Quick Facts on IS

• Rise of Islamic state underestimated
• Leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi
• Funds:private funds, gas stations, smuggling oil, up to 2 billion http://eaworldview.com/2014/06/iraq-analysis-funds-islamic-state-iraq-surprise-answer/

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Eight months ago, Syria, and western and northern Iraq were swiftly besieged by a then-unknown group called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Islamic State of Iraq and Libya, currently called Islamic State.

The group easily defeated ill-prepared Iraqi soldiers, who would abandon their weapons given to the Iraqi government by the U.S., and devastated cities in their path, especially those containing Kurdish peoples (a Christian minority in Iraq).

Recently the extremist group has been capturing U.S. and U.K. citizens and beheading them in videos.  These are in retaliation to airstrikes led by the U.S., and will now involve airstrikes from Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Many Middle Eastern countries are also involved in the coalition against IS.

Last week, IS announced in a video that they plan to attack areas outside the Middle East. “Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers,” was the blatant call from the IS official spokesman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, for other extremist to attack countries involved in the coalition.

IS originated in 2006 in Iraq, as a reemergence of the extremist group Al Qaeda. The extremists gained popularity by capitalizing on the anger of persecuted Sunni population. In the past few years they have also been able to lure rebels fighting against the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

They have also managed to gain support worldwide because of their claim of being a Muslim caliphate which would only consist of Muslims. The U.S. intelligence agency has said that at least 12 Americans have gone to fight for IS, and in the UK at least 1,500 youth have gone to fight for IS.