defended this usage of U.S. Forces as support of the Iraqi and Kurdish fight in general against ISIL—which indeed went beyond Obama’s reasoning for launching airstrikes on 7 August.

On 8 September, the Iraqi Army, with close air support from the U.S., retook the key Haditha Dam, and recaptured the town of Barwana, killing 15 ISIL fighters. ISIL responded with the public execution of David Haines. By the end of September 2014, the United States had conducted 240 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, as well as 1,300 tanker refueling missions, totaling 3,800 sorties by all types of aircraft. A tactical arrangement with Kurdish and Iraqi forces, and drone videos are being used to coordinate close air support without needing U.S. troops in ground combat.

On 19 December 2014, US General James Terry announced that the number of US airstrikes on ISIL had increased to 1,361.

On 25 December 2014, Hassan Saeed Al-Jabouri, the ISIL governor of Mosul, who was also known as Abu Taluut, was killed by a US-led Coalition airstrike in Mosul. It was also reported that the US planned to retake the city of Mosul in January 2015.

On 15 January 2015, it was reported that over 16,000 airstrikes had been carried out by the Coalition. The U.S. Air Force has carried out around 60 percent of all strikes. Among them, F-16s performed 41 percent of all sorties, followed by the F-15E at 37 percent, then the A-10 at 11 percent, the B-1 bomber at eight percent, and the F-22 at 3 percent. The remaining 40 percent has been carried out by the US Navy and allied nations.

On 20 January 2015, the SOHR reported that al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL, had been wounded in an airstrike in Al-Qa'im, an Iraqi border town held by ISIL, and as a result, withdrew to Syria.

On 21 January 2015, the US began coordinating airstrikes with a Kurdish launched offensive, to help them begin the planned operation to retake the city of Mosul.

On 21 July 2015, it was reported that nearly 44,000 sorties have flown since August 2014.

American ground forces
In July, Obama announced that due to the continuing violence in Iraq and the growing influence of non-state organizations, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the United States would be elevating its security commitment in the region. Approximately 800 U.S. troops secured American installations like the Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulate in Erbil as well as taking control of strategic locations like the Baghdad airport in cooperation with Iraqi troops.

U.S. forces also undertook a mission to "assess and to advise [Iraqi security forces] as they confront [ISIL] and the complex security situation on the ground." Reports from these American units about the capabilities of the Iraqi military have been consistently grim, viewing them as "compromised" by sectarian interests.

On 13 August 2014, the U.S. deployed another 130 military advisers to Northern Iraq and up to 20 U.S. Marines and special forces servicemen landed on Mount Sinjar from V-22 aircraft to coordinate the evacuation of Yazidi refugees joining British SAS already in the area.

On 3 September 2014, Obama announced increase of U.S. forces in Iraq to 1,213. On 10 September, Obama gave a speech reiterating that U.S. troops will not fight in combat, but about 500 more troops will be sent to Iraq to help train Iraqi forces.

In early November 2014, Obama announced that he would be doubling the U.S. ground presence inside Iraq to around 3,000 men. By early December 2014, the number of U.S. ground troops in Iraq had increased to 3,100.

On 9 December 2014, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations authorized U.S. Military force against ISIL. However, it limits military force to three years, requires the administration to report to Congress every 60 days, and prohibits the deployment of U.S. combat troops, except in specific cases, such as those involving the rescue or protection of U.S. soldiers, or for intelligence operations.

During the early morning hours of 14 December 2014, U.S. ground forces allegedly clashed with ISIL alongside the Iraqi Army and Tribal Forces near the Ain al-Assad Airbase, west of Anbar, in an attempt to repel them from the base of which includes about 100 U.S. advisers in it, when ISIL attempted to overrun the base. According to a field commander of the Iraqi Army in Anbar province, said that "the U.S. force equipped with light and medium weapons, supported by F-18, was able to inflict casualties against fighters of ISIL organization, and forced them to retreat from the al-Dolab area, which lies 10 kilometers from Ain al-Assad base." Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a prominent tribal leader in the region, added that "U.S. forces intervened because of ISIL started to come near the base, which they are stationed in so out of self-defense," he responded, welcoming the U.S. intervention, and saying "which I hope will not be the last." This was said to be the first encounter between the United States and the Islamic State, in four years. However, this claim has been stated to be "false" by The Pentagon.

