Timeline Of ISIL-related Events (2016)

Timeline

January 2016

* 1 January IS fighters mount an attack on the newly recaptured Iraqi city of Ramadi using suicide bombers and VBIEDs. They are repelled by the Iraqi Army operating in conjunction with US-led Coalition air strikes.
* 1 January a lone attacker performed a terror attack in Tel Aviv, killing three and claiming allegiance to the Islamic State before he was hunted down by security forces.
* 2 January IS's Sinai Province claims responsibility for a rocket attack on the Israeli city of Sderot the preceding Friday.
* 3 January IS releases a video showing the execution of five Syrian men who they allege were British spies. In the video, a masked, British-accented militant, believed to be Siddhartha Dhar, taunts UK Prime Minister David Cameron before shooting the "spies" in the head. The footage later features one of the group's English-speaking child soldiers.
* 3 January Camp Speicher, an Iraqi military base, is attacked by multiple IS suicide and car bombers, with a death toll of at least 15 Iraqi military and police personnel.
* 4 January The Libyan oil depot town of Sidra is attacked by IS car bombers. Two militiamen guarding the port are killed, and a large oil tank is destroyed.
* 6 January Sky News releases pictures and videos shot inside an IS explosives research facility in Raqqa, the group's capital. The largely instructional media show militants recommissioning old heat-seeking missiles and experimenting with remote-controlled car bombs.
* 6 January In an online article, IS threatens to attack the Saudi Arabian prisons of al-Ha'ir and Tarfiya. The statement is believed to be in response to a mass execution of Islamist convicts the previous Saturday.
* 7 January Parisian police shoot dead a cleaver-wielding man as he attempts to enter a police station; an IS emblem is later found on his person. The incident coincides with the 1st anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
* 7 January The Iraqi military claims that IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani was severely wounded in an airstrike several days before.
* 7 January IS truck bombs a police training center in the Libyan city of Zliten, killing at least 65 and wounding over 100. The group claims responsibility for the attack several days later.
* 7 January IS gunmen attack a busload of Israeli tourists in Giza, Egypt. No casualties are reported.
* 8 January A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania man shoots and severely injures a policeman parked in a patrol car. Upon being arrested and questioned, he cites IS ideology as a motivation for his attack.
* 8 January US officials announce an overhaul of the nation's methods of countering IS propaganda. Efforts will be made to deliver localized messages more relevant to Muslim populations; English-language material will be discontinued. Additionally, a new counterterrorism task force based at the United States Department of Homeland Security is announced.
* 8 January A Raqqa-based IS fighter executes his mother in front of a large crowd. She reportedly disapproved of his allegiance to the group and urged him to leave, which prompted her arrest.
* 8 January A 24-year-old Palestinian American refugee is indicted on federal charges relating to IS. Prosecutors allege that he attempted to materially support the group, and also accuse him of lying about his affiliation during his naturalization.
* 8 January IS claims responsibility for the stabbing death of a Christian convert in Jhenaidah District, Bangladesh. Local police dispute elements of the group's claim.
* 9 January Two militants believed to belong to IS's Sinai Province storm a hotel in the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada. They stab and injure two foreign tourists before being neutralized by police.
* 9 January IS's Sinai Province claims responsibility for the killing of two Cairo policemen earlier that day. Both attackers, one a 21-year-old student, are subsequently shot dead by additional police.
* 10 January Three suspects in the murder of an anti-IS activist filmmaker are arrested in Gaziantep, Turkey.
* 10 January The Royal Air Force uses Brimstone missiles for the first time against Syrian IS targets.
* 11 January IS claims responsibility for two bombings near a casino in the Iraqi city of Miqdadiyah.
* 11 January IS attacks a shopping center in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad with a car bomb and gunmen. 18 casualties were reported.
* 11 January A 15-year-old Turkish citizen attacks and injures a Jewish teacher with a machete in the French city of Marseille. Prosecutors allege that he stated his actions were committed "in the name of Allah and the Islamic State".
* 12 January A Saudi-born IS suicide bomber detonates near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. 11 people, all foreigners, are killed, and 14 are injured.
* 13 January IS's Khorasan Province attacks the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 7 Afghan security personnel are killed, but no casualties or injuries are reported from within the consulate.
* 13 January Militants affiliated with the Islamic State – Khorasan Province attacked Pakistan's consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, killing 9 people and injuring 12 more
* 14 January The United States Department of State officially designates IS's Khorasan Province as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation imposes financial sanctions on the group.
* 14 January Turkish ground forces mount a major offensive against IS positions in retaliation for the earlier suicide bombing.
* 14 January IS gunmen and suicide bombers perpetrate the 2016 Jakarta attacks against various targets in Central Jakarta. In total, there were 4 civilian deaths and 24 injuries. 4 belligerents were killed and 3 others were captured by the police.
* 14 January IS forces briefly capture a Northern Iraqi Sunni village, but are quickly repelled by the Iraqi army.
* 16 January IS militants execute dozens of civilians and pro-Assad fighters in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Over 400 civilians are reportedly abducted and taken towards Raqqa, IS's capital.
* 16 January Malaysian police announce the arrest of a local IS member who allegedly planned a suicide attack. He is also suspected of hanging IS flags in multiple Malaysian states.
* 16 January The FBI arrests two Woodbridge, Virginia men who allegedly planned to travel abroad to join IS.
* 18 January IS advances on Syrian regime forces in Deir ez-Zor Province, seeking to consolidate its control over the territory.
* 19 January IS announces significant pay cuts for its Syrian fighters. Militants' salaries will be reduced by half, though food allowances remain unaffected.
* 19 January ''Dabiq'' magazine publishes a eulogy for Jihadi John, confirming the high-profile IS member's death in a drone strike the previous November.
* 20 January Satellite photography is released that confirms IS's demolition of Dair Mar Elia, Iraq's oldest Christian monastery.
* 20 January Defense ministers of the anti-IS coalition's leading nations attend a planning conference in Paris, France, vowing to "accelerate and intensify" their military campaign against IS. In the meeting, the US asks its partners for greater amounts of special operations support.
* 20 January The Obama administration expands rules of engagement to help the US military more effectively combat IS's Afghan presence. The new guidelines permit broader use of airstrikes against suspected IS militants in Afghanistan.
* 21 January François Hollande, the President of France, pledges greater French support for anti-IS Arab and Kurdish forces.
