Islamic State is the name used by a radical militant Islamic group based in Iraq and Syria. The group was formerly associated with the terrorist organization al-Qa`ida. The Islamic State has roots in two main conflicts: the Iraq War (2003-2011) and the Syrian civil war that began in 2011. Other names for the group have included the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The term Levant refers to countries around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The acronym DAESH, based on the group’s full Arabic name (al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham), is also sometimes used.
The Islamic State is a Sunni Muslim group known for its ruthless violence and severe interpretation of the Sharī`a, the legal and moral code of Islam. Led by the Iraqi militant Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi until his death in 2019, the Islamic State has killed thousands of civilians, military personnel, and rival militants. The group specifically targets rival Shī`ite Muslims, Christians, and anyone else it deems an “enemy of Islam.” Most Islamic State fighters are Iraqi or Syrian, though the group also includes other Muslims from around the world.
In 2003, a United States-led coalition invaded Iraq and deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The United States then helped install a government dominated by Shī`ites, the majority Muslim group in Iraq. A number of Sunni militant groups emerged to oppose the new Iraqi government as well as the U.S. occupation. Among these groups was al-Qa`ida in Iraq, which would develop into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Beginning in 2006, ISI repeatedly attacked military and civilian targets in Iraq.
In 2011, a bitter civil war erupted in neighboring Syria. In 2013, some Sunni rebel groups in Syria joined with ISI, which renamed itself ISIS. ISIS grew quickly into a potent military organization, fighting Syrian government troops as well as competing rebel groups. Fighting between ISIS and al-Qa`ida’s Syrian branch, the al-Nusra Front (now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham), caused a sharp break between the groups in early 2014. Al-Qa`ida, known for its own brutality, also wished to separate itself from increasingly vicious ISIS massacres and mass executions.
By mid-2014, ISIS had established control over large parts of Iraq and Syria. In June, the group changed its name to the Islamic State, claiming to have established a caliphate. A caliphate is a government ruled by a caliph, a leader with political and religious authority recognized by Muslims as a successor of the Prophet Muhammad. Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself Caliph Ibrahim.
The Islamic State faces serious opposition from the Iraqi and Syrian militaries, Shī`ite militias, and other militant groups, as well as from Kurdish forces in northern Iraq and Syria. In addition, a large group of nations, including the United States, Russia, and Turkey, has confronted the Islamic State threat in both Iraq and Syria. Since August 2014, combined airstrikes have targeted Islamic State positions, and a limited number of ground forces have also engaged the terror group. 
Since early 2015, Islamic State terrorists have made numerous attacks on civilians in Iraq and Syria, with highly publicized attacks also taking place in Belgium, Egypt, France, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Yemen, and other nations.
In 2017, the Islamic State lost much of its conquered territory, including its main bases in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria. On Oct. 26, 2019, U.S. military forces attacked al-Baghdadi’s heavily guarded compound in northwest Syria. Al-Baghdadi took his own life to prevent being captured. Nevertheless, the Islamic State remains present as a threat in countries that include Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria. For example, a branch of the group, called ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), has carried out a number of attacks in Afghanistan. Khorasan is a historic region in south central Asia.
