Islamic State

Islamic State
Islamic State
الدَّولةُ الإِسْلَامِيَّة; ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya
	Flag Emblem
Other name	ISIS, ISIL, IS, Daesh
Founder	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi X
Leaders	Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (2023–present); Former: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2014–2019) X ; Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (2019–2022) X ; Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (2022) † ; Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi (2022–2023) † ;
Dates active	Origins: 1999–2014 1999: Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi establishes Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad; Establishment of Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; October 2004: Zarqawi pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda and forms al-Qaeda in Iraq; 15 January 2006: Formation of Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq; 13 October 2006: Declaration of an Islamic State of Iraq and organizational independence from al-Qaeda; 8 April 2013: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi changes the name of the ISI group to the "‎Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant"‎ (ISIL) and announces territorial expansion in the Levant; 3 February 2014: Beginning of Al-Qaeda–Islamic State conflict; Islamic State: 2014–present 29 June 2014: Declaration of caliphate and renamed to the "Islamic State"; 13 November 2014: Claim of territory in Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen; 29 January 2015: Claim of territory in South Asia; 12 March 2015: Claim of territory in Nigeria; 23 June 2015: Claim of territory in North Caucasus; 20 July 2017: Capture of Mosul by Iraqi forces; 17 October 2017: Capture of Raqqa by SDF forces; 23 March 2019: Loses all of its territory in Syria; 27 October 2019: Killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; 3 February 2022: Killing of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi;
Groups	Groups Algeria Province; (until 2016) ; Bengal Province ; Caucasus Province ; Central Africa Province Allied Democratic Forces; ; Khorasan Province Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (2015–2016); Jundallah (Pakistan) (2014–2017); Mullah Dadullah Front (2015–2016); ; Libya Province; (until 2021) ; Pakistan Province ; Philippines Province Ansar Khalifa Philippines (until 2021); Maute Group; Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters; ; Sahel Province Lakurawa; ; Somalia Province ; West Africa Province Boko Haram (until 2016); ; Yemen Province; (until 2022) ; East Asia Province; Jamaah Ansharut Daulah; (until 2022); Ajang Ajang group; (until 2019); Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid; (until 2014); East Indonesia Mujahideen (until 2022); Katibah Nusantara (until 2019); ; Hawran Province (until 2018) ; Mozambique Province Al-Shabaab; ; Hind Province Jammu and Kashmir Province (until 2019); ; Turkey Province ; Azerbaijan Province ; Tunisia Province; (until 2022) ; Iraq Province ; Kurdistan Province (until 2024) ; Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade; (until 2019) ; Al-Khansaa Brigade (until 2017) ; Brussels Islamic State terror cell (until 2016) ; Saudi Arabia Province; (until 2017) ; Sinai Province (until 2023) ; Egypt Province; (until 2018) ; Unorganized cells: Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil (until 2018); Die Wahre Religion (until 2016); Profetens Ummah; (until 2016); ;
Headquarters	Northwestern Idlib Governorate, Syria (March 2019–present) Former Baqubah, Iraq (2006–2007) ; No central headquarters (2007–2013) ; Raqqa, Syria (2013–2017) ; Mayadin, Syria (June–October 2017) ; Al-Qa'im, Iraq (October–November 2017) ; Abu Kamal, Syria (November 2017) ; Hajin, Syria (November 2017 – December 2018) ; Al-Susah, Syria (December 2018 – January 2019) ; Al-Marashidah, Syria (January–February 2019) ; Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Syria (February–March 2019);
Active regions	See territory of the Islamic State
Ideology	Daeshism Theocracy ; Qutbism ; Takfirism ; Wahhabism ; Salafism ; Salafi jihadism ; Islamic fundamentalism ; Anti-Yazidi sentiment ; Turkophobia ; Shiaphobia ; Christianophobia ; Hinduphobia ; Homophobia ; Antisemitism ; Misogyny;
Status	Active
Size	List of combatant numbers Inside Syria and Iraq: 1,500–3,000 (UN 2024 report); 5,000–10,000 (UN Security Council 2019 report); 28,600–31,600 (July 2018) (2016 US Defense Department estimate); 200,000 (2015 claim by Iraqi Kurdistan Chief of Staff); 100,000 (2015 Jihadist claim); 35,000–100,000 (at peak, US State Department estimate); ; Outside Syria and Iraq: 32,600–57,900 (See Military activity of ISIL for more detailed estimates.) ; Estimated total: 61,200–257,900; Civilian population In 2015 (near max extent): 8–12 million; In 2022 (ISWAP): 800,000–3,000,000;
Wars	See list of wars and battles involving the Islamic State
	; IS territory in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent (May 2015) Map legend Islamic State; Iraqi government; Syrian government; Lebanese government; Iraqi Kurdistan forces; Syrian Kurdistan forces; Syrian opposition forces; Turkish Armed Forces; Al-Nusra Front; Hezbollah; Note: Iraq and Syria contain large desert areas with sparse populations. These areas are mapped as under the control of forces holding roads and towns within them.;

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 by its Arabic acronym Da'esh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisation and internationally unrecognised quasi-state. IS occupied a significant amount of territory in Syria during the Syrian Civil War and in Iraq after the U.S. troops withdrew. In 2014 the group proclaimed itself to be a worldwide caliphate and claimed religious and political authority over all Muslims worldwide, a claim not accepted by the vast majority of Muslims. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, making it subject to binding counterterrorism sanctions in every UN member state, including all Muslim countries.

By the end of 2015, its self-declared caliphate ruled an area with a population of about 12 million, where they enforced their extremist interpretation of Islamic law, 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 its Middle Eastern territories by 2019, subsequently reverting to insurgency from remote hideouts while continuing its propaganda efforts. These efforts have garnered a significant following in northern and Sahelian Africa, where IS still controls a significant territory.

Originating in the Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004, the organisation (primarily under the Islamic State of Iraq name) affiliated itself with al-Qaeda in Iraq and fought alongside them during the 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency. The group later changed its name to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant for about a year, before declaring itself to be a worldwide caliphate, called simply the Islamic State (الدَّولةُ الإِسْلَامِيَّة, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyya).

During its rule in Syria and Iraq, the group became notorious for its brutality. It committed genocides against Yazidis and Iraqi Turkmen; engaged in persecution of Christians, Shia Muslims, and Mandaeans; publicised videos of beheadings of soldiers, journalists, and aid workers; and destroyed cultural sites. The group has perpetrated terrorist massacres in territories outside of its control, such as the November 2015 Paris attacks, the 2024 Kerman bombings in Iran, and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Russia. Lone wolf attacks inspired by the group have also taken place.

After 2015, the Iraqi Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces pushed back IS and degraded its financial and military infrastructure, assisted by advisors, weapons, training, supplies, and airstrikes by the American-led coalition and Iranian proxy forces, and later by Russian airstrikes, bombings, cruise missile attacks, and scorched-earth tactics across Syria, which focused mostly on razing Syrian opposition strongholds rather than IS bases. By March 2019, IS lost the last of its territories in West Asia, although its affiliates maintain a significant territorial presence in Africa as of 2025.