SUMMARY

The Mujahideen Shura Council was a coalition of all major factions in Deir ez Zor, formed to fight IS. This conflict is part of the broader anti-IS fighting that began in January 2014 (see IS - Islamic Front, Mujahideen Army, SRF). The early anti-IS fighting in Deir ez Zor originally mainly consisted of the dyads Authenticity and Development Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - IS and IS - Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and succeeded in largely pushing IS out of the province. However, after an IS counter-offensive begun in April had considerable success, the factions of Deir ez Zor joined together in an Operations Room called Mujahideen Shura Council on 25 May 2014. These developments failed to hinder IS's advance, and by mid-July they had taken control of almost all of Deir ez Zor governorate, with only the government controlled Deir ez Zor city out of their control. The fall of Deir ez Zor made the Mujahideen Shura Council defunct, though many of its constituent groups would continue to fight IS elsewhere.