* 22 January Two Luton men are convicted for their roles in a 2014 pro-IS leafleting campaign held on London's Oxford Street.
* 22 January Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir of IS's Khorasan Province, claims in a '' Dabiq'' interview that Kashmiri militants have pledged allegiance to the group.
* 22 January The National Investigation Agency arrests 14 IS-linked militants across 4 Indian states.
* 22 January IS's Sinai Province claims responsibility for a 19 January explosion at a booby-trapped Cairo apartment building that killed 3 civilians and 7 police personnel. A Muslim Brotherhood-linked militant group makes a competing claim of responsibility.
* 23 January At a press conference in Istanbul, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden expresses confidence in joint US-Turkish military action against IS should upcoming peace talks with the Assad regime fail. His remarks are made after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu; other topics discussed included joint support for Sunni Arab rebels.
* 23 January Russia and Syrian warplanes launch a wave of airstrikes on IS positions in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. Over 70 civilians are reportedly killed.
* 23 January The U.S.-led coalition performs 23 air strikes on IS positions across Syria and near Ramadi, Iraq. The strikes are focused on destroying the group's ammunitions and property, as well as denying militants access to tactically significant terrain.
* 23 January IS launched suicide attacks in the Kilo 70 area west of Ramadi, and in the Tal Msheheidah east of Ramadi, as well as areas to the north of Ramadi; the ensuing clashes and airstrikes led to the deaths of 62 IS militants and 48 Iraqi fighters.
* 23 January The Army launched a full attack west of Kuweires with the intention of linking up with government-held territory at the Sheikh Najjar Industrial District of Aleppo city.
* 24 January Malaysian police announce the arrest of 7 militants who allegedly belonged to a local IS cell. The men had reportedly received orders from IS in Syria to commit suicide bombings.
* 24 January IS releases a video featuring and eulogizing 9 of the 12 November 2015 Paris attackers. The footage depicts them executing several hostages, as well as threatening Western governments and civilians with similar attacks.
* 25 January In an eight-page report, Europol warns of likely attempts at Paris-style attacks elsewhere in Europe. The report speaks of IS's "willingness and ��capacity" to carry out subsequent mass-casualty attacks, and cites lone wolves and radicalization in the Syrian refugee diaspora as specific risk factors.
* 25 January A Malaysian IS affiliate group publishes a Malay-language video threatening attacks if recent police crackdowns on local IS elements continue. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak responds, elaborating that Malaysia is "far from immune" to IS-inspired extremism.
* 25 January Turkish police arrest at least 10 Ankara-based IS recruiters.
* 25 January Police in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, shoot dead a suspected IS recruiter after he resists arrest.
* 25 January At a press conference in Dushanbe, Ramazon Khamroevich Rakhimov, Interior Minister of Tajikistan, claims that over 1,000 Tajik citizens have left to join IS.
* 25 January Iraqi security forces discover over 18 corpses at a mass gravesite in Ramadi. The bodies, some of which had been shot or beheaded, are believed to belong to police and civilians killed by IS in May 2015.
* 27 January A 20-year-old Kosovar citizen accused of pro-IS computer hacking makes his first appearance in a US federal court. He allegedly sent the personal information of over 1,300 US military personnel to an IS member, who then proceeded to post the list on Twitter.
* 28 January U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter informs a press conference that the US has already sent "a small number of military personnel" into Libya to reconnoiter and network with local security forces. Later that day, U.S. President Barack Obama directs his national security advisers to support indigenous counter-IS efforts in Libya.
* 28 January IS claims responsibility for a suicide car bombing at Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's residence. The attacker, possibly a former Dutch resident, misses his intended target; 5 security personnel and 1 civilian are instead killed in the explosion.
* 28 January The US-led Coalition performs 20 airstrikes against IS's Syrian and Iraqi presences. The 15 Iraqi strikes were centered around Ramadi and involved the destruction of tactical units and IEDs; the 5 Syrian strikes focused on IS's construction infrastructure and additionally hit several of the group's local headquarters.
* 28 January The U.S. Pentagon recommends the deployment of additional advisers, trainers, and commandos to combat IS in Iraq and Syria. The additional personnel would work in a supportive role alongside Iraqi forces, Kurdish peshmerga, and the Syrian opposition.
* 28 January The 7th Republican Party presidential debate is held, with several candidates taking a characteristically bellicose tone on IS-related issues. Ted Cruz called for carpet bombing that would "utterly and completely destroy" the militant group; Marco Rubio advocated for the interrogation of future IS prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
* 28 January IS's Sinai Province claims responsibility for an attack on military personnel in Arish, North Sinai's capital. The attack killed 4, including a colonel, and wounded 12.
* 28 January IS suicide bombers targeted an Iraqi army division headquarters in the al-Thirthar area of Ramadi. Four were killed in Coalition airstrikes, but two attacked the main gate of the headquarters, killing 17 Iraqi soldiers, including seven officers, and wounding 46 soldiers. Separately, 15 Iraqi soldiers were killed, and 20 wounded elsewhere in the city in a combination of suicide attacks, sniper fire, and roadside bombs.
* 28 January IS conducted a counter-attack against the villages they lost in the previous days. The subsequent fighting left 20 soldiers and 14 militants dead. One of the main objectives during the military's assault was the Aleppo Thermal Power Plant.
* 28 January Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, commander of NATO's Allied Maritime Command, warned that Islamic State militants hope to build a maritime arm that could carry out attacks in the Mediterranean Sea, against tourist and transfer ships.
* 29 January Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the Dutch Minister of Defence, announces that the Netherlands will extend its anti-IS airstrikes into Syria. The decision comes after a Paris meeting with her US and French counterparts.
* 29 January Several suspects in the Metrojet Flight 9268 bombing are reportedly arrested. An IS-linked airplane mechanic is accused of planting an IED on board, and three other airport personnel are under investigation for allegedly facilitating him.
* 31 January Two IS suicide bombers perpetrate the 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings. At least 60 are killed near the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites. The attackers reportedly targeted a bus carrying Shi'ite militiamen.
* 31 January IS releases a video showing a French militant executing an alleged spy. The Francophone fighter threatens attacks that will make IS's adversaries "forget September 11 and Paris", while re-asserting IS territorial claims over the Iberian Peninsula.
* 31 January A prominent Australian IS member's death is reported. Neil Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, was involved in the group's online recruitment activities.

