Sep. 16, 2014

Members of the Islamic State are well-equipped with weapons and vehicles, but experts say they’re more concerned about the group’s professional-grade propaganda motivating new fighters to join their ranks.

The group’s tactical feats in Iraq and Syria have been a great recruiting tool, said Dakota Wood, a retired Marine officer and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank. That’s more disturbing than the number of vehicles or rifles they've accumulated, said Ben Connable, a retired Marine intelligence officer and international policy analyst for Rand Corp.

Here’s what you should know about the Islamic State’s military capabilities.

Equipment

A recently released report funded by the European Union states that Islamic State fighters have anti-tank rockets, small arms and ammunition. They also have armored vehicles they’ve gotten on the black market or taken from Iraqi forces, Wood said.

While they were likely able to obtain more advanced equipment in Iraq, Connable said the market is less complicated in Syria, so what they have in each place could differ.

Unit cohesion

Islamic State has proven to be a deeply motivated group, thought to include up to 31,500 fighters. The top-level leaders have been together for a long time, Wood said, breeding a tight, like-minded group. That can be more troublesome than weapons, Connable said.

“Let’s face it, the Iraqi army had a heck of a lot more equipment than the Islamic State … yet they were overrun,” he said. “Look at what equipment gets you when you don’t have a cohesive, motivated, well-trained fighting force.”

Skills

The rumor that the group had commercial planes has been debunked, but it could have helicopters and airplanes that were located at military bases they’ve overrun. They’re unlikely to get far in either, though, Wood and Connable said.

Operating and maintaining helos and planes is complicated and expensive, Wood said, and they’d need access to parts. Connable said they’d also be hard-pressed to counter American anti-air capabilities.

Education

Leaders in other terrorist organizations have been well educated, but this group has young people educated in the West in the ranks. While that’s not likely to affect what happens on the battlefield, it can have an impact in other ways.

“Having smart people in your media organization and building up your strategic communications portfolio is a danger,” Connable said.

Holding territory

Islamic State fighters likely are controlling the territory they’ve taken more through fear and intimidation than manpower, Connable said.

The segments they’ve taken are mainly along highways because there’s not much outside of those areas, Wood said. They can control the roads between towns that way, but that strategy provides pretty clear targeting opportunities for the U.S., he said.

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