non-state terrorism

• • The Islamic State (ISIS) rose to prominence in 2014, seizing control of territory in Iraq and Syria.
  • Emerging from the remnants of Al Qaeda, it faded into obscurity after the surge of US troops to Iraq. 
  • However, it began to reemerge, taking advantage of growing instability in Iraq and Syria. 
• • ISIS launched an offensive on Mosul and Tikrit in June 2014. 
  • By 2015, despite US airstrikes of up to 8,000, ISIS expanded into a network of affiliates in at least eight other countries.
  • There, they would carry out coordinated attacks through the use of bombs and/or guns, as well as other excessively violent acts. 
• • This period was very lucrative for ISIS. Its power had emerged largely based around unpredictable asymmetric warfare and its ability to disperse quickly when under attack.
  • When ISIS was operating as a quasi-state, power was ultimately challenged because ISIS was attacked by conventional military forces and because it was centred around Mosul and Raqqa, it was forced into a fixed location