Assessment of the Terrorist Threat of ISIS and AQAP Research Paper

Assessment of the Terrorist Threat of ISIS and AQAP - Research Paper Example ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, formally referred as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Qa‘ida in Iraq) was formed by Sunni extremist Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi in April 2004.   The formation of this group was immediately followed by a declaration of its allegiance to Usama Bin Ladin. Since its formation, ISIS has been constantly targeting both the coalition forces and the civilians using sophisticated tactics like VBIEDs (vehicle-borne improvised explosives devices), hostage execution and suicide bombers. This has been used to mount up pressure on foreign companies and countries to leave Iraq, discourage Iraqis from supporting the United States and the government of Iraqi and lastly to attract more cadre to its ranks. Al-Zarqawi’s was killed in June 2006 and in his place came Abu Ayyub al-Masri who changed it to the Islamic State of Iraq in October the same year. With support from another Iraqi national called Abu ‘Umar al-B aghdadi, this new group sought to politicize the group’s terrorist actions and put an â€Å"Iraqi face† on their activities. In 2010, the leadership changed and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi assumed the top leadership following the death of both Umar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri. Under his leadership, the group continued undertaking high-profile terror attacks across Iraq. Isil expanded its ranks via prison breaks and incorporation of fighters welcomed from the Syrian conflict. In 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi openly declared the group’s existence in Syria.   All through its existence ISIL has had a sharp disagreement with al-Qa‘ida o account of the ideological differences. This drift widens in the later years and culminated in early 2014 by Al-Qaida disowning the relationship that had existed since 2004. Isil responded by declaring al-Qa‘ida unfit for Usama Bin Ladin’s legacy and in turn stated its position as a better show of jihadists. In the mid-June 2014, ISIL undertook major efforts that sought to overthrow Iraqi Government.