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13 intense images of the rise and fall of ISIS, the feared terror group that has re-surged from previous defeats
13 intense images of the rise and fall of ISIS, the feared terror group that has re-surged from previous defeats
Dec 22, 2018, 00:15 IST
The origins of the ISIS caliphate stretch back to the US invasion of Iraq, when the destruction of Saddam Hussein's government fostered the rise of militant groups throughout the country
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Al-Zarqawi orchestrated strings of attacks against coalition forces in Iraq. Up to $10 million was offered as a reward for his death.
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Al-Zarqawi was killed by a US airstrike in 2006, and the group was rebranded by his successors as the Islamic State in Iraq.
In 2007, US forces overtook the neighborhood of Baqouba, the then-capital of the IS caliphate, in a weeklong operation.
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IS rebranded again in 2010 under the new leadership of self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and expanded to become the Islamic State in the Levant.
IS numbers swelled as the militants freed thousands of prisoners throughout Iraq, starting in 2012.
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By early 2014, the group made considerable gains: ISIS held Fallujah in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.
In summer 2014, ISIS controlled Mosul, declared itself a caliphate and proclaimed al-Baghdadi as its caliph.
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In August 2014, ISIS releases a shocking video showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley. It would be the first of many to surface that year.
At its territorial height, the Islamic State controlled nearly every major city near the Iraq-Syria border, and had accepted allegiance from satellite groups in Southeast Asia and throughout Africa.
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Throughout 2015, Iraqi troops started retaking major cities: Ramadi, Fallujah, and Tikrit paved the way for the Battle for Mosul
By October 2017, US troops and Kurdish allies regained control of Raqqa, Syria
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On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of American forces from Syria, proclaiming ISIS had been defeated