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The Islamic state (ISIS) and the subterranean warfare Shaul Shay December 2015 In recent conflicts in the Middle East (Lebanon, Gaza strip, Syria, Iraq), wherever Israel, the U.S., NATO, Russia and other nations have overwhelming airpower, their adversaries (Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS) resorted to a much more primitive combat strategy, but extremely effective and efficient, the Subterranean warfare. Subterranean warfare may be the answer to the effects of superior air power and possibly presenting overwhelming challenges to U.S and Israeli operational capabilities and strategies. The subterranean warfare has been part of ISIS strategy from the very beginning and ISIS has been well prepared for the challenge of air strikes. ISIS started to dig tunnels even before the U.S.-led coalition launched its campaign of airstrikes against the group more than a year ago. In its video posted on YouTube in 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) militants show off their trenches, tunnels and bomb shelters that the group uses to keep its fighters safe during US-led air attacks. The video is an effort to portray a sense of resilience in the face of U.S. and coalition air strikes. Thousands of people of the provinces under ISIS control were taken by ISIS from their homes and city centers under multiple charges, to be herded to the battlefront to dig tunnels and strengthen ISIS defense lines. A large number of detainees who were sent by ISIS for digging operations and forced labor died after days of work, as a result of their presence on the battle fronts between ISIS and the regime forces and U.S and coalition bombings. ISIS has three types of tunnels: Defensive tunnels - ISIS has been digging tunnels and bunkers for protection and movement throughout the territory it controls in Iraq and Syria. ISIS is believed to be using tunnels to move weapons and combatants and avoid detection by Russian, American and ally fighter jets and drones. ISIS may even be exploiting Saddam Hussein s own tunnel network, which is thought to stretch for 60 miles between palaces, military strongholds, and houses. During the U.S. invasion in 2003, Saddam s forces used these tunnels to move weapons and as hideouts. Offensive "tunnel bombs"- ISIS is using as well the tactic of the " tunnel bombs". The concept is simple: dig a tunnel long enough to reach under your target, emplace explosives, and hit the detonator. In general, tunnel bombs are being used against military checkpoints, buildings and other protected facilities. At least 45 "tunnel bombs " have been detonated in Syria and Iraq in the past two years. 1 1
Since this type of attack is so effective and destructive, ISIS frequently posts videos of the explosions on YouTube and propaganda websites. The videos show buildings collapsing as massive plumes of smoke and debris fly hundreds of feet into the air. 2 Smuggling tunnels are used for smuggling everything from arms to export oil. The smuggling tunnels are located close to the Turkish border. Sub terrain warfare is not new in the Middle East. During the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shi ite terrorists used a well-concealed, planned and equipped tunnel system to launch rockets and to attack IDF soldiers. In Gaza strip since the "Second Intifada" (2000) Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations are using tunnels to smuggle arms from Sinai to Gaza and to bomb Israeli positions and to infiltrate and kidnap Israeli soldiers (Gilad Shalit, June 2006). During the course of Operation Protective Edge (July August 2014), Israel discovered and destroyed 32 terror tunnels dug by Hamas in Gaza beneath Israeli territory. ISIS' sub terrain infrastructure in Syria Tunnels in the area of Raqqa in Syria Raqqa, a city of around 350,000, has been under ISIS control since January 2014 after heavy fighting between the jihadists and opposition fighters, who had seized it from Assad regime's control in March 2013. Since then Raqqa is de facto the capital of the Islamic State. Islamic State has reportedly begun fortifying Raqqa, aiming to prepare its stronghold for an imminent backlash from international military forces in the wake of the Paris attacks, which IS has claimed credit for. Defensive bunkers and tunnels are being built under and around Raqqa. 