ISIS (CNN) -- Heres a look at Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Facts: Started as an al Qaeda splinter group. Also known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and Islamic State (IS). The aim of ISIS is to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria. ISIS is known for killing dozens of people at a time and carrying out public executions, crucifixions and other acts. It has taken over large swaths of northern and western Iraq. The group currently controls hundreds of square miles. It ignores international borders and has a presence from Syrias Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad. It rules by Sharia law. ISISs initial strategy for revenue was through extortion and robbery. Recently, al-Baghdadis strategy shifted to generating resources through large-scale attacks aimed at capturing and holding territory. Unable to serve under the new Iraq government after Saddam Husseins military was disbanded, former Iraqi soldiers became ISIS fighters, according to Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges. Leader: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Very little is known about al-Baghdadi, but a biography posted on jihadist websites in 2013 said he earned a doctorate in Islamic studies from a university in Baghdad. He formed the militant group in Salaheddin and Diyala provinces north of the Iraqi capital before joining al Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Baghdadi was detained for four years in Camp Bucca, which was a U.S.-run prison in southern Iraq. He was released in 2009. After ISIS declared the creation of the so-called Islamic State, he began using the name Al-Khalifah Ibrahim, and now goes by that name with his followers.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 14:34:15 +0000
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