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Everything You Wanted to Know About ISIS – The World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Organization

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In 2010, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, 39, emerged as the leader of ISIS after Abu Omar al Baghdadi was killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation
In 2010, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, 39, emerged as the leader of ISIS after Abu Omar al Baghdadi was killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is a radically violent organization of jidadists akin to al Qaeda. They gained prominence and power in the security vacuum that followed the departure of the last American forces from Iraq and during the ongoing civil war in Syria..

ISIS’ primary objective is the creation of an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria. It adheres to a primitive 7th century version of Islam and as such compels all infidels to convert or be killed. Its power in Iraq has focused on the 400,000 Christians remaining in the country and beheadings, floggings, hangings and mass executions are commonplace in cities and towns that ISIS has occupied. Most recently, ISIS has threatened to kill over 40,000 Yazidis (who practice an ancient religion that ISIS believes is heretical) who are trapped on a mountain near Irbil in northern Iraq that borders on Kurdistan.

ISIS has conquered Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, has taken over Iraq’s hydroelectric plant, and many fear that a major conflagration might be imminent. It ignores international borders and has a presence all the way from Syria’s Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad.

Under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda in Iraq tried to ignite a sectarian war against the majority Shia community in 2006 and embarked on the brutalization of civilians. After the bombing of the Al-Askariya Mosque, (an important Shia shrine in Samarra), retaliatory attacks occured.

ISIS was nearly destroyed in the aftermath of the killing of al-Zarqawi by American forces and the emergence of the Sahwa (Awakening) Fronts under moderate Sunni tribal leaders.

When U.S. forces left Iraq, they took much of their intelligence-gathering expertise with them, according to a CNN report.

A “third generation” of al Qaeda in Iraq began to be spoken of by Iraqi officials.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, a former spokesman for US forces in Iraq said two years ago that “if the Iraqi security forces are not able to put pressure on them (ISIS), they could regenerate.”

CNN has reported that the capability of those Iraqi forces was fatally compromised by a lack of professional soldiers, the division of military units along sectarian lines and a lack of the equipment needed for fighting an insurgency, such as attack helicopters and reconnaissance capabilities.

The new al Qaeda was rebranded in 2006 as the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). It would add “and Syria” to its name later.

ISIS used manipulation to convince many Sunnis that they were being persecuted by the Shia-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and that they were being starved of resources and excluded from a share of power, according to a CNN report.

The arrest of senior Sunni political figures and heavy-handed suppression of Sunni dissent were the best recruiting sergeants ISI could have. And it helped the new leader re-establish the group’s influence.

Because ISIS’ pernicious agenda includes the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, or state, stretching across the Middle East and North Africa it has begun imposing Sharia law in the towns it controls. The barbaric persecution of Christians and other religious minorities has been rampant under ISIS domination of Iraq.

Boys and girls must be separated at school; women must wear the niqab or full veil in public. Sharia courts often dispense brutal justice, music is banned and the fast is enforced during Ramadan.

Sharia law covers both religious and non-religious aspects of life.

In 2010, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, 39, emerged as the leader of ISIS after Abu Omar al Baghdadi was killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation, according to a CNN report. In 2009, Al Baghdadi was released from a US prison camp for insurgents in southern Iraq where he served a four year term. Analysts have speculated that during this time he almost certainly developed a network of contacts and honed his ideology. With US military troops and intelligence forces on the way out of Iraq, Al Baghdadi launched a revival of the group.

ISIS finances its terrorist campaign through means of extortion, such as demanding money from truck drivers and threatening to blow up businesses, as well as robbing banks and gold shops. They use these ill-gotten gains to engage in suicide attacks, assassinations and the recruitment of Sunni tribal fighters.

Now, al Baghdadi has a new strategy for generating resources: large-scale attacks aimed at capturing and holding territory, according to a CNN report.

The report also indicates that Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group, a U.S.-based consultancy, says that in the latest iteration of this strategy, ISIS will “use cash reserves from Mosul’s banks, military equipment from seized military and police bases and the release of 2,500 fighters from local jails to bolster its military and financial capability.”

Support for ISIS amongst the populace generally emanates from the Sunni Muslim faction. In countries such as Syria and Iraq, ISIS is trying to win favor through organizing social welfare programs and even recreational activities for children, distributing food and fuel to the needy, and setting up clinics. The price it demands is enforcement of the strict Sharia code.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official has said that ISIS looks at Syria and Iraq as “one interchangeable battlefield and its ability to shift resources and personnel across the border has measurably strengthened its position in both theaters,” according to the CNN report. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lost control over large parts of the northern region of the country and the long border with Iraq. ISIS moved swiftly to take control of the Syrian province of Raqqa, aided by the al-Assad regime’s focus on Hums and Aleppo.

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