3 Tunnels near Syria Turkey border 4 The Kurdish fighters of the People s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria have discovered a network of tunnels on the border with Turkey, which have been used by Islamic State (ISIS) to transfer weapons. According to the YPG, the tunnels were discovered in Gre Spi, in the north of Syria s Raqqa Province, on the border between Syrian Kurdistan and Turkey. The tunnels begin on a nearby hill east of Gre Spi and go in the direction of the Turkish border. Inside the tunnels there are a number of rooms used as weapon bunkers. The source revealed that each of the tunnels are 100m to 600m long and end in the Turkish border town of Akçakale in Şanlıurfa Province. The Kurdish fighters said that they have information that several other tunnels exist in other border regions including the northern Syria border-town of Jarabulus in Aleppo Province. The other tunnels have been seen by locals in the town of Jarablus, which is currently under the control of IS. The tunnels connect the Syrian town to the Turkish town of Karkamış in Gaziantep Province, southeastern Turkey. 2
Tunnels near the Lebanese border 5 Hezbollah fighters and the Syrian army forces detonated on September 14, 2015, a tunnel between the region of Madaya and its plain adjacent to the plain area of Zabadani city on the border with Lebanon. The 500-meter long tunnel was built by ISIS combatants operating in the city and its environs. The tunnel was used by ISIS operatives to smuggle weapons and supplies. It was linked to a building located near the main road west of Madaya. A week earlier, Hezbollah and Syrian troops discovered a tunnel that was used for the same purpose by ISIS to link Zabadani city to its plain area. Sub terrain infrastructure in Iraq The "tunnel bombs" in the battle of Ramadi In Iraq, ISIS used tunnel attacks to devastating effect in their assault on Ramadi. On March 11, 2014, ISIS forces detonated a tunnel bomb under an Iraqi army headquarters, killing an estimated 22 people. The blast consumed seven tons of explosives in an 800-foot long tunnel that took two months to dig. On March 15,2014, a second tunnel bomb was used to attack Iraqi Security Forces. The city fell two months later. 6 The tunnels of Fallujah in Iraq 7 ISIS fighters are using social media to show off what they claim is an underground tunnel network that enables them to withstand U.S. airstrikes near the Iraqi city of Fallujah. A videotape posted on YouTube by the Islamic terror group's official media arm shows a group of fighters, most of them wearing masks, digging and using the tunnels. On the tape, the fighters claim the passageways are used as "supply routes to all squads and HQs in the battle arenas," allowing the distribution of food and heavy weapons throughout the day. One fighter says the tunnels are curved to lessen the chances that shrapnel will injure or kill numerous fighters in the event of a missile strike. "These trenches allowed us to give up our houses," the fighter says, adding that the tunnels are used as break rooms and bedrooms. In September 2015, a source within the Iraqi Rapid Intervention Forces said that the army forces had managed to destroy a vital tunnel for the ISIS militants south of Fallujah. The source informed that, a force belonging to the army, with coordination with the army s air force, managed to destroy a tunnel for the ISIS starting from the industrial area south of Fallujah and ending on the outskirts of al-hayakel area south of the district. The source added that the ISIS organization had begun digging the tunnel several weeks ago, noting that, The length of the tunnel is nearly 2500 meters. 8 Tunnels in the area of Kirkuk in Iraq On June 8, 2015, allied jets in Iraq targeted a complex of bunkers and tunnels that was uncovered by chance in an earlier U.S. strike near Kirkuk, about 280 kilometers north of Baghdad. 9 3
The bunkers were found when Islamic State jihadists were seen withdrawing to the area, between the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk and ISIS-held Mosul, during a concerted attack by Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi government forces. 10 A U.S. aircraft struck an ISIS vehicle and at the same time blew a hole in the ground, revealing what appeared to be a large bunker complex underneath. Military sources said the U.S. strike also caused smoke to billow from holes more than 20 or 30 meters away, suggesting the complex extended some way underground. Drones and other surveillance planes were sent to scout out its dimensions, before a joint air force was called in to destroy it. Two CF-18s dropped two 900-kilogram bombs on the target. Tunnels in the area of Beiji in Iraq In Beiji, home of a key oil refinery and near the cities of Fallujah and Tikrit, Iraqi Army and Shiite militiamen have said they have come across tunnels. The militants used them to burrow under an enemy position to plant explosives, create underground bunkers or run pipe to export illicit oil shipments. 