ORDER OF BATTLE // June 13, 2014
War against the Islamic State
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 204,100 estimated
CJTF–OIR
4,100
Medium-confidence figure
Islamic State
200,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The war against the Islamic State drew together a broad multinational coalition—operating under CJTF–OIR—in response to IS's rapid territorial expansion following its 2014 invasion of Iraq, its widely condemned executions, and its human rights abuses, as well as concern over further spillover from the Syrian civil war. Member states conducted military operations across Syria and Iraq, with smaller interventions later extended to IS-affiliated groups in Nigeria and Libya. The combined effort significantly degraded IS capabilities by around 2019–2020, reducing the organization from a proto-state controlling large contiguous territory to a contained force operating in a small area. As of 2026, fighting in Syria continued at a reduced level, with IS constrained in both territorial reach and force capability, representing a substantial but incomplete outcome for the coalition.
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