February 2016

* 1 February US officials claim that the Obama administration's 2017 defense budget request will include a $7 billion increase to better fund the fight against IS.
* 1 February US Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, Operation Inherent Resolve's commander, expresses confidence in the coalition's anti-IS campaign. He specifically cites the recapture of Ramadi as a "turning point".
* 1 February A 19-year-old Morganton, North Carolina resident is indicted on federal charges relating to alleged pro-IS activities. Prosecutors accuse him of plotting mass shootings to "show his support" for the militant group. He also faces murder charges in the shooting death of a 74-year-old neighbor.
* 1 February U.S. airstrikes in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, killing 29 IS fighters and struck the terrorist group's FM radio station.
* 2 February At a foreign ministers' conference in Rome, US Secretary of State John Kerry expresses concern over recent IS territorial gains in Libya. Calling the group "apostates" and "a false caliphate", he warns of possible IS capture of the country's oil reserves.
* 2 February A Canadian court issues a 10-month peace bond to a vocal IS sympathizer. The 23-year-old Winnipegger, who was previously interviewed by Canadian media about his beliefs, is barred from leaving the country and using social media.
* 2 February Around 300 IS fighters were estimated to be remaining in Ramadi's eastern Sajjariyah District, and in the nearby areas.
* 2 February An IS propaganda radio station in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar is destroyed by coalition airstrikes. The attack, which also involved Afghan ground troops, killed 29 militants.
* 3 February A combined force of Sunni Arab Popular Mobilization Forces units and local peshmerga recapture the Iraqi Kurdistani village of Kudila from IS. The militiamen are aided by coalition airstrikes.
* 3 February Russia's Defence Ministry announces the death of a Russian military adviser in Syria. The adviser, killed earlier that week, was reportedly hit by IS mortar fire.
* 3 February Israeli Major General Nitzan Alon reveals that his country has been sharing intelligence with the anti-IS coalition.
* 3 February In the evening government forces stormed the village of Tayyibah. Soon after IS reportedly started to withdraw from the village, while fighting still continued in Tayyibah. Meanwhile, government troops bypassed the plant due to dozens of improvised traps, mines and highly entrenched IS fighters in its vicinity.
* 3 February Government forces captured 11 villages west and northwest of the base and were 13 kilometers from Sheikh Najjar.
* 3 February The Tiger Forces along with the NDF, Desert Hawks Brigade and Ba'ath Brigades captured Al-Si'in. In the evening of 3 February, Syrian government forces stormed the village of Tayyibah. Soon afterwards, IS reportedly started to withdraw from the village, while fighting still continued in Tayyibah. Meanwhile, Syrian government troops bypassed the Aleppo Thermal Power Plant, due to dozens of improvised traps, mines, and highly entrenched IS fighters in its vicinity.
* 4 February German police arrest two suspected IS affiliates in raids across Berlin. The men were allegedly plotting attacks against various public places in the city.
* 6 February A federal criminal complaint against a Dearborn Heights, Michigan man is unsealed. The 21-year-old, detained on weapons and drug charges, allegedly threatened to "shoot up" a Detroit church in an IS-inspired plot.
* 6 February An Australian man is deported from India after Indira Gandhi International Airport security personnel reportedly find pro-IS material on his laptop.
* 7 February IS recaptured two villages, while government forces captured another village and a hill, bringing them to within 7 kilometers of Sheikh Najjar and closing the IS pocket. An attempted IS counter-attack against the hill left 11 militants dead.
* 7 February A second member of the Beatles is identified. The militant, a 32-year-old Ghanaian-British convert to Islam, was dubbed " Ringo" by his captives.
* 7 February The United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs expresses his country's readiness to deploy ground troops to the anti-IS campaign. He indicates that such deployments will be limited in size and suggests that UAE troops will focus on training and support roles.
* 7 February Spanish police arrest a group of 7 alleged IS affiliates across Ceuta. The suspects are believed to have provided "logistical support" for IS activities elsewhere. Additionally, the group's leader was reportedly tasked with procuring comfort women for militants.
* 7 February During a security operation al-Sofiyah District in eastern Ramadi, a booby-trapped house killed 6 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 5 others.
* 8 February Umm Sayyaf, widow of deceased IS commander Abu Sayyaf, is charged by US federal authorities with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization that resulted in a person's death. She was allegedly complicit in the rape and death of Kayla Mueller, a captured American aid worker.
* 9 February Iraqi forces fully recapture Ramadi from IS after months of fighting, destroying thousands of buildings and forcing nearly all residents to flee. Afterwards, the Iraqi Government reopened the Ramadi-Habbaniyah Highway. IS militants were still holed up in some farmlands in Khalidiya Island, to the north of the town of Al Khalidiya.
* 10 February From July 2015 through early February 2016, the United States and other nations conducted 813+ airstrikes in the Ramadi area.38 ( 2–8 Januar

