Watch: the “Islamic State” (formerly ISIS) from the inside
August 14, 2014
The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al-Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of
Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) or, in Arabic, Da’ish, the group has announced its intention to re-establish the caliphate and has declared its leader, the shadowy Abu-Bakr
al-Baghdadi, as the caliph.
The lightning advances the Islamic State made across Syria and Iraq in June shocked the world. But it is not just the
group’s military victories that have garnered attention – it’s also the pace with which its members have begun to carve
out a viable state.
Flush with cash and US weapons seized during its advances in Iraq, the Islamic State’s expansion shows no sign of
slowing down. In the first week of August alone, Islamic State fighters have taken over new areas in northern Iraq,
encroaching on Kurdish territory and sending Christians and other minorities such as the Yazidis fleeing as reports of
massacres emerged.
VICE News reporter Medyan Dairieh spent three weeks embedded with the Islamic State, gaining unprecedented access to the group in
Iraq and Syria as the first and only journalist to document its inner workings.
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