A STUDY OF THE RISE AND THREAT OF THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took the international community by surprise in June 2014 by defeating the Iraqi military in multiple battles that culminated in the seizure of Mosul, Iraq on 10 June 2014. On 30 June 2014, ISIS publicly declared a Caliphate that stretches from northern Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad. This occurred due to corruption and sectarian strife of the Maliki regime, alongside the departure of US forces in 2011. The issue of ISIS is a sectarian issue 1,400 years in the making and likely to be unresolved short of overwhelming military force in Iraq and Syria combined with sweeping sectarian focused political changes.