The rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamist militant group that has seized a chunk of land stretching from northern Syria to central Iraq, has struck fear into the hearts of leaders around the world.
The group began in
2004 as al Qaeda in Iraq, before rebranding as ISIS two years later. It
was an ally of -- and had similarities with -- Osama bin Laden's al
Qaeda: both were radical anti-Western militant groups devoted to
establishing an independent Islamic state in the region. But ISIS --
unlike al Qaeda, which disowned the group in early 2014 -- has proven to
be more brutal and more effective at controlling territory it has
seized.
ISIS is putting governing
structures in place to rule the territories the group conquers once the
dust settles on the battlefield. From the cabinet and the governors to
the financial and legislative bodies, ISIS' bureaucratic hierarchy
looks a lot like those of some of the Western countries whose values it
rejects -- if you take away the democracy and add in a council to
consider who should be beheaded.
What ISIS controls
The
group seized control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, this summer.
But its power base is in Raqqa, eastern Syria, where ISIS is now in
control of more than half of Syria's oil assets -- along with a number
of oil fields in Iraq -- according to energy expert Luay al-Khateeb.
Al-Khateeb says the oil is finding its way to the black market and could
be making ISIS up to $3 million each day.
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