BAGHDAD — As terror continues in Syria and Iraq, it seems the only consistency in news headlines on terrorism is a single acronym: ISIS.
However, despite this constant coverage of one of the most dangerous militant groups in the world, many viewers and readers back home know very little about this major international threat. Similarly, there is major confusion surrounding how ISIS fits in among the many players in Iraq.
“One of the great ironies of the current battle for Iraq is that for all the billions spent on the war on terror, all the bullets fired…what may ultimately defeat al-Qaeda isn’t the United States or another Western power,” said Terrence McCoy, a journalist for the Washington Post. “But, a group from within the jihadist movement.”
News outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian and CNN, aware of the mass confusion, invited readers’ questions and later provided answers from their various correspondents located across the Middle East. Below are just a few of the questions submitted and accompanying answers offered across the news organizations.
What is ISIS?
ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a militant group made up of mostly Sunni militants. The group follows an extreme interpretation of Islam, similar to that of Al Qaeda. However, Ben Hubbard, Middle East Correspondent for The New York Times, pointed out the differences between the groups in regards to their tactics and priorities.
“While Al-Qaeda often seeks to enhance the ability of local insurgencies to wage war against governments, ISIS seeks to found and expand an Islamic state on its own terms,” Hubbard said. “And while Al-Qaeda’s leaders have at times criticized the group’s affiliates for being too brutal, ISIS makes a point of advertising its brutality, especially against Shiites, as a way to spread fear and gain recruits.”
What is ISIS’ target?
The very name ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ suggests that Iraq and Syria are ISIS’ primary targets, hoping to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of the two countries. However, the Guardian’s Middle East Editor, Ian Black, found more clues after taking a closer look at the name.
“The Arabic name it uses, ‘al-Sham,’ suggests the wider Levant, which could be taken to include Lebanon and perhaps also Palestine/Israel,” Black said.
ISIS recently gained control of a major Syrian oil field. A released video statement of the incident shows the local leaders of the newly gained territories announcing their withdrawal from anti-ISIS organizations. Furthermore, in the Syrian towns under ISIS control, Sharia law was imposed.
ISIS kidnapped more than 140 Kurdish schoolboys about a month ago and forced the boys to take regular lessons in radical Islamic theory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In regards to Iraq, extremist militants have overrun Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, as well as other Iraqi cities and parts of the oil town of Baiji.
The militant group was founded in Iraq and was initially headed by Al-Qaeda.
Is ISIS capable of getting what it wants?
ISIS has more than 10,000 fighters across and Syria and Iraq alone and millions of dollars to run military operations, according to Hubbard.
Martin Chulov, Middle East Correspondent for The Guardian, explained that ISIS is mostly self-funded, selling both oil, from overthrown oil fields, to regimes and archeological loot to the Turks. Furthermore, all of their weaponry was stolen from various arsenals in Syria and Iraq.
However, ISIS proved its strength beyond military and monetary assets, sparking Western attention for its intensive media campaign. Through this campaign, ISIS enlisted more foreign fighters than the war in Iraq ever did.
With immediate access to suicide bombers, in addition to their large amounts of weaponry and money, ISIS has proven itself to be a dangerous threat.
– Blythe Riggan
Sources: The Daily Beast, CNN 1, CNN 2, CNN 3, CNN 4, The Guardian, NY Times
Photo: NBC News