Islamic State
(ISIS)

The Islamic State's roots trace to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian jihadist who established Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) following the 2003 US-led invasion. Under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who assumed leadership in 2010, the group expanded into Syria in 2013 and seized vast territories with terrifying speed.

On 29 June 2014, from the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself Caliph and announced the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate. The declaration triggered an unprecedented wave of foreign fighter recruitment — an estimated 40,000 individuals from over 100 countries.

At its peak, ISIS controlled territory spanning from the outskirts of Baghdad to the suburbs of Aleppo — governing approximately 8 million people and generating revenues of $1–2 billion annually. The fall of Mosul in 2017 and final defeat at Baghouz in March 2019 ended its territorial experiment — but not the organisation itself.

ISIS espouses Salafi-jihadism — a literalist interpretation of Sunni Islam that rejects centuries of Islamic scholarly tradition. Central to its theology is takfir — declaring other Muslims apostates and therefore legitimate targets for killing — which justified mass slaughter of Shia Muslims, Sunnis cooperating with non-ISIS governments, and virtually all non-Muslims.

ISIS's embrace of apocalyptic prophecy distinguished it even within the jihadist world. It deliberately sought to provoke a final, world-ending battle at Dabiq, Syria — referenced in Hadith as the end-times confrontation site. This eschatological framework made negotiations or moderation theologically impossible.

Unlike Al-Qaeda, which prioritised attacking the West to destabilise Muslim governments, ISIS focused first on seizing and governing territory — building a functioning state as proof of its divine mandate.

Yazidi Genocide: In August 2014, ISIS surrounded the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar. Approximately 5,000 men and boys were executed; an estimated 7,000 women and children were enslaved and subjected to systematic sexual violence. The UN Security Council formally designated this a genocide in 2016.

Christian persecution: ISIS systematically expelled and executed Iraq's and Syria's ancient Christian communities. The Christian population of Mosul — present for nearly 2,000 years — was entirely expelled in July 2014. Churches were destroyed or converted to ISIS administrative buildings.

Mass executions: The Camp Speicher massacre (June 2014) saw approximately 1,700 unarmed Iraqi Air Force cadets executed in a single operation. Prisoners were beheaded, burned alive, drowned in cages, and thrown from buildings — all filmed for global distribution.

Global terrorism: The November 2015 Paris attacks (130 killed), 2016 Brussels bombings (32 killed), 2016 Nice truck attack (86 killed), 2017 Manchester Arena bombing (22 killed), and dozens of other mass-casualty attacks were carried out by ISIS operatives or inspired by its ideology.

The collapse of the territorial caliphate dispersed thousands of trained fighters into pre-existing affiliate networks. Today ISIS operates through a global franchise model with provincial commands across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

ISIS's geographic reach touches nearly every IFC regional desk. The communities most severely victimised are among those the IFC was founded to document and advocate for.