When Abu Abdul Rahman al-Bilawi was killed in fighting with the Iraqi Army (IA) in Nineveh during June 2014, Shishani was named the new IS Military Operations Chief. Shishani led several campaigns such as taking over of Mosul, followed by the coordination of attacks to dislodge the Peshmerga from Sinjar, POE Rabiah and the Mosul Dam. More recent IS successes in Anbar in September and October 2014 are also attributed to the leadership of Shishani.