Part 2
Author: Junaid
The group known today as ISIS originated in 1999 under the name Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. When the U.S.-led coalition launched its invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the group also engaged in the conflict.
In January 2006, it merged with several other Sunni militant groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council. Later that year, in October, the organization declared the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).
Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, ISI—under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—dispatched operatives to Syria in August of that year. These militants identified themselves as Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front) and quickly entrenched themselves in Sunni-majority regions including Raqqa, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo.
In 2013, al-Baghdadi announced the merger of ISI and Jabhat al-Nusra, renaming the unified entity the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, Abu Muhammad al-Julani (leader of al-Nusra) and Ayman al-Zawahiri (al-Qaeda’s chief), recognizing ISIL’s extremist deviations, vehemently opposed the merger.
Following a prolonged, seven-month power struggle, al-Qaeda formally disassociated itself from ISIL on February 3, 2014. The decision was based on ISIL’s policies and actions, which were deemed contrary to Islamic principles and detrimental to the broader Muslim community.
In Syria, ISIL launched aggressive ground offensives against both government forces and opposition groups. It gained global infamy through the dissemination of graphic beheading videos, which played a key role in its propaganda and recruitment efforts.
By mid-2014, ISIL had expelled Iraqi government forces from several major western cities. These territorial gains brought Baghdad to the brink of collapse and prompted the United States to resume military operations in the region.
