The Islamic State, founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, aimed to spark an Islamic civil war along the Sunni-Shia divide. Following al-Zarqawi's death in 2006, the group, now led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, grew significantly.
smuggling at least 10,000 barrels per day from the fields it controls in Syria and Iraq to the black markets in Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Kurdistan.
widespread use of mafia-like extortion in which field commanders demand protection money from local businesses
$8million a month from Mosul
one Syrian province alone al-Nabuk has raised $36million
Ransoms from high profile Kidnappings
CIA estimates in September 2014 number ISIS fighters at 31,000
hundreds of jihadis from Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, and Western Europe
half of militants are from outside Iraq and Syria
ISIS black flags fly over as much as one third of Iraq
controls 40% of Iraq's grain production making sure that bakeries and food supplies are open and operating
Taking over territory then ruling it with an unmistakable competence
When ISIS tanks rolled through Mosul in June 2014 they raided the Central Bank and made off with 500 billion Iraqi Dinars in cash. Added to funds from supporters in the Gulf the regime could be worth $2 billion
the group has an administration arm that is responsible for vast money making operations
they also despatched a team of forensic accountants to unpick the government's rampant corruption
"Isis now presents itself as an ideologically superior alternative to al-Qaida within the jihadi community and it has publicly challenged the legitimacy of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, Doha, in a paper last month. "As such it has increasingly become a transnational movement with immediate objectives far beyond Iraq and Syria."
Isis was originally an al-Qaida group in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). As the Syrian civil war intensified, its involvement in the conflict was indirect at first. Abu Muhammad al-Joulani, an ISI member, established Jabhat al-Jabhat al-Nusra in mid-2011, which became the main jihadi group in the Syrian war. Joulani received support and funding from ISI and Baghdadi.
Open border with Turkey
Turkey refuses to close the border for fear of unsettling it' own Kurdish population and stopping the benefits of cheap oil
Syria has a 510 mile ungoverned border with Turkey that allows an influx of foreign recruits and a flow of oil cash and fighters
Campaigns of 12 months
A slick well funded global media operation includes an English language magazine Dabiq, and 24 hour Twitter updates on campaigns including online Q&As for potential recruits
Soldiers Harvest
Breaking the Walls
USA began air strikes on military strongholds in August 2014 in Northern Iraq
Direct hit on leaders convoy on 8 November 2014
British Airstikes followed in September 2014
founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to provoke an Islamic Civil War on the Sunni-Shia fault line attacking Shia Muslims.he died in 2006
Led by an Iraqi called Abu Bakr al Baghdadi
Subtopic
He has 2 deputies. One for Iraq and another for Syria and a war cabinet responsible for media, finance and the families of suicide bombers
Imprisoned in Camp Bucca US military prison in Southern Iraq in 2004
43 year old in 2014 with a PHD in Islamic studies
Self styled Caliph
Unlike the Iraqi troops facing them Isis fighters are highly motivated, battle hardened and well-equipped
Thousands of American and British military trainers sent to Iraq to train Iraqi troops in Baghdad.November 2014
Islamic State of Iraq and SyriaThe Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, abbreviated as ISIL or ISIS, is an active Sunni militant group in Iraq and Syria. It was established in the early years of the Iraq War and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004.
