Editing Caliphate (section)

=== Islamic State (2014–present) ===
{{Main|Islamic State}}{{See also|List of leaders of the Islamic State}}[[File:Territoires de l'Etat islamique juin 2015.png|thumb|upright=1|[[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]]'s territory, in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent in May 2015]]
[[File:Libyan Civil War.png|thumb|upright=1|Military situation in Libya in early 2016:<br /> [[File:Location dot grey.svg|11px]] [[Ansar al-Sharia (Libya)|Ansar al-Sharia]] [[File:Location dot black.svg|11px]] [[Islamic State]]]]
A network of Islamist militants formed the [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq]] affiliate during the [[Iraq War]] (2003–2011). The group eventually expanded into Syria and rose to prominence as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the [[Syrian Civil War]]. In the summer of 2014, the group launched the [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|Northern Iraq offensive]], seizing the city of [[Mosul]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/caliphate-wont-last-but-its-legacy-may/story-e6frg6zo-1227017262005?nk=51e8f7ae253f68a1dc07a0006cd370bf |work=The Australian |title=Caliphate won't last but its legacy may |date=8 August 2014 |access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28560449 |work=BBC News |title=Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Islamic State's driving force |date=30 July 2014 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140731104059/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28560449 |url-status=live}}</ref> The group declared itself a caliphate under [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] on 29 June 2014 and renamed itself as the "Islamic State".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/isis-palmyra-syria-islamic-state |title=Isis 'controls 50% of Syria' after seizing historic city of Palmyra |first=Kareem |last=Shaheen |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 May 2015 |access-date=17 March 2017 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930133020/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/isis-palmyra-syria-islamic-state |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28082962 |title=Isis rebels declare 'Islamic state' in Iraq and Syria |date=30 June 2014 |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 November 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118195906/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28082962 |url-status=live}}</ref> ISIL's claim to be the highest authority of Muslims has been widely rejected.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-icrc-idUSKBN0M921N20150313 |title=Islamic State-controlled parts of Syria, Iraq largely out of reach: Red Cross |newspaper=Reuters |date=13 