Clayton Thomas and Abigail G. Martin
The Islamic State (IS) is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group. At its 2015 height, the group controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from which it launched attacks in the region and beyond. While the group no longer controls territory outright in Syria and Iraq, U.S. military officials warn that it continues to operate and has worked to expand its global presence through affiliates in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) of the U.S. Intelligence Community assessed that “ISIS will remain a centralized global organization even as it has been forced to rely on regional branches … [and will attempt] to conduct and inspire global attacks against the West and Western interests.” Congress has authorized and overseen the use of various policy tools to counter IS, including kinetic and economic actions.
Origins and Leadership
The Islamic State grew out of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which comprised former Al Qaeda elements that fought in the insurgency in Iraq. In 2011, some ISI members traveled to Syria to establish a new Al Qaeda affiliate there, known as the Nusra Front. In 2013, then-ISI leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi announced that ISI and the Nusra Front had merged into the Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS/ISIL). Al Qaeda rejected Baghdadi’s move to subsume the Nusra Front under his leadership and severed ties with the group in 2014.
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