+ 28 ( 9–15 Januar

+ 44 ( 16–22 Januar

+ 40 ( 23–29 Januar

+ 33 (29 January – 5 Februar

183+ airstrikes (2 January – 5 February) It is also the 100th battle that has erupted in Ramadi since 2003. In February 2016, it was predicted that it would take several months to clear Ramadi city of the bombs IS left behind, with at least 9 months needed to clear Ramadi's Tamim District. At the time, Ramadi had suffered more damage than any other city or town in Iraq. With 80% of Ramadi left in ruins after months of heavy bombing, as well as scorched earth tactics employed by IS, the US and its allies allocated over $50 million to rebuild the city.
* 10 February 9 more Iraqi soldiers from the army's 8th Division were killed by IS shelling, in the Sajjariyah District.
* 11 February ABC news reported the U.S. military had carried out 20 airstrikes on IS in eastern Afghanistan in the previous 3 weeks.
* 13 February The Syrian Army recaptured Jubb al Kalb village, less than one week after losing it to an IS counter-attack. The following day, the military captured four villages, including Tayyibah (300 meters from the Power Plant) and Barlehiyah (7 kilometers from government-held territory to the west).
* 16 February The military captured the Power Plant and two days later seized Al-Siin once again while surrounding IS at the Aleppo Thermal Plant.
* 17 February A car bomb near military buses in Ankara killed 28 and wounded dozens, and the TAK claimed responsibility.
* 18 February The Syrian Army seized Al-Siin once again, as well as Jubb Al-Ghabishah.
* 18 February Adel al-Jubeir, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced that a US-led ground operation in Syria would focus on fighting IS, not the Syrian regime.
* 18 February A large number of local Sunni tribesmen revolted against IS, after IS beat a woman, among other restrictive practices enforces by IS's Al-Hisbah secret police, amid an ongoing siege. IS was reported to have withdrawn into Fallujah city, after local Sunnis burned the Al-Hisbah headquarters and clashes spread.
* 19 February A US air raid on suspected IS camp resulted in killing 49 people, including two Serbian embassy members, who had been taken hostage by the militants.
* 20 February The Syrian Army, backed by the National Defence Force, captured the Aleppo Thermal Power Plant and imposed "full control" over the facility. 30 IS militants were killed and four of their armored vehicles were destroyed during the battle. Tiger Forces, National Defense Forces and Suqur al-Sahara then captured the village of Balat and its surrounding farms. In the same day, Suqur al-Sahara and the Cheetah Forces Team 3 captured the village of Turaykiyah, fully besieging the pocket of 800 IS fighters in east Aleppo, with their only options being to surrender or be killed.
* 20 February It was estimated that only 1,000 civilians were living in and around the Ramadi area, after the fierce clashes that erupted during the battle for the city.
* 20 February The clashes began to die down as IS began carrying out mass arrests, and it was reported that there were still some Sunni fighters who were pinned down in parts of Fallujah, who would likely be massacred if the Iraqi Government or the US-led Coalition does not intervene.
* 20 February A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper crashed at Kandahar airfield.
* 21 February At least 46 people were killed and several injured in a double car bombs explosion in the city of Homs. At least 30 people were killed in several bomb blasts near Damascus.
* 21 February At least 30 people were killed in several bomb blasts near Damascus. Both incidents were masterminded by IS.
* 21 February The last pockets of resistance were overcome, with pro-government forces in possession of all the towns and villages in the Al-Safira plains. It was reported that 700 of the IS militants had escaped the encirclement during the previous week as the government forces skirted around their northern flank, leaving 100–150 remaining fighters who were trapped. 20 villages were seized over the previous 24 hours and 40 kilometers of highway were cleared, putting an end to the 3-month offensive. In addition, 50 IS fighters were killed during the previous 24 hours.
* 21 February In Benghazi the Libyan National Army also managed to take over the rest of Bouatni, while overrunning Hawari and Leithi districts both of which were strongholds of IS & Ansar al-Sharia.
* 21 February At 10 p.m. an offensive was launched by IS. By the next day, a joint attack by militants from both IS and Al-Qaeda-linked Jund al-Aqsa captured the village of Rasm Al-Nafal, as well as two other points along the Khanasir-Aleppo Road, cutting the Syrian government's only supply route to Aleppo city. The jihadists then proceeded to additionally seize six other villages and a hill. A convoy of reinforcements from the town of As-Safira, consisting of the pro-government Palestinian militia Liwa Al-Quds was sent to reopen the road and by the end of the day they had recaptured the hill.
