What Is ISIS And What Do They Want In Iraq? By Test Tube

The Islamic State (Daesh)

  • COUNTRY: Syria & Iraq

  • EST:

  • IMPACT:

  • MILITARY CASUALTIES: 5,000+ belligerent casualties

  • CIVILIAN CASUALTIES: ~1,000 civilians casualties

  • SUMMARY

    The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also translated as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known by the Arabic acronym Daʿish or Daesh and self-proclaimed as the Islamic State (IS), is a Sunni, extremist, jihadist unrecognized state and self-proclaimed caliphate based in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East.

    The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999 and this group was the forerunner of Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn, commonly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, AQI took part in the Iraqi insurgency against coalition forces and Iraqi security forces. In 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which consolidated further into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) shortly afterwards. At its height, the ISI gained a significant presence in Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk and other areas, but around 2008, its violent methods led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups and a temporary decline.

    In April 2013, the group changed its name to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, gaining support in Iraq in the context of perceived economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis. After entering the Syrian Civil War, it established a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo. ISIL had close links to al-Qaeda until February 2014 when, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence".

    The group's original aim was to establish an Islamic state in Sunni-majority regions of Iraq. Following its involvement in the Syrian Civil War, this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria. It proclaimed a worldwide caliphate on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—known by his supporters as Amir al-Mu'minin, Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State. In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it claims religious authority over all Muslims worldwide, and aims to bring most traditionally Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control, beginning with the Levant region, which approximately covers Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and part of southern Turkey. The group has been officially or unofficially designated as aterrorist organization by many countries, media, and international organizations. The United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the group of grave human rights abuses, and Amnesty International has found it guilty of ethnic cleansing on a "historic scale".

    ISIL's actions, authority and theological interpretations have been widely criticized around the world by non-Muslims and within the Muslim community.