On 5 January 2015, The Pentagon acknowledged that ISIL had been ineffectively mortaring the base.

In late February 2015, another 1,300 US soldiers were deployed to Iraq, increasing the number of US ground troops in Iraq to 4,400.

The late naming of Operation Inherent Resolve
Unlike their coalition partners, and unlike previous American combat operations, no name was initially given to the 2014 intervention against ISIL by the U.S. government. The decision to keep the conflict nameless drew considerable media criticism. U.S. Service members remain ineligible for Campaign Medals and other service decorations due to the continuing ambiguous nature of the continuing U.S. involvement in Iraq.

On 15 October 2014, the United States Central Command announced that the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria was henceforth designated as Operation Inherent Resolve. The CENTCOM news release noted: "'According to CENTCOM officials, the name INHERENT RESOLVE is intended to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the U.S. and partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat they pose to Iraq, the region and the wider international community. It also symbolizes the willingness and dedication of coalition members to work closely with our friends in the region and apply all available dimensions of national power necessary—diplomatic, informational, military, economic—to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.'"

Australian airstrikes
On 3 October 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Australian Cabinet approved for RAAF Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter bombers to begin airstrikes against Islamic State militants. Abbott said "It is in our national interest that we do so, it is in the interests of civilisation that we do so. It is in everyone's best interests that the murderous rage of the ISIL death cult be checked and rolled back and that's what we're determined to do."

On 6 October, Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin announced two Super Hornets had conducted armed combat missions over Iraq although no armaments were expended. An Australian Air task Group KC-30A and an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft have also been flying in support to fighter bombers belonging to coalition forces. The KC-30A performs airborne refueling for coalition aircraft. Binskin said "One of our Super Hornet packages on the first night ... had an identified target which it was tracking and that particular target moved into an urban area where the risks of conducting a strike on that target increased to a point where it exceeded our expectations of collateral damage, so they discontinued the attack at that point."

On 9 October, Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that RAAF Super Hornets had been involved in a "strike missions on an ISIL position in Iraq". The aircraft dropped two bombs onto an isolated building which ISIL was using as a command and control center.

As of 17 October, the Royal Australian Air Force had conducted 43 combat sorties over Iraq. Recent strikes had targeted equipment facilities, with "at least two" resulting in ISIL casualties after Australian aircraft had increased the number of missions flown to allow U.S. and coalition forces to assist Kurdish fighters around Kobanî, in northern Syria.

British airstrikes


On 12 August 2014, the United Kingdom deployed six Tornado GR4 strike aircraft to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to help coordinate British humanitarian aid airdrops in Northern Iraq. On 16 August, following the suspension of humanitarian aid airdrops, these aircraft, along with an RC-135 Rivet Joint, were re-tasked to provide aerial surveillance to coalition forces.

In early September, Prime Minister David Cameron began to voice his support for British airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. On 26 September, Parliament was recalled and MP's debated whether or not to authorise airstrikes. The seven-hour debate resulted in overwhelming support for airstrikes, with 524 votes in favour and 43 votes against.

On 27 September, the first armed reconnaissance mission took place over Northern Iraq. A patrol of two Tornado GR4's left RAF Akrotiri armed with Paveway IV laser-guided bombs. The patrol did not identify any targets requiring immediate air attack and so gathered vital intelligence for coalition forces instead. The aircraft were supported by a Voyager aerial refueling tanker.

On 30 September, the Royal Air Force conducted its first airstrike. A patrol of two Tornado GR4's engaged a heavy weapon position with a Paveway IV laser-guided bomb and an armed pickup truck with a Brimstone air-to-surface missile.