* 22 February United States and Russia agree an all party ceasefire that will exclude the IS and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front begin on 27 February.
* 22 February Afghan forces and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes kill a total 43 Islamic State militants in Nangarhar Province during a military operation against IS in that region.
* 23 February Jund al-Aqsa and the Free Syrian Army captured the village of Rasm al-Nafal, to the southwest of Lake Jabbul, severing the Ithriyah-Khanasser Highway again for the second time in 5 months. In a coordinated action, IS had also captured multiple villages along the southern shore of Lake Jabbul and to the south of Rasm al-Nafal, sealing off more of the Aleppo road and Sheikh Hilal-Ithriyah Road. Counter-attacks by Syrian Arab Army have failed to immediately dislodge militants from the majority of the captured positions.
* 23 February IS militants clashed with forces associated with the Sabratha military council inside of Sabratha. These clashes were followed on the same day by an IS offensive that allegedly temporarily seized various buildings after penetrating the city. However, local forces conducted a counterattack against the IS militants, reportedly driving them out of the city's centre. However, fighting continued in Zawagha district.
* 23 February Two contingents of the Syrian Army's special forces unit known as the Tiger Forces were also sent to help in reestablishing control of the road. Meanwhile, IS launched an assault on the town of Khanasir, which began with a failed suicide car-bomb attack against a checkpoint in its outskirts. Throughout the morning, the military recaptured four out of seven positions they had lost on the road, but ultimately IS managed to capture Khanasir. In the afternoon, the Tiger Forces launched a general counteroffensive with a missile barrage, followed by a tank assault. The Syrian Army waited before entering the villages IS had captured, until Russian airstrikes had dissipated. The counterattack was launched from two flanks, with the Tiger Forces and Hezbollah assaulting Rasm Al-Nafal from the north, while the Army and the Liwaa Al-Quds Brigade advanced from the south towards Khanasir. By the evening, government forces recaptured Tal SyriaTel hill, outside Khanasir, and Rasm Al-Nafal.
* 24 February In the morning, the Syrian Army re-entered Khanasir and one other village. Later, they managed to seize Tal Za'rour hill, while also advancing to the central district of Khanasir. At this time, the cutting of the road by IS caused prices of food and medical supplies in Aleppo city to raise dramatically. On 25 February, the Tiger Forces and their allies recaptured Khanasir, while several hills outside the town were still IS-held. The Army then advanced north of Khanasir and captured the nearby village of Al-Mughayrat, along with four hilltops north of it (including the large Talat Al-Bayda hill). At the same time, government forces advancing from the north seized Shilallah al-Kabeera, which they breached the previous day with the help of Russian airstrikes. By the end of the day, government troops reached two more villages and started preparing for a new assault on the next morning.
* 24 February A Coalition airstrike killed 30 IS militants in the Karama Sub-district, just east of Fallujah.
* 25 February In the aftermath of the combined rebel and IS breakthrough south of Lake Jabbul, Syrian Arab Army has launched a large-scale counter-attack, dislodging IS from the town of Khanasir, captured by militants 2 days before.
* 25 February Boko Haram/IS fighters are crossing Africa to receive specialized training from Al Shabaab fighters in Somalia, the country's national security chief told the press.
* 26 February Early on the Syrian Army made more advances, recapturing three villages. The advances nearly besieged IS forces in a pocket of villages southwest of Lake Jabbul. Later in the day, the Syrian Army captured the remaining four villages that IS held, thus clearing the road to Aleppo. However, elsewhere, IS took control of a village near al-Hamam Mountain, that overlooks the supply road. Syrian Government forces reportedly re-secured the village the following day.
* 28 February Iraqi government forces repelled a massive IS suicide attack in Abu Ghraib and western Baghdad, which was the largest attack carried out by the group in the area in nearly 2 years. The assault left 30 IS militants and 30 Iraqi soldiers dead.
* 28 February The Syrian Army captured the strategic village of Abu Al-Karouz, near Khanasir. Later on the same day, the Syrian Army completely re-secured the Hama-Aleppo supply route, after capturing the last point on the Sheikh Hilal-Ithriya Highway that was held by IS.

