Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

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Islamic State
الدولة الإسلامية ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya
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Founder	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †
Leaders	Leader: Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi Former leaders: Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi † Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi † Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi † Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi † Deputy leader in Iraq: Abu Fatima al-Jaheishi Deputy leader in Syria: Abu Ali al-Anbari † Deputy leader in Libya: Abdul Qader al-Najdi † Military chief: Abu Saleh al-Obaidi Head of the Shura Council: Abu Arkan al-Ameri Chief of Syrian military operations: Abu Omar al-Shishani † Minister of War: Gulmurod Khalimov † Minister of Finance: Sami Jasim Muhammad al-Jaburi (POW) Minister of Information: Abu Muhammad al-Furqan † Spokesman: Abu Umar al-Muhajir Former spokesmen: Abu Mohammad al-Adnani †, Abu Hamza al-Qurashi †
Dates of operation	1999–present Established under the name of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad: 1999 Joined al-Qaeda: October 2004 Declaration of an Islamic state in Iraq: 13 October 2006 Claim of territory in the Levant: 8 April 2013 Separated from al-Qaeda: 3 February 2014 Declaration of caliphate: 29 June 2014 Claim of territory in Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen: 13 November 2014 Claim of territory in South Asia: 29 January 2015 Claim of territory in Nigeria: 12 March 2015 Claim of territory in North Caucasus: 23 June 2015 Recapture of Mosul by Iraqi forces: 20 July 2017 Capture of Raqqa by SDF forces: 17 October 2017 Loses all of its territory in Syria: 23 March 2019 Killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: October 27, 2019 Killing of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi: February 3, 2022 Killing of Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi: October 15, 2022
Group(s)	Algerian Province Caucasus Province Central Africa Province East Asia Province Gaza Province Greater Sahara Province Khorasan Province Libyan Province Sinai Province Somalia Province West Africa Province Yemen Province Islamic State – Georgian Province
Headquarters	Baqubah, Iraq (2006–2007) No central headquarters (2007–2013) Raqqa, Syria (2013–2017) Mayadin, Syria (June–October 2017) Al-Qa'im, Iraq (October–November 2017) Abu Kamal, Syria (November 2017) Hajin, Syria (November 2017 – December 2018) Al-Susah, Syria (December 2018 – January 2019) Al-Marashidah, Syria (January–February 2019) Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Syria (February–March 2019) Northwestern Idlib Governorate, Syria (March 2019–present)
Active regions	ISIL's territory, in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent (May 2015). Map legend   Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant   Iraqi government   Syrian government   Lebanese government   Iraqi Kurdistan forces   Syrian Kurdistan forces   Syrian opposition forces   Turkish Armed Forces   Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)   Hezbollah Note: Iraq and Syria contain large desert areas with sparse populations. These areas are mapped as under the control of forces holding roads and towns within them. Detailed current maps Detailed map of the Syrian, Iraqi, and Lebanese conflicts Detailed map of the Libyan Civil War Detailed map of the Sinai insurgency Detailed map of the Nigerian insurgency Detailed map of the Yemeni Civil War Detailed map of the Taliban insurgency
Ideology	Islamism Caliphalism Qutbism Takfirism Wahhabism Pan-Islamism Salafism Salafi jihadism Anti-Yazidi sentiment Anti-Shia sentiment Anti-Christian sentiment Anti-Hindu sentiment Anti-LGBT sentiment Antisemitism
Political position	Far-right
Allies	See section
Opponents	State opponents  Canada  France  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Lebanon  Libya  Nigeria  Russia  Saudi Arabia  Syria  Turkey  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom  United States  Yemen Many others  Afghanistan  Abkhazia  Albania  Algeria  Armenia  Artsakh  Azerbaijan  Australia  Austria  Bahrain  Bangladesh  Belgium  Benin  Bolivia  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Brazil  Cameroon  Canada  Chad  China  DR Congo  Croatia  Czech Republic  Denmark  Egypt  Estonia  Finland  Georgia  Germany  Greece  Hungary  India  Indonesia  Ireland  Israel  Italy  Japan  Kazakhstan  North Korea  South Korea  Kosovo  Kyrgyzstan  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malaysia  Maldives  Malta  Mauritius  Mexico  Moldova  Morocco  Mozambique  Netherlands  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Niger  North Macedonia  Norway  Oman  Pakistan  Palestine  Philippines  Poland  Portugal  Qatar  Romania  Serbia  Singapore  Slovakia  Slovenia  Somalia  South Ossetia  Spain  Sri Lanka  Sweden  Switzerland  Taiwan  Tajikistan  Thailand  Trinidad and Tobago  Tunisia  Turkmenistan  Ukraine  Uzbekistan  Vietnam  Venezuela  Western Sahara Non-state opponents Syrian Democratic Forces Nineveh Plain Protection Units  Hezbollah  Ansarallah Badr Organisation Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq European Union Kata'ib Hezbollah Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Peshmerga Kurdistan Communities Union Free Syrian Army Iraqi Kurdistan  al-Qaeda Ahrar al-Sham Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham since 2017) Libya Shield Force Hamas Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna Taliban Army of Conquest (2015–17) Full list...
Battles and wars	the Iraq War (2003–2011), the Iraqi insurgency, the Syrian Civil War, the Iraqi Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the Boko Haram insurgency, the War in North-West Pakistan, the War in Afghanistan, the Yemeni Civil War, and other conflicts Primary target of Operation Inherent Resolve and of the War against the Islamic State in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria

