ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/),(Arabic: الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام‎) is also translated as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ash-Sham referring to Greater Syria (ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/),) ad-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fīl-ʻIrāq wa ash-Shām) The group is also known by the Arabic acronym Daʿish or DAESH (Arabic: داعش‎ Dāʻish). Since June 2014 it calls itself the Islamic State (IS), a name widely rejected by non-members. ISIL is a Sunni extremist, jihadist rebel group based in Iraq and Syria, where it controls territory. It also operates in eastern Libya, the Si

nai Peninsula of Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East,^[24] North Africa, South Asia,^[25] and Southeast Asia.^[26]
The United Nations has held ISIL responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, and Amnesty International has reported ethnic cleansing by the group on a "historic scale". The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, the UAE, and Egypt. ISIL's actions have been widely criticized around the world, with many Islamic communities judging the group to be unrepresentative of Islam. Over 60 countries are directly or indirectly waging war against ISIL.
The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which was renamed Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn—commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—when the group pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, AQI took part in the Iraqi insurgency. In 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which shortly afterwards proclaimed the formation of an Islamic state, naming it the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). The ISI gained a significant presence in Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk and other areas, but around 2008, its violent methods, including suicide attacks on civilian targets and the widespread killing of prisoners, led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups.^[a]
The group grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and after entering the Syrian Civil War, it established a large presence in Sunni-majority areas of Syria within the governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.^[27] Having expanded into Syria, the group changed its name in April 2013 to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, when al-Baghdadi announced its merger with the Syrian-based group al-Nusra Front. The group remained closely linked to al-Qaeda until February 2014, when after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence".^[21][28]
On 29 June 2014, the group proclaimed a worldwide caliphate,^[29][30] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—known by his supporters as Amir al-Mu'minin, Caliph Ibrahim—was named its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State.^[31] As caliphate it claims religious, political and milita

ry authority over all Muslims worldwide.^[32] One of ISIL's goals has been to establish a radical Sunni Islamist state in Iraq and the Levant region, which covers Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Hatay province in southern Turkey.^[33] Groups controlling territory in Sinai, eastern Libya, and Pakistan have been absorbed by ISIL.
ISIL is widely known for its violent propaganda, which includes Internet videos of beheadings—see 2014 ISIL beheading incidents.