Well that didn't take long. In a week they have seized half the country. I wonder if the US will re-deploy into Iraq this time or just let it go? Look for gas prices over $2 a liter by the end of the summer I bet.
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The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham
Known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) — Al-Sham is generally regarded as Greater Syria, bordered by the Euphrates River on the northeast and by Egypt on the southwest. Also called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
LEADER
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, is a man with a $10-million price on his head put there by the United States. He was detained by the U.S. for four years at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq but released in 2009. Well-organized and utterly ruthless, the ex-preacher is the driving force behind Al-Qaeda’s resurgence throughout Syria and Iraq, putting it at the forefront of the war to topple President Bashar Al-Assad and starting a fresh campaign of mayhem against the Western-backed government in Baghdad.
AIM
To create one Islamic state under Shariah law. The emirate would straddle Syria and Iraq. Baghdadi has vowed to “tear apart” both governments in Syria and Iraq.
FIGHTERS
It is estimated that the group has 10,000 fighters. The jihadist group claims to have had fighters from Britain, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as the United States, and from the Arab world and the Caucasus. Richard Barrett, a former counter-terrorism chief at MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, told Agence France-Presse that “Baghdadi has done an amazing amount – he has captured cities, he has mobilised huge amounts of people, he is killing ruthlessly throughout Iraq and Syria. If you were a guy who wanted action, you would go with Baghdadi.”
REPUTATION
ISIS is so ruthless that they have beheaded fellow Islamists who were not deemed radical enough. This has put them at odds with Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
The Daily Telegraph, with files from Bloomberg News
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The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham
Known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) — Al-Sham is generally regarded as Greater Syria, bordered by the Euphrates River on the northeast and by Egypt on the southwest. Also called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
LEADER
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, is a man with a $10-million price on his head put there by the United States. He was detained by the U.S. for four years at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq but released in 2009. Well-organized and utterly ruthless, the ex-preacher is the driving force behind Al-Qaeda’s resurgence throughout Syria and Iraq, putting it at the forefront of the war to topple President Bashar Al-Assad and starting a fresh campaign of mayhem against the Western-backed government in Baghdad.
AIM
To create one Islamic state under Shariah law. The emirate would straddle Syria and Iraq. Baghdadi has vowed to “tear apart” both governments in Syria and Iraq.
FIGHTERS
It is estimated that the group has 10,000 fighters. The jihadist group claims to have had fighters from Britain, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as the United States, and from the Arab world and the Caucasus. Richard Barrett, a former counter-terrorism chief at MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, told Agence France-Presse that “Baghdadi has done an amazing amount – he has captured cities, he has mobilised huge amounts of people, he is killing ruthlessly throughout Iraq and Syria. If you were a guy who wanted action, you would go with Baghdadi.”
REPUTATION
ISIS is so ruthless that they have beheaded fellow Islamists who were not deemed radical enough. This has put them at odds with Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
The Daily Telegraph, with files from Bloomberg News
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