Editing The Islamic State (section)

=== History ===
ISIS can trace its origins to a jihadist militia known as ''Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad'', which formed in 1999 and was lead by [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]]. The group pledged its allegiance to [[Osama bin Laden]] in 2004 and became part of the [[Mujahideen Shura Council]]. In 2006, the group became known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and became [[Al-Qaeda]]'s branch in Iraq. When al-Zarqawi was killed in June 2006, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over as the leader of ISI.

Al-Baghdadi continued directing ISI's operations in Iraq until the group expanded into Syria in 2013. Al-Baghdadi officially reorganized ISI into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS.) The newly-formed group tried to absorb the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, [[Al-Nusra Front]], but their leader, [[Abu Mohammad al-Julani]], would have none of it. [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] ordered al-Baghdadi to withdraw from Syria and remain in Iraq, but al-Baghdadi refused and officially declared independence from Al-Qaeda. ISIS drove Al-Nusra Front out of the Syrian city of Raqqa, and the city became the official capital of ISIS.