Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Salafi jihadist militant Sunni Islamist group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),[78] or Islamic State, (IS)[79][80] is a Islamist militant group. In Arabic it is often called the phrase "Daesh" but it is disliked by the group which causes enemies of the group to use the phrase.[81][82] It operates in Libya,[83] Nigeria,[84] Syria and a small part of northern Iraq. It is influenced by the Wahhabi Sect of Islam.[85][86] It claims the status of independent state for the territories under its control in Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, and Syria. It is opposed to Shiism and has been described as "Shiaphobic".[87][88]
This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Arabic. Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | |
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الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām | |
Founder | Abu Musab al-Zarqawi †[5] |
Leaders |
[7],Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †,[8] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †[9]
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Dates of operation | 1999–present
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Group(s) |
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Headquarters |
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Active regions | ISIL's territory, in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent (May 2015). Map legend
Detailed current maps
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Ideology |
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Allies | See section |
Opponents | State opponents
Many others
Non-state opponents
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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 military intervention against ISIL in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria |
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 centralized 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.[89] In February 2014, after an eight-month power struggle, Al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL.[90]
ISIL is millenarianist,[91] meaning it believes that society is going to change a lot, and everything we know will end soon. The group recruits new members by promising them sex slaves or cheap marriages.[92]