March 2016

* 2 March Militants attacked the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, 5 militants were killed and 9 people were injured.
* 6 March The Nangarhar Offensive ended; Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani announced in the Afghan parliament that the Islamic State has been defeated in the eastern parts of the country. Also that day, a U.S. Drone strike in Nangarhar killed 15 IS militants.
* Between 10 and 14 March Rebel forces seized three villages, including Dudyan.
* 13 March A car bomb at Ankara transport hub killed 37, and the TAK claimed responsibility.
* 16 March Militants loyal to IS-K attacked an Afghan police checkpoint in Nangarhar province, killing and wounding 6 policemen.
* 17 March The IS recaptured Dudyan, but lost it again the next day.
* 19 March Rebel forces captured two villages, Toqli and Mregel, north of Aleppo from IS.
* 19 March An Islamic State member suicide bomber killed 4 on Istanbul’s Istiklal Street, including 3 Israelis and 1 Iranian.
* 22 March IS claims responsibility for two bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium that left at least 31 dead and more than 220 injured. The attacks occurred at Zaventem Airport (at least 10 dead and 100 wounded) and at Maelbeek metro station (at least 20 dead and 130 wounded) near EU buildings.
* 27 March Syrian Armed Forces, backed by the Russian Air Force and allied militias, recaptured Palmyra from IS.

April 2016

* Early April A 36-hour mission took place in Kot district in Nangarhar province involving unilateral U.S. strikes against IS targets which enabled Afghan special operations forces to move into the district and clear part of a valley.
* 1 April IS launched an offensive toward the Levant Front headquarters in the outskirts of Mregel. The attack was repelled by the Sham Legion and the Falcons of Mount Zawiya Brigade and an IS bulldozer was destroyed. The rebels than proceeded to capture two villages. Two days later, the al-Moutasem Brigade, the Sultan Murad Brigade, and the Sham Legion launched an offensive toward the IS stronghold of al-Rai to the east, capturing eight villages and reached within four kilometers from al-Rai by 4 April. Some of the villages that were seized were: Tal Sha'er, Raqbya, Qantra and Shaabanya. As of 5 April, the rebels had captured at least 16 villages in the area.
* 3 April The Syrian Army regained control of Al-Qaryatayn from IS.
* 6 April 39 IS militants are killed, including their Commander Qari Yusif, and 15 others are wounded in clashes with Afghan forces in Nangarhar province.
* 7 April With close air support from A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, the rebels captured most of al-Rai and the nearby border crossing. As of 8 April, the rebels had full control of al-Rai, along with 17 other villages.
* 8 April – An almost 10-hour long intense firefight happened in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. Eighteen soldiers were killed while 52 government troops were wounded. Five Abu Sayyaf fighters were also killed in the encounter, including one foreign terrorist – a Moroccan national identified as Mohammad Khattad.
* Between 9 and 10 March Government forces captured 13 villages previously held by IS, near the southern bank of Lake Jabbūl, forcing IS to set up a new defensive line east of the lake.
* 10 April IS launched a counter-attack, which included a three-pronged attack against the town of Mare', and quickly recaptured eight villages. Still, the rebels once again seized four of the villages several hours later. During the day, the international Coalition conducted at least 22 air-strikes on IS positions as ground fighting continued. On 11 April, IS continued with its counter-attack and retook al-Rai and four other villages. In all, IS had recaptured in the previous two days, beside al-Rai, 17 other villages. The IS counter-offensive included attacks by 11 suicide car-bombers against rebel positions. At the end of the day, the rebels managed once again to retake control of eight villages.
* 12 April IS was reportedly in control of 13 localities they had previously lost, including al-Rai.
* 13 April The rebels managed to retake three villages once again. However, on 14 April, IS seized 10 new villages, practically cutting rebel forces in two. Rebels in the town of Dudyan were effectively surrounded. The most important village that IS captured was Hiwar Kallis, about one kilometer south of the Turkish border. During the IS advance, hundreds of rebel fighters retreated across the border into Turkey. By the following day, the rebels re-secured five villages, including Hiwar Kallis, reconnecting the two rebel areas.
* 14 April IS launched another offensive on Khanasir, and by the following day they captured hills near the town, the Duraham Oil Field and 10 villages. They also seized a large cache of weapons, ammunition and several armored vehicles. On 16 April, Syrian Army reinforcements were sent to the area, and by the evening they recaptured all of the territory lost, except the oil field.
* 15 April – Two Indonesian tugboats from Cebu, namely Henry and Cristi with 10 passengers were attacked by Abu Sayyaf militants. Four passengers were kidnapped, while another five were safe. One of the passenger was injured after being shot but were later rescued by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency when they arrived into the waters of Malaysia.
* Between 15 and 16 April The back-and-forth fighting continued, with IS once again taking control of two villages, while the rebels took two others. On 17 April, IS again captured the village of Tall Battal, west of Al-Rai. Four days after IS regained most of the villages it had lost, the rebels launched a new assault and once again retook two villages. However, IS retook them the following day.