11 Sub terrain complex under the city of Sinjar in Iraq 12 ISIS took control of Sinjar in August 2014, killing and capturing thousands of the town s mostly Yazidi residents. Under the Iraqi town of Sinjar, ISIS militants have built a network of tunnels, complete with sleeping quarters, wired with electricity and fortified with sandbags. There, they had boxes of U.S.-made ammunition, medicines and copies of the Quran stashed on shelves. A commander from Sinjar from the Iraqi Kurdish fighters known as Peshmerga claimed that: We found between 30 and 40 tunnels inside Sinjar under the city. The Associated Press obtained extensive video footage of the tunnels, which were uncovered by Kurdish forces that took the city in northwestern Iraq in November 2015,after more than a year of ISIS rule. The video showed two tunnels running several hundred meters each, starting and ending from houses, through holes knocked in walls or floors. The narrow tunnels, carved in the rock apparently with jackhammers or other handheld equipment, are just tall enough for a man to stand in. Rows of sandbags line sections of the walls, electrical wires power fans and lights and metal braces reinforce the ceilings. One section of the tunnel resembled a bunker. In another section of the tunnel, the footage shows stocks of ammunition, including American-made cartridges and bomb-making tools. 13 4
Summary Since the IDF s discovery and detonation of 32 terror tunnels dug by Hamas in Gaza beneath Israeli territory during the course of Operation Protective Edge (2014), the Israeli security agencies are concerned by the potential threat of tunnels across the border with Lebanon and Syria. The ISIS branch in Sinai 'Vilayet Sinai' (former Ansar Beit al Maqdis)and jihadi groups in Gaza strip can use tunnels to infiltrate into Israel or "tunnel bombs" against Israeli positions along the borders. The issue first came to the public s attention during the 2006 war against Hezbollah, when the Shi ite terrorists popped out of well-concealed, planned and equipped tunnels to attack IDF soldiers often with lethal results. 14 While the sandy and clay-like soil near Gaza is relatively easy to dig through, the boulder-strewn and rocky hills on Israel s northern frontier are far harder to tunnel into. But Israel cannot underestimate the possibility that Hezbollah dug a network of tunnels from the Lebanese border into Israel. The deployment of Hezbollah forces along the border in the Golan Heights extends the threat of offensive tunnels from Lebanon to the Golan Heights. The Syrian opposition including the Salafi jihadi groups like ISIS, Jubhat al Nusra and the Islamic Front, gained significant experience in sub terrain warfare which they can implement against Israeli targets in the Golan Heights. These clandestine tunnels and underground structures reduced the effectivity of airstrikes and the artillery and pose a new challenge that demands updated operational and technological response. Israel has to be ready to deal with sub terrain threats along all its borders and to find technological and operational solutions to the sub terrain strategic threats. 5
Notes 1 Marcus Weisgerber, ISIS Is Using Tunnel Bombs in Iraq, Defense One, June 8, 2015. 2 Ibid. 3 Adam Withnall, Isis fortifies Raqqa as it braces for an international assault on its Syrian stronghold, Independent, November 23, 2015. 4 New ISIS terror tunnels discovered by Kurdish forces in Tel Abyad, Kurdish Daily News, August 10, 2015. 5 Hezbollah, Syrian Army Detonate Tunnel for Terrorists in Zabadani, uprootedpalestinians blog, September 14, 2015. 6 Marcus Weisgerber, ISIS Is Using Tunnel Bombs in Iraq, Defense One, June 8, 2015 7 ISIS Shows Off Tunnels That It Claims Let Fighters Survive U.S. Airstrikes,NBC News, November 12, 2014. 8 Iraqi army destroys tunnel used by ISIS militants south of Fallujah, Iraqi News, September 7, 2015. 9 Marcus Weisgerber, ISIS Is Using Tunnel Bombs in Iraq, Defense One, June 8, 2015. 10 Ben Farmer and Richard Spencer, Coalition jets bomb ISIS underground fortress discovered during earlier strike, November 19, 2015. 11 Ben Kesling, Elaborate Islamic State Tunnel Network Found in Liberated Iraqi City of Sinjar, The Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2015. 12 Balint Szlanko, Under Iraq s Sinjar, ISIS militants built network of tunnels, The Associated Press, November 25, 2015. 13 ISIS used tunnels to hide under besieged Iraq city, CBS News, November 25, 2015. 14 Dave Bender, The Israeli government now probing Lebanon terror tunnels threat, The Algemeiner, August 4, 2014. 6