The British contribution to the intervention has steadily increased since it first began on 26 September. On 3 October, two additional Tornado GR4's were deployed to Cyprus to compliment the original six. It was also revealed during the same month that the Royal Navy had been involved in a support role, with air defence destroyer HMS Defender (D36) providing escort to U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) as she launched aircraft into Iraq and Syria. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also disclosed during an interview that there was a nuclear attack submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles deployed to the Persian Gulf. On 16 October, the Ministry of Defence announced it would deploy armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to Iraq to assist with surveillance, however, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stated that "If strike operations are required then Reaper has the ability to complement the sorties RAF Tornados have already completed". On 7 November, the Ministry of Defence announced it would double the number of Reaper aircraft deployed to the Middle East. The first Reaper drone strike was conducted by the RAF in Bayji, north of Baghdad on 10 November 2014, against a group of ISIL militants which had been laying improvised explosive devices in the area. A single Hellfire missile was used to conduct the strike. As of 2 March 2015, the Reapers had conducted 70 airstrikes in Iraq, whilst the Tornados had conducted 90.

In addition to operating over Iraq, the Royal Air Force has also been operating over Syria in a surveillance role since 21 October 2014, making the UK the first Western country other than the United States to intervene in both countries simultaneously.

According to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, the UK had conducted a "huge number of missions" over Iraq by 13 December 2014, second only to the United States and five times as many as France. This totaled 6,700 hours of surveillance, reconnaissance, refueling and strike missions by 22 January 2015. On 16 January 2015, during a joint press conference at the White House alongside President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the UK was the second-largest contributor to the anti-ISIL coalition, contributing over 100 airstrikes.

The total number of airstrikes conducted by the United Kingdom in Iraq stood at 194 by 23 March 2015.

Canadian airstrikes
The Canadian contribution has been codenamed Operation Impact by the Canadian Department of National Defence. Canadian aircraft left for the Middle East to join in airstrikes on 21 October. In total, six CF-18 fighter jets, an Airbus CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueling tanker and two CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft were sent, along with 700 military personnel.

Canadian CF-18 fighter jets completed their first operational flights departing from Kuwait on 31 October. The first Canadian airstrikes began on 2 November. Canada also flew an extra CF-18 to Kuwait to be used as a spare if the need arises, however a maximum of six are authorized to fly with the coalition missions.

On 4 November 2014, Canadian Air Force CF-18s successfully destroyed ISIL construction equipment using GBU-12 bombs. The construction equipment was being used to divert the Euphrates River to deny villages water, and to flood roads, diverting traffic to areas with IEDs.

On 12 November 2014, Canadian jets destroyed ISIL artillery just outside the Northern Iraqi town of Baiji. Airstrikes continued throughout December and into January 2015 totaling 28 strike missions. It was then reported that Canadian special forces troops, which had been highlighting targets for airstrikes, had engaged in fighting after coming under attack.

On 19 January 2015, Canadian special operations forces came under ISIL attack for the first time in Iraq over the last week, and returned sniper fire to “neutralize” the threat. Canadians are “enabling airstrikes from the ground,” meaning they are actively finding targets for jets flying overhead.

On 29 January 2015, Canadian special forces in Iraq came under fire from ISIL forces, causing the Canadian troops to return fire, killing some ISIL militants. On 6 March, a Canadian soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident by Kurdish forces while returning to an observation post.

On 8 April 2015, two CF-18s carried out their first airstrike against ISIL in Syria, hitting one of the groups garrisons.

From 2 Nov 2014 to 13 May 2015 the Canadian armed forces struck 80 ISIS fighting positions, 19 ISIS Vehicles, and 10 storage facilities.

Dutch airstrikes
On 24 September 2014, the Dutch government announced its participation in the operations against ISIL in Iraq. Since late 2014, eight F-16s (with two kept in reserve) were deployed to Jordan. Since then, numerous air attacks have been conducted on tactical facilities of ISIL, like camps and command posts. The F-16s also give air support to Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces. In June 2015 the Royal Netherlands Air Force flew it's 1000th sortie above Iraq. During the first 9 months of the mission 575 strikes have been carried out.

