Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), often translated as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and accordingly also commonly known as ISIS, is a militant Salafist group that was originally part of al-Qaeda. It is also known as Daesh, which is an acronym derived from its Arabic name. The group has referred to itself as the Islamic State or IS ever since it proclaimed a worldwide caliphate in 2014 and claimed religious, political and military authority over all Muslims worldwide. For a time, it controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria and has or had small territories or otherwise has or had a presence in many other countries.

The group has been designated a terrorist organization by numerous countries and organizations. It has itself claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks, human rights violations, and actions such as destruction of cultural heritages. Over 60 countries are directly or indirectly waging war against ISIS.

History

The group, in its original form, was composed of and supported by a variety of Sunni insurgent groups, including its predecessor organizations, the Mujahideen Shura Council, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the insurgent groups Jaysh al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba, Katbiyan Ansar Al-Tawhid wal Sunnah and Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura, and a number of Iraqi tribes that profess Sunni Islam.

ISIS grew significantly as an organization owing to its participation in the Syrian Civil War and the strength of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis since the fall of Saddam Hussein also helped it to gain support. At the height of the Iraq War, its forerunners enjoyed a significant presence in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Ninawa, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital city. In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, ISIS has a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib and Aleppo.

ISIS is known for its harsh interpretation of Wahhabi Islam[citation needed] and its brutal violence,[22][30] which is directed at Shia Muslims and Christians in particular. It has at least 4,000 fighters in its ranks in Iraq who, in addition to attacks on government and military targets, have claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed thousands of civilians and have raped even more. ISIS had close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and "notorious intractability".

ISIS’s original aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni-majority regions of Iraq. Following its involvement in the Syrian Civil War, this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria. A caliphate was proclaimed on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—now known as Amir al-Mu'minin Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State.

ISIS tends to have unclear aims. It did not step in to stop the Gaza Holocaust of 2014, although a leader claimed it was going into Gaza to support the Palestinians, but nothing appears to have been done yet. ISIS also quickly lost focus on stopping jews/Israel and at one point did not like the Yazadi people, and a week later announced it would reconquer Spain. It has done no action in conquering Spain and it might just be talk that they forget about a week later. Seeing as it is based right outside of Israel, it is suspicious that a "Muslim extremist" group would spend its time killing other Muslims, Christians and Yazidi.

Much of their activities has been public executions, such as of Mossad agents. When they kidnapped and executed journalist James Foley, they first held him for ransom, but the US government threatened them with criminal action if they tried to raise a ransom. ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, developed a system of gold, silver, and copper coins in a plan to stop international banking which ISIS began using in November 2014.

Terrorist acts (excerpt)

IS claimed full responsibility of the series of terror attacks in Paris, France in November 13 2015. Killing at least 120 people. French Presdident Hollande claimed the attacks to be an "act of war".

2016 Nice truck attack (de)

On the evening of 14 July 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and injuring 434 others. The driver was Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian Muslim living in France. The attack ended following an exchange of gunfire, during which he was shot and killed by police. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Lahouaiej-Bouhlel answered its "calls to target citizens of coalition nations that fight the Islamic State". On 15 July, François Molins, the prosecutor for the Public Ministry, which is overseeing the investigation, said the attack bore the hallmarks of jihadist terrorism

2016 Berlin truck attack (de)

On 19 December 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured. One of the victims was the truck's original driver, Łukasz Urban, who was found shot dead in the passenger seat. The truck was eventually stopped by its automatic brakes. The perpetrator was Anis Amri, an unsuccessful asylum seeker from Tunisia. Four days after the attack, he was killed in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy. An initial suspect was arrested and later released due to lack of evidence. Nearly five years after the attack, a man who was critically injured during the attack died from complications related to his wounds, becoming the 13th victim. As of December 2023, this attack remains the worst Islamist terrorist attack by number of casualties in German history. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack and released a video of the perpetrator, Anis Amri, a Muslim who was born in Tataouine, Tunisia, on 22 December 1992, pledging allegiance to the terror group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

External links

• Horrors of ISIS Created by Zionist Supremacy
• Israeli Intel Chief: We Don’t Want ISIS Defeated in Syria
• Former Israeli Defense Minister Admits ISIS Openly Communicates with Jewish State