After he was released from prison, Zarqawi traveled to Afghanistan in the late 1980s with the intention of joining the fight against Soviet occupation. He radicalized as a young man while in prison for drug possession and sexual assault. JTJ and AQI under Zarqawi: 1999-June 2006ДЄbu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of the Islamic State, was Jordanian national. The final section discusses the destruction of the caliphate and the groups transition to traditional terrorist tactics. The fourth section roughly coincides with the groupвЂ™s rebranding as IS and discusses the global response to ISвЂ™s caliphate. The next section discusses developments between 20, during which the group expanded and fought in Syria and Iraq and changed its name to ISIS. It continues with a period of setbacks from 2006 through 2011, the period of AQIвЂ™s decline. It begins with ZarqawiвЂ™s creation of the group through his death in 2006, which roughly coincides with the group being known as JTJ and becoming AQI. This profile divides the Islamic StateвЂ™s history into five periods and follows the group through several name changes. However, IS remains highly active and continues to launch small- and large-scale terrorist attacks within the region. As of April 2021, the group still lacks control over large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. On March 23, 2019, IS lost its final piece of territory in Baghuz, Syria. By 2017, IS had lost control of its largest population centers and began to revert to more traditional terrorist tactics, developing sleeper cells and assimilating into the broader population. The United States, in conjunction with European and Arab allies, began airstrikes against the group in fall 2014. On the ground, IS displayed brutal efficiency and violence in battles against the Assad regime and Syrian-allied Shia forces, Syrian opposition groups, the Iraqi military, and the Kurdish peshmerga. IS was notable for its public beheadings of Western captives, its large contingent of foreign fighters, and its substantial media presence. ISIS changed its name to the Islamic State (IS) and declared the establishment of a caliphate in Iraq and Syria in June 2014. Throughout 20, the group seized territory in Syria and Iraq. In 2013, the group changed its name from AQI to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). AQI stepped in to fill this vacuum, while the onset of the Syrian Civil War provided the group ample space to grow in both size and influence. The withdrawal of American troops from Iraq created a power vacuum. However, this downward trajectory reversed in 2011. Facing backlash from the community and increased pressure from American and Iraqi forces, the group declined in strength and influence. During this time, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi founded IS' main predecessor group JamaвЂ™at al-Tawhid waвЂ™al-Jihad (JTJ) and began recruiting Jordanian criminals and training extremist militants at a camp in Herat, Afghanistan.Дuring the American occupation of Iraq, the group was a major participant in the Iraqi insurgency, first as JTJ and then, after swearing fealty to Al Qaeda, as Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The foundations of IS were laid in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The groupвЂ™s goal is to establish an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria and eventually spread its influence globally. The Islamic State (IS) вЂ“ also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) вЂ“ is a Salafi-Jihadist militant organization that operates primarily in Syria and Iraq. An estimated 40,000 people were displaced by the fighting, and the number of casualties is unknown (unknown killed, unknown wounded). Government forces did not completely reclaim control of Palma until April 4, 2021. However, the relationship between IS and IS-Central Africa has been described as вЂњlooseвЂќ and several observers doubt that IS was directly involved in the attacks. On March 29, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement released through its Amaq News Network. Militants targeted government, military, and civilian personnel and buildings. Last Attack: MaApril 4, 2021:В An IS affiliate group, known as the Islamic State Central Africa Province or ISIS-Mozambique, took over the town of Palma in northern Mozambique.

Agency for International Development (USAID) officer Laurence Foley outside his home in Jordan (1 killed, 0 wounded). First Attack:В October 28, 2002: Members of Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'l Jihad (which would later become AQI and then IS) assassinated U.S.

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