French airstrikes
On 19 September 2014, the French Air Force used its Rafale jets to conduct airstrikes on ISIL targets in Mosul. The airstrikes were approved by French President François Hollande, which indicated that France was committed to fighting ISIL using air power alongside the United States. Hollande mentioned that no ground troops would be used in the conflict. To conduct its airstrikes, France deployed 9 Rafale fighters to the United Arab Emirates, 6 Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters to Jordan, in addition to a Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, a Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft, and a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker.

On 23 February 2015, the French Navy also deployed its Task Force 473 carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf with the intent on conducting airstrikes from the aircraft carrier FRENCH AIRCRAFT CARRIER Charles de Gaulle. The Charles de Gaulle contributed 12 Rafale fighters, 9 Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard strike aircraft, and 2 E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft. The task force also included the FRENCH FRIGATE Chevalier Paul, a Rubis-class submarine, a Durance-class tanker, and the British frigate HMS Kent (F78). After eight weeks of operations, the task force left the Persian Gulf on its way to India, heralding the end of its contribution to Operation Chammal.

Jordanian airstrikes
After the downed Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kasasbeh was executed by ISIL by being burned to death, King Abdullah II vowed revenge and temporarily took the lead in the bombing raids on ISIL during February 2015. On 8 February, Jordan claimed that during the course of 3 days, from 5–7 February, their airstrikes alone had killed 7,000 ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria, and also reportedly degraded 20% of the militant group's capability.

Turkish contributions
See overview in section Turkish intervention.

Hostage rescue attempt
On 4 July 2014, the U.S. bombed the "Osama bin Laden" ISIL military base in the village of Uqayrishah, Syria. Two dozen American Delta Force commandos then touched down in an effort to rescue hostages, including James Foley. In a series of videos, Foley, Steven Joel Sotloff, and several more hostages were murdered.

Aerial surveillance
On 26 August 2014, the U.S. began sending surveillance flights, including drones, into Syria to gather intelligence. The Syrian Arab Republic was not asked for permission. On 28 August, speaking about combatting ISIL in Syria, President Obama said "we don't have a strategy yet."

United States
At the direction of President Obama, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency played an active role since the early stages of the Syrian Civil War. The U.S. originally supplied the moderate rebels of the Free Syrian Army with non-lethal aid but soon escalated to providing training, cash, and intelligence to selected rebel commanders.

On 17 September 2014, the House of Representatives voted to authorize spending to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels.

Saudi Arabia
According to the United States Department of Defense, Saudi Arabia has proposed that they would provide training to Syrian rebels so they could return to Syria and battle ISIL.

Multi-national airstrikes
U.S. President Obama announced on 10 September 2014 that he would begin to pursue airstrikes in Syria with or without congressional approval. Starting on 22 September 2014, the U.S., Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates began airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria with fighters, bombers, and sea-based Tomahawk cruise missiles. Strikes continue to take place in Syria daily. Additionally, on the first night, U.S. forces launched eight cruise missile strikes against the al-Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan. In early November early December 2014, the U.S. launched additional airstrikes against the same group. In November 2014, Morocco sent 3 F-16s to be deployed in UAE, to fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria under U.S.-led Operations.

On 24 December 2014, ISIL shot down a Jordanian fighter jet over Syria and captured and its pilot, Jordanian air force lieutenant Muath Al-Kasasbeh. Al-Kasabeh was offered in exchange for captured ISIL fighters. Jordan offered to make the exchange, but demanded "proof of life" first. However, Al-Kasabeh had already been executed by immolation. When video of the pilot's execution was released, the fighters, Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli, were executed.

January 2014 Turkish airstrike
On 28 January 2014, the Turkish air force performed an airstrike on Syrian territory, aiming to hit an ISIS convoy inside Syria. According to Turkish General staff, a pickup, a truck and a bus in an ISIL convoy were destroyed". Turkish officials also said the 28 January attack was meant to retaliate for ISIL fire on the Turkish Army along the Syrian border. They also cited ISIL raids on ethnic Turkish communities in northern Syria, which sparked an exodus of thousands to Turkey. The Turkish attack came amid threats by ISIL to expand operations into Turkey – a NATO state.

