Road to the Caliphate: January 29-February 4

Primary Sources:

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shām: “Messages from the Land of Epic Battles #17″

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shām: “A Window Upon the Land of Epic Battles #44″

The proud clans pledge allegiances to support this religion and protect it from its hypocrisy. The al-Wahab clan from the Shammar tribe pledges allegiance

In Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham-controlled Raqqa, work to fix a broken water pipe

In ISIS-controlled Raqqa, polio vaccination campaign allowed under auspices of World Health Organization

Shari’a court in al-Bab

A school run by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in Raqqa province

al-Khayr – the liberated city of Ma’adan

A statement to the people in the Northern Countryside of Wilayat Halab

Wilayat Raqqa – Pictures from the the city of al-Hashma

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham da’wah meeting in Maskanah

Statement of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s Office of the Claims and Guidance in Maskanah

Secondary Sources:

Al-Qaida Fighters in Syria Kill Rival Rebel Leader

Road to the Caliphate: January 16-28

Primary Sources:

Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī: “Don’t Do It, Otherwise It Will Stir Fitnah in the Land and Great Corruption”

Abū Bakr al-Ḥussaynī al-Baghdādī: “God Knows and You Do Not Know”

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shām: “A Window Upon the Land of Epic Battles #43″

Dr. Ṭāriq ‘Abd al-Ḥalīm and Hānī al-Sibā’ī: “A Call For Reconciliation and Forgiveness Among the Mujāhidīn in al-Shām: [the Islamic] State, Jabhat al-Nuṣrah, Aḥrār al-Shām, and Other Brigades”

Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī: “Urgent Call to Our People in al-Shām”

Dr. ‘Abd Allah bin Muḥammad al-Muḥaysinī: “Mubādarah al-Ummah”

Jabhat al-Nuṣrah: “A Message of Support and Endorsement For ‘Mubādarah al-Ummah’ For Abū Muḥammad al-Jawlānī”

Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī: “Oh, God, I Am Not Responsible From What Those Have Done: To His Brothers the Mujāhidīn in Syria Specifically and the Muslims in General: Message Addressed to All Factions and Not Just One Faction”

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shām: “Position on the Initiative of Shaykh al-Muḥaysinī”

Local activists in Manbij ask why Shari’a Committee is wasting time sending forces to Jarabulus to fight ISIS

Syria-anti-ISIS graphic circulated by Jarabulus activists

Liwa Dawoud splitting from ISIS

Senior Ahrar al-Sham official and AQ-appointed mediator Abu Khaled al-Suri has issued statement blaming ISIS for “crimes” during Syria jihad

Having previously lost ground, ISIS celebrates takeover of Jarabulus after reinforcements came from al-Bab

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham seizes bases of Liwa Rayah ash-Shamal in Latakia province

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham outlines conditions of repentance in Raqqa for rival battalions

Islamic State of Iraq & al-Sham works to restore electricity to new Aleppo-province stronghold of al-Bab

All FSA-banner factions in Tel Hamees, Hasakah province, pledged allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq & al-Sham

Statement by Abu Abadah al -Maghribi, a shari’i in the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham

Claims that ISIS captured Manbej and FSA retreats from city

Dawa posters on a bus in the city of Raqqa

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a photo said to be from Manbij

ISIS statement being distributed in al-Bab city. Calls for all that fought them to repent and hand in weapons (1)

Approximately 1000 gas cylinders distributed among the people of Maskanah, by ISIS, after expulsion of ‘Sahawat’

ISIS public service in Wilayat Badiyah cleaning the streets

In the city of Raqqa, ISIS rigorously enforces attendance for prayers; with streets empty at prayer times

Islamic State of Iraq & al-Sham suicide bombing attempt on FSA-banner checkpoint in Anadan, Aleppo province

Raqqah Islamic Center: 15 days of Shari’i learning followed by upwards of a month of military training for ISIS recruits

Bayah of the Albu ‘Izz al-Din clan of the al-Akidat tribe in Deir al-Zour

ISIS reportedly forgave 120 FSA members in Manbij who ‘repented’

Niqab: Distribution center in Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham-Controlled Raqqa city

Syria: Lesson timetable for children attending Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham’s educational institute in Raqqa

Liwa al-Mujahid Omar al-Mukhtar in Abu Kamal rejects fighting Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

Tel Rahal, a village in Aleppo province now controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

Secondary Sources:

Al Qaeda offshoot imposes strict Islamic rules in north Syria – Reuters

ISIS bans music, imposes veil in Raqqa – Al-Monitor

Road to the Caliphate: January 3-15

Primary Sources:

“About the Recent Events in Aleppo Governorate”

“Important Appeal”

Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al ‘Adnānī: “The Scout Doesn’t Lie To His People”

“A Window Upon the Land of Epic Battles #41″

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Azdī: “Commander al-Jawlānī: Between Advice and Being Led Astray”

 “A Window Upon the Land of Epic Battles #42″

Shaykh Abū Basīr al-Ṭarṭūsī: “About What Is Going On From the Fighting Between the [Islamic] State and the Mujāhidīn of al-Shām”

Jabhat al-Nuṣrah: “In Response to the Recognition of the [Islamic] State Killing Abū Sa’d al-Ḥaḍramī, Amīr in al-Raqqah”

Ahrar al Sham and ISIS have reached an agreement in Maskanah: Abu Khalid al Suri and Umar Shishani

Al-Bab – A demonstration calling for the departure of the Iraq and al-Sham organization from the city

Agreement between ISIS, Ahrar al-Sham and Suqur al-Sham in Idlib and Hama provinces

An Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham bulldozer demolishes a Sufi shrine in Aleppo province

ISIS public dawah in front of TOEFL courses in Raqqah

ISIS opens school for women in Wilayah Raqqah

ISIS training camp in Raqqah

You are now entering ISIS-controlled Jarabulus, 2014

Islamic State of Iraq and a-Sham key-rings now in mass production in Raqqa

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham publication distributed in Raqqa on appropriate hijab for women

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham establishes Qur’an memorization circles for students in Salwa, Idlib

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham street mural in Aleppo

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham banner on high over energy station in Deir al-Zour province

Car belonging to the men of Hisbah from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

Entrance to Raqqa province by highway marked by a welcome sign from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

Aftermath of an Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham car bomb at the site of tomb of Ammar bin Yasir in Raqqa

What Islamic Front did to the famous Sharia Court in al-Dana

Clans: al-‘Amur and the Mawali clans pledge allegiance to the Islamic State

Secondary Sources:

Rebel Infighting Spreads to an Eastern Syrian City – NYTimes

Pushing Back Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant_ The Syria Revolutionaries’ Front and the Mujahideen Army – Syria in Crisis

Al Qaeda affiliate pull out of northern Syria strongholds – Reuters

Pushing Back Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: The Islamic Front – Syria in Crisis – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Al Qaeda group fights back against Syria rebel assault – Reuters

New ISIS Leaks Reveal Particulars of al-Qaida Strategy – Syria Comment

Al Qaeda Syria unit executes dozens of rival Islamists -activists

BBC News – Syria rebels capture ISIS headquarters in Aleppo

Al-Qaida-Linked Group Secures Hold on Syrian City – NYTimes.com

Syria Rebels Turn Against Most Radical Group Tied to Al Qaeda – NYTimes