Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo (ISIS-DRC)

ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo

Aka:  ISIS-DRC; Allied Democratic Forces, Madina at Tauheed Wau Mujahedeen; City of Monotheism and Holy Warriors; Islamic State Central Africa Province; Wilayat Central Africa; Wilayah Central Africa Media Office; Wilayat Wasat Ifriqiyah; ISIS-Central Africa.

Description:  ISIS-DRC was designated as an FTO on March 11, 2021.  ISIS publicly recognized the ADF, which began as a militant group in Uganda, became an affiliate in late 2018, and claimed responsibility for ADF-attributed attacks starting in 2019 after an attack on an Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo base near Kamango.  ISIS-DRC was responsible for many attacks across North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in eastern DRC, as well as intermittent attacks in Uganda.  Under the leadership of Seka Musa Baluku, ISIS-DRC had been notorious in this region for its brutal violence against Congolese citizens, regional military forces, and UN personnel.

Activities:  In June 2024, ISIS-DRC claimed credit for more than a dozen attacks targeting villages in North Kivu Province.  The attacks led to the deaths of 125 people, almost all of them civilians.  Many of the bodies were reportedly bound and decapitated.

Strength:  ISIS-DRC was assessed to have between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters in 2024.

Location/Area of Operation:  Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda.

Funding and External Aid:  ISIS-DRC reportedly funded itself at least in part through local revenue streams, including control over mines and mineral exports.  ISIS-linked international financing networks had provided additional revenue to the group since at least 2017.  The group had seized weapons and ammunition from the Congolese military.  The group had emerged as a regional conduit for facilitating fund transfers to ISIS cells in East Africa.

Associated documents