Entering the U.S.-led coalition
Since 5 September 2014, Turkey is member of all known international coalitions against ISIL initiated by the United States or France (see section International coalitions against ISIL). But a joint communiqué, issued 11 September 2014 by the United States and 10 Arab states to stop the flow of volunteers to ISIL, was not signed by Turkey present at the meeting.

On 2 October, Turkey lined up tanks on its southern border with Syria near the city of Kobanî, with the tanks pointed at the border.

Turkey demanded several things before taking part in military attacks on ISIL, including a buffer zone in Northern Syria, a no-fly zone over certain parts of Syria, ground troops from other countries, and training moderate opposition forces to fight ISIL and Assad.

Training of Kurdish Peshmerga
Turkish soldiers are training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, and will give similar assistance to a new national army unit in Baghdad as part of the fight against ISIL.

Turkish withdrawal from the Tomb of Suleyman Shah
In February 2015, a large convoy of troops and ordinance entered Syrian territory to collect the remains of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, and return them to Turkish soil, rescuing 39 soldiers who were guarding a tiny exclave 30 miles within Syria, surrounded by territory controlled by ISIL.

July 2015 Turkish airstrikes in Syria
On 23 July 2015, just a few days after an ISIL suicide bomber killed 32 activists in the Turkish district of Suruç, ISIL militants engaged Turkish army positions in the town of Kilis on the border of Syria, killing one soldier. Turkish Armed Forces pursued the militants into Syria, bombarding an abandoned village in which they were thought to be taking refuge, with artillery and F-16 bombing. The conflict is currently ongoing, with large-scale domestic counter-terrorism operations targeting ISIL members among others beginning on 24 July.

Egyptian air strikes
After ISIL killed 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, Egypt conducted airstrikes on ISIL targets in Libya on 16 February 2015, killing a total of 64 ISIL militants (50 in Derna). Warplanes acting under orders from the "official" Libyan government also struck targets in Derna, reportedly in coordination with Egypt's airstrikes. A Libyan official stated that more joint airstrikes would follow.

US and Italian surveillance flights
Concern over ISIL activities in Derna District in Libya in December 2014 led to US drones and electronic surveillance planes making "constant flights" from Italian bases, over the district of Derna. Italy also began conducting surveillance flights over Libya.

US intervention in Afghanistan
A report says that, according to a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson, in July 2015 a US drone strike killed Shahidullah Shadid, a senior leader of an ISIL group for the Khorasan region (= parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan), and 24 other militants, in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.

ISIL
On 22 January 2015, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones stated that the Coalition airstrikes had degraded ISIL, including killing off half of their leaders in Iraq and Syria.

In early February 2015, the Australian Defence Minister, Kevin Andrews, stated that more than 6,000 ISIL fighters had been killed in coalition airstrikes since they began, and that over 800 km2 had been recaptured; yet ISIL strength was estimated to have grown during this period to around 31,500 core fighters, including 3,000 fighters from Western nations.

On 23 February 2015, US General Lloyd Austin stated that over 8,500 ISIL militants had been killed by Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. In early March 2015, General Lloyd repeated this statement, saying that "ISIS has assumed a defensive crouch" in Iraq, and that "We are where we said we would be," in relation to the airstrikes. This was in contrast to Jordan's claim that its airstrikes alone had killed 7,000 ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria over the course of 3 days, from 5 to 7 February 2015.

Civilians
According to ‘Airwars’, a team of independent journalists, by August 2015, 450 civilians had been killed by the U.S.-led coalition air campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria (of whom roughly 60% in Syria, 40% in Iraq). By that time, the US-led coalition officially acknowledged only two non-combatant deaths.

Opinion
In June 2014, the U.S. Kentucky senator Rand Paul observed that the U.S. Government has been arming Syrian rebels against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, rebels he considers "allied with ISIS in Syria" in their battle against the Assad-regime. "One of the reasons why ISIS has been emboldened is because we have been arming their allies. We have been allied with ISIS in Syria".

Labeling
On 1 February 2015, Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari stated that the War on ISIL was effectively ‘World War III’, due to ISIL's proclamation of a worldwide caliphate, its aims to conquer the world, and its success in spreading the conflict to multiple countries outside of the Levant region.