Islamic State

The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational <a href="/facts/Salafi_jihadism/EWJJjRf1">Salafi jihadist</a> militant organisation and unrecognised <a href="/facts/Quasi-state/p1fMfqMt">quasi-state</a>. ISIL occupied significant territory in <a href="/facts/Iraq/pqYSFJw8">Iraq</a> and <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a> in 2013, but lost most of it in 2017 and 2019. In 2014, the group proclaimed itself to be a worldwide <a href="/facts/Caliphate/qQ6hCspe">caliphate</a>, and claimed religious and political authority over all <a href="/facts/Muslims/W2ukq4pg">Muslims</a> worldwide, a claim not accepted by the vast majority of Muslims. It is <a href="/facts/List_of_designated_terrorist_groups/LmnuRFFL">designated as a terrorist organisation</a> by the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> and many countries around the world, including <a href="/facts/Muslim_world/n9vVGogr">Muslim countries</a>. 
By the end of 2015, its self-declared <a href="/facts/Caliphate/qQ6hCspe">caliphate</a> ruled an area with a population of about 12 million, where they enforced their extremist interpretation of <a href="/facts/Islamic_law/H9cG0yCF">Islamic law</a>, managed an annual budget exceeding US$1 billion, and commanded more than 30,000 fighters. After a grinding conflict with American, Iraqi, and Kurdish forces, IS lost control of all its Middle Eastern territories by 2019, subsequently reverting to insurgency from remote hideouts while continuing its <a href="/facts/Social_media_use_by_the_Islamic_State/FNPs8DTI">propaganda efforts</a>. These efforts have garnered a significant following in northern and <a href="/facts/Sahelian/LEmEpoaR">Sahelian</a> Africa, where IS still controls a significant territory. Originating in the <a href="/facts/Jaish_al-Ta%2527ifa_al-Mansurah/6AlemIYL">Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah</a> founded by <a href="/facts/Abu_Omar_al-Baghdadi/gvqalDNU">Abu Omar al-Baghdadi</a> in 2004, the organisation (primarily under the <a href="/facts/Islamic_State_of_Iraq/CavASPma">Islamic State of Iraq</a> name) affiliated itself with <a href="/facts/Al-Qaeda_in_Iraq/dlMIFT5e">al-Qaeda in Iraq</a> and fought alongside them during the <a href="/facts/2003%25E2%2580%25932006_phase_of_the_Iraqi_insurgency/to4cQESR">2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency</a>. The group later changed their name to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant for about a year, before declaring itself to be a worldwide <a href="/facts/Caliphate/qQ6hCspe">caliphate</a>, called simply the Islamic State (الدولة الإسلامية, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyya).
During its rule in Syria and Iraq, the group "became notorious for its brutality". Under its rule of these regions, IS launched <a href="/facts/Yazidi_genocide/zwMYnCvx">genocides against Yazidis</a> and <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Turkmen_genocide/FumLx1ek">Iraqi Turkmen</a>; engaged in <a href="/facts/Persecution_of_Christians_by_the_Islamic_State/MBhzo4Df">persecution of Christians</a>, <a href="/facts/Persecution_of_Shias_by_the_Islamic_State/0LozNrcD">Shia Muslims</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mandaeans/lAVGX7tJ">Mandaeans</a>; publicised <a href="/facts/Islamic_State_beheadings/xnVruYMp">videos of beheadings</a> of soldiers, journalists, and aid workers; and <a href="/facts/Destruction_of_cultural_heritage_by_the_Islamic_State/CTFG6T76">destroyed several cultural sites</a>. The group has perpetrated terrorist massacres in territories outside of its control, such as the <a href="/facts/November_2015_Paris_attacks/wrS8klS6">November 2015 Paris attacks</a>, the <a href="/facts/2024_Kerman_bombings/Dj3wa706">2024 Kerman bombings</a> in Iran, and the <a href="/facts/Crocus_City_Hall_attack/kg9QpN8J">2024 Crocus City Hall attack</a> in Russia. <a href="/facts/Lone_wolf_attack/ww0xwVEP">Lone wolf attacks</a> inspired by the group have also taken place.
After 2015, the <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Armed_Forces/6J8VVnk1">Iraqi Armed Forces</a> and the <a href="/facts/Syrian_Democratic_Forces/L32Ly9Bp">Syrian Democratic Forces</a> pushed back IS and degraded its financial and military infrastructure, assisted by advisors, weapons, training, supplies, and airstrikes by the <a href="/facts/Operation_Inherent_Resolve/2pmb3Sjn">American-led coalition</a>, and later by Russian airstrikes, bombings, cruise missile attacks, and <a href="/facts/Scorched_earth/aHudzo27">scorched-earth</a> tactics across Syria, which focused mostly on razing <a href="/facts/Syrian_opposition/Il9FUu2G">Syrian opposition</a> strongholds rather than IS bases. By March 2019, IS lost the last of its territories in <a href="/facts/West_Asia/xXM15vIz">West Asia</a>, although its affiliates maintained a significant territorial presence in Africa as of 2025.

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Islamic State