Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Arabic: الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام‎ ad-Dawla al-Islāmiyya fi al-'Irāq wa-sh-Shām) abbreviated as ISIS or sometimes ISIL with L for "Levant" (acronym in Arabic: داعش‎, Da'āsh) is an al-Qaeda linked group fighting in both Syria and Iraq and pushing for a unified Islamist state spanning both nations. ISIS joins previous al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra as representatives of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tradition in the region, but in a more confrontational and extreme way that more often leads them to attack fellow opposition fighters as well as government, Kurdish, and other forces.

On June 29, 2014, weeks after it conquered large parts of north-western Iraq including Mosul, the organization issued a declaration changing their name to "Islamic State", pronouncing the real life existence of that state in tradition of the caliphate and declaring their leader al-Bagdhadi from now on to be Caliph Ibrahim whom all Muslims must swear allegiance to.