The Islamic State (IS), (Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية, romanized: ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya) also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a Sunni Islamist militant group and unrecognized former quasi-state. It seeks to establish a global caliphate ruled by what it sees as Sharia law. In Arabic, it is often called Daesh, a term disliked by the group. It operates in Libya, Nigeria, Syria and a small part of northern Iraq. It claimed the status of an independent state for the territories under its control in Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, and Syria from 2014 to 2019. It follows the Salafi ideology and is opposed to Shiism and has been described as "Shiaphobic".

The earliest evolution of the group traces its origins back to the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad group which was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 1999. This group eventually grew and became a large network in the early years of the Iraq War and associated itself with al-Qaeda in 2004. In 2006, the group formed into the Mujahideen Shura Council which was an umbrella organization that was composed of different insurgent groups. On 15 October 2006, the group rebranded itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and appointed Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as its emir. Its aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni majority regions of Iraq, later expanding this to include Syria. In February 2014, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL.

Fighting

At the height of the Iraq War, ISIL was in the Iraqi provinces of Al Anbar, Ninawa, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad. Back then, it was known as al-Qaeda in Iraq and later the Islamic State of Iraq. It claimed Baqubah as its capital. In the Syrian Civil War, the group has a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib and Aleppo.

The group has attacked government and military targets. It has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed thousands of Iraqi civilians. During the time coalition forces were present in Iraq, the group suffered some setbacks. By 2012, it was thought to have regained most of its strength due to the ongoing conflict in Syria and more than doubled the number of its members to about 2,500. Following a 2013-2014 military offensive, ISIL took over large parts of Al Anbar Province including the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.

In 2013, a letter and an audio recording of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, was leaked to Al Jazeera. In it, al-Zawahiri disbanded the Syrian faction of ISIL. The group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, opposed this ruling on the basis of Islamic law. The group has since continued to operate in Syria. Starting in April 2013, it made rapid military gains in large parts of Northern Syria, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described them as "the strongest group". They have sought publicity by releasing videos of the decapitation (beheading) of journalists and other prisoners of war mainly done by member Jihadi John. He was killed in November 2015.

Worldwide caliphate

In June 2014, it announced a worldwide caliphate. In 2014, ISIL successfully fought in a large-scale offensive in Iraq. After this offensive, ISIL is reported to have seized control of most of Mosul, the second biggest city in Iraq, its surrounding Nineveh province, and the city of Fallujah. It proceeded to persecute non-Sunni minorities such as Shia Muslims, Christians, and Yazidis. Its actions against the Yazidi people was deemed to be a genocide by the international community. In the spring of 2015 ISIL fought for control of Tikrit, the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.

In spring of 2016 the Army of Iraq took back Fallujah. At the end of 2016 the army took back Ramadi in Al Anbar Province, and in July 2017 Iraqi government forces retook Mosul. In October 2017, Raqqa, the capital, fell to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

References