May 2016

* 3 May A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed in Iraq after IS attacked a Peshmerga base. Roughly 100 IS fighters broke through a front line checkpoint and drove 3 to 5 kilometers to the Peshmerga base. The U.S. responded with F-16s and drones that dropped more than 20 bombs.
* 6 May Abu Waheeb was killed along with four companions by a US airstrike on an IS gathering in the center of Rutba. He was described as the IS "military emir for Anbar".
* 12 May British special forces blew up an IS suicide truck in Misrata. The British fired a missile after a vehicle, acting as a bomb, approached a bridge leading towards the city.
* Between 16 and 18 May The Iraqi army launched an offensive to recapture Ar-Rutbah from IS. The town was recaptured on 18 May.
* 23 May Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced the beginning of military operations to retake the city of Fallujah.
* 26 May Iraqi forces and supporting militias have retaken the town of Karma from the IS as part of the Fallujah offensive.
* 31 May Syrian Democratic Forces allied with Arab fighters and backed by the International Coalition led by the US launched an offensive on IS held Manbij in northern Syria.

June 2016

* 8 June The June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting occurred in Tel Aviv, Israel, as two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on patrons at the Max Brenner Cafe in the Sarona Market of Tel Aviv, killing four people and injuring seven others. According to an official indictment filed by the Tel Aviv District Prosecutor's Office the perpetrators were inspired by the Islamic State group.
* 25 June Two IS senior military commanders, Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, IS' deputy minister of war, and Hatim Talib al-Hamduni, a military commander in Northern Iraq die in a U.S. airstrike near Mosul.
* 26 June The city of Fallujah is declared "fully liberated" by a senior Iraqi commander
* 28 June A triple ISIS suicide bombing at Istanbul airport killed 45 and wounded over 160.

July 2016

* 1 July Seven militants storm the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh taking hostages including foreigners. Twenty-eight people are killed, including 20 hostages (17 of them foreigners), two Bangladeshi police officers, and six gunmen.
* 3 July IS detonates a suicide truck bomb in Baghdad, killing nearly 300 in Iraq’s deadliest attack since 2003.
* 5 July Some militants attack a bar in Puchong, Malaysia using a hand grenade which is the first attack in Malaysia. 8 people were injured during the attack. IS also released a video of declaring war on Malaysia and Indonesia.
* 9 July Iraqi forces, with the help of US-lead coalition air cover, take the strategically important Qayyarah Airfield West 40 miles (60 km) South of Mosul. They reported no resistance from IS.
* 13 July The IS confirmed that Omar al-Shishani, one of the top military commanders of IS was killed. However, they claim that he was killed in Mosul contrary to earlier reports that he died in Syria.
* 14 July A 19 tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people. IS claimed responsibility.
* 23 July At least 80 people were killed and more than 230 are injured after two IS militants conducted suicide bombings during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan.
* 26 July A hostage taking incident by two individuals, who were later killed by police, at the Église St.-Étienne, a 17th-century Catholic church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, during the Holy Mass, leaves the priest dead and another hostage very critically injured. The attack was done in the name of IS, and an IS news channel claimed they were its "soldiers", similar to what happened after other recent European attacks, but there is no independent confirmation, or firm evidence, as of yet that they were directly linked to IS.

August 2016

* 12 August The Syrian Democratic Force, led by the Kurdish YPG, capture Manbij, Syria. Manbij was strategically important as it was on the IS supply route from the Turkish border to the de facto IS capital of Raqqa. A large amount of intelligence material was discovered in Manbij including IS plans to attack targets in Europe, such as France.
* 20 August A suicide bomber attacked a wedding party in Gaziantep, killing 51, as links to the Islamic State were confirmed.
* 24 August The IS launched a new assault on the eastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate, targeting the SAA's defenses just north of the Kuweires Military Airport.
* 24 August Turkish troops and militia backed by US air strikes captured the Syrian border town of Jarablus in 24 hours. Turkish sources reported that they had secured the last remaining 91 km stretch of IS occupied Syrian border region next to the Turkish border between Azaz and Jarablus.
* 26 August A suicide truck bombing took place at a police HQ in southeastern Turkey. It killed 11 and wounded dozens. The PKK claimed responsibility.
* 30 August Abu Mohammad al-Adnani nom de guerre of Taha Subhi Falaha, the Syrian-born official spokesperson and a senior leader of IS is reported killed in Aleppo Governorate.

