The Islamic State jihadist group, which holds large areas in Iraq and Syria and has affiliates and operatives in other countries, claimed attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.

But how does IS function, and who calls the shots?

-Who's in charge?

The group is headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who rules over a self-declared Islamic "caliphate", but military and administrative responsibilities are diffused to lower-level officials as well.

IS has various departments responsible for issues such as education and services, and there are also security commanders for specific geographic regions.

"In the grand scheme of things Baghdadi seems to be an important figure in decision-making," said jihadism expert Aymenn al-Tamimi.

"However, I think as with any government there is some autonomy in decision-making granted to more local manifestations of IS government departments."

-Who orders attacks?

There is not yet any hard evidence that top leaders directly ordered the Paris attacks, and it is likely that Baghdadi dictates strategies while less senior commanders and operatives see to the execution.

"We don't have any evidence at the present time that the Paris attack was ordered by the highest echelons of the Islamic State," Tamimi said.

"Baghdadi likely does not micromanage every attack that (IS) launches abroad. It is more likely that (IS) commanders execute campaigns according to Baghdadi's intent," said Harleen Gambhir, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

IS-linked "operatives have attempted to attack Europe repeatedly this year. The Paris attacks simply represented a success in that effort, rather than a unique event that would have required special permission from Baghdadi," Gambhir said.
Source: AFP