In 2004, Al-Qaeda branched out into Iraq under the leadership of the mercenary Abu Musab al-Zarquawi. However, over time, this militant group became too aggressive and even al-Qaeda began to distance itself. Soon, this group began to rebrand itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

With the main goal of the group being a pure, Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, they have completely violated the borders set by the British-French collusion after World War I. By doing this they have begun to threaten the sovereignty of Iraq. A Syria is maintaining its standing, officials have begun to speculate as to the rise of an Islamic state of “Syraq.” As the gains power, ISIS has made it clear that their true goal is of not only an Islamic state, but a pure Sunni state. As a result, they engage in killing sprees of Shiites, in order to rid themselves of them. Thus, they have ignited a storm of sectarian violence, which had been previously quelled.

Even if their mission, however, is to have a Sunni state, they have begun to blatantly kill everyone. This group includes people walking or driving down the street, people working as border guards, people that are simply being held as prisoners, etc. Thus, as of now, they have killed at least 1700 people before their own video cameras, forcing the Shiites to pledge their loyalty to the Islamic state immediately prior to execution. These videos of public executions and drive by shootings alike, have been posted on the internet for the world to see.

On their journey, ISIS has also made itself the richest terrorism group in the world. Through the seizure of cities, Mosul the most recent, ISIS has pilfered an estimated sum of $1.5 billion USD. Now, not only do they have the troops, but they also have the resources. The current leader of the group, Al-Baghdadi, has large dreams and has gone to the extent of saying, “I’ll see you guys in New York,” when he was released from a US detention camp.

As the threats have been made, groups such as the US and the UN, are ready to take action. President Obama has begun to consider cooperation with Iran to stop the raging thread of ISIS, he has also sent 275 US troops to Baghdad to protect the Americans there. The UN has also, begun to launch deep investigations into this and formally charges ISIS members with crimes against humanity.