September 2016

October 2016

* 9 October The BBC reported that IS had lost more than 25% of its territory in Syria and Iraq since January 2015. However the rate of loss of territory had slowed in the three months to October because Russia had reduced its air strikes on IS and concentrated on supporting the Assad regime.
* 16 October Turkish-backed rebels claimed they had captured the symbolically important town of Dabiq. They said "IS members withdrew."
* 17 October Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi announces the operation to liberate Mosul from ISIS.
* 21 October Iraqi Government forces reported they had retaken two more villages South of Mosul – Nanaha and al-Awaizat – killing 15 IS fighters.
* 21 October Islamic State executed hundreds of men and boys in Mosul, in the midst of a major offensive by Iraqi forces to recapture the city
* 21 October IS militants launch suicide attacks in Kirkuk, killing 80 to distract from Mosul.
* 24 October According to Christian humanitarian organization Roads of Success, testimony from survivors indicates Islamic State killed at least six adults by burning them alive in ovens and 250 children by kneading them in a giant dough mixer. At least one child was allegedly killed for refusing to renounce his Christian name.

November 2016

* 2 November On 2 November, GNA forces gained a new foothold in the last IS-controlled area of the city and advanced further on 6 November. During the fighting, the GNA freed 14 civilians, while a senior GNA commander was killed.
* 3 November The Islamic State militants shoot dead 52 people in a public school located in the east of the city of Mosul, a day after Iraqi troops entered the city on the eastern front.
* 5 November The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launch '' Operation Euphrates Wrath'', the first of five operations to retake Raqqa, beginning with an encirclement of the city.
* 6 November Between 6 and 14 November 2016, the rebels captured 36 villages, putting them within 2 kilometers of al-Bab. Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces captured 7 villages east of al-Bab in an attempt to besiege the village of Arima.
* Suicide bombers have used explosives-laden ambulances to kill at least 21 people and wound many others in the Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Samarra.
* On 6 November, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that 33,996 people had been displaced from the Mosul District. 63 percent of families are missing civil documentation and 21 percent of families are headed by a female. The previous 48 hours saw a 53 percent increase in displacement. The following day, WHO announced it had established 82 "rapid response teams" to prepare for possible concerns among civilians fleeing Mosul, including health epidemics such as cholera, and exposure to chemicals. A particular concern is potential disease outbreaks young children who have not been immunized since ISIL took over the city in June 2014.
* On the southwest front, Iraqi forces reported they are 4 from Mosul International Airport after taking control of Hamam al-Alil the previous day. Iraqi forces stormed the Al-Sada district, their first entrance into northern Mosul.
* Blogger ''Mosul Eye'' reported panic and despair inside the city from citizens fearing imminent death from either the Iraqi forces or IS, which had begun installing bombs around residential buildings. He wrote, "ISIL is trapping the houses around us with bombs. We live on ticking bombs around us! If airstrikes and gunfire don't kill us, those car bombs will soon do the job!"
* The Iraq War Media Office announced that Abu Hamza al-Ansari, a key IS leader from Algeria, was killed in southern Mosul during a fight with the Iraqi Army's 15th Division.
* A Kurdish official told Rudaw that in eastern Mosul, civilians have staged uprisings against IS, killing three: "The situation in Mosul is bad. Residents have risen against IS at the Nabi Younis and Bakir neighborhoods, killing three militants and forcing 111 families associated with them to flee to Syria," Saed Mamuzini said.
* 7 November On 7 November, the Iraqi War Media Office announced that the decapitated bodies of 100 civilians were found in Hamam al-Alil. "Inside the building of the Faculty of Agriculture there is a new crime: the presence of 100 beheaded bodies of citizens killed by terrorists, and a special team will be sent to inspect this heinous crime," the office said in a statement.
* Rudaw reported that Peshmerga fighters launched a massive offensive in the morning to take the town of Bashiqa, still held by IS. Peshmerga have surrounded the town for two weeks. There were believed to be 100 to 200 IS militants left in Bashiqa, the last major IS-held town in area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Commander Kaka Hama said the Peshmerga descended from three fronts, and that coalition airstrikes played a large role in the assault. In the early afternoon, Rudaw reported that Bashiqa was liberated and that the Peshmerga were in full control.
* On the southern front, Agence France-Presse reported that Hamam al-Alil, which had been reported to be under Iraqi control on 5 November, had been fully liberated Monday by a combination of Iraqi, federal police and elite interior ministry forces.
* Al Sumaria reported that IS beheaded seven of its own militants for "delinquency" in a public square in central Mosul.
* 8 November Shooting left 30 people dead in Nigeria.
* The Peshmerga killed 12 IS fighters trying to flee the recently liberated town of Bashiqa. IS members returning to captured towns via tunnels and staging ambushes remains a high concern, Brig. Gen. Musa Gardi told Rudaw.
* Further to the West, PMU forces were reported to have advanced to a distance of 25 km towards strategically important Tal Afar