Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; ), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS; ), officially known as the Islamic State (IS) and also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh (, , ), is a militant group and former unrecognized proto-state that follows a Salafi jihadist doctrine. ISIL was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and gained global prominence in 2014 when it drove Iraqi security forces out of key cities in its Western Iraq offensive, followed by its capture of Mosul and the Sinjar massacre.

The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations. ISIL is known for its videos of beheadings and other types of executions of both soldiers and civilians, including journalists and aid workers, and its destruction of cultural heritage sites. The United Nations holds ISIL responsible for committing human rights abuses, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The Islamic State committed genocide and ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq.

ISIL originated in 1999, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by Western forces. In June 2014, the group proclaimed itself a worldwide caliphate and began referring to itself as the Islamic State ( ""; IS). As a caliphate, it claimed religious, political, and military authority over all Muslims worldwide. Its adoption of the name Islamic State and its idea of a caliphate have been criticised, with the United Nations, various governments, and mainstream Muslim groups rejecting its statehood.

In Syria, the group conducted ground attacks on both government forces and opposition factions, and by December 2015, it held an area extending from western Iraq to eastern Syria, containing an estimated eight to twelve million people, where it enforced its interpretation of sharia law. ISIL is believed to be operational in 18 countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2015, ISIL was estimated to have an annual budget of more than billion and more than 30,000 fighters.

In mid-2014, an international coalition led by the United States intervened against ISIL in Syria and Iraq with an airstrike campaign, in addition to supplying advisors, weapons, training, and supplies to ISIL's enemies in the Iraqi Security Forces and Syrian Democratic Forces. This campaign reinvigorated the latter two forces and damaged ISIL, killing tens of thousands of its troops and reducing its financial and military infrastructure. This was followed by a smaller-scale Russian intervention exclusively in Syria, in which ISIL lost thousands more fighters to airstrikes, cruise missile attacks, and other Russian military activities and had its financial base further degraded. In July 2017, the group lost control of its largest city, Mosul, to the Iraqi army, followed by the loss of its de facto political capital of Raqqa to the Syrian Democratic Forces. By December 2017, the Islamic State controlled just 2% of its maximum territory (in May 2015). In December 2017, Iraqi forces had driven the last remnants of the Islamic State underground, three years after the group captured about a third of Iraq's territory. By March 2019, ISIL lost one of their last significant territories in the Middle East in the Deir ez-Zor campaign, surrendering their "tent city" and pockets in Al-Baghuz Fawqani to the Syrian Democratic Forces after the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani.

In October 2019, ISIL media announced that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was the new leader of the Islamic State, after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself by detonating a suicide vest during the US Barisha raid in the Syrian rebel-held Idlib province of Syria four days previously.
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also known as
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Arabic
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unrecognized
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proto-state
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Salafi jihadist
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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
PER
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Iraqi security forces
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Western Iraq offensive
EVE
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capture of Mosul
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Sinjar massacre
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terrorist organisation
UNK
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United Nations
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its videos of beheadings and other types of executions
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its destruction of cultural heritage sites
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human rights abuses
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genocide
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war crime
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crimes against humanity
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genocide
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ethnic cleansing
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al-Qaeda
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Iraqi insurgency
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2003 invasion of Iraq
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worldwide caliphate
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caliphate
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Muslims worldwide
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Islamic State
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statehood
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government forces
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opposition factions
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sharia
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18 countries
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international coalition
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intervened against ISIL in Syria
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Iraq
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Iraqi Security Forces
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Syrian Democratic Forces
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smaller-scale Russian intervention
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Mosul
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the loss of its de facto political capital
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Al-Baghuz Fawqani
LOC
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Battle of Baghuz Fawqani
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Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
PER
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killed himself
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Barisha raid
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Syrian rebel
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Idlib province
LOC
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
LOC
2014-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2014
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1999-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1999
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2003
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2014-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 2014
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2015-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 2015
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2015-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2015
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2017-07-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 2017
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2017-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 2017
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2015-05-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
May 2015
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2017-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 2017
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2019-03-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
March 2019
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2019-10-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
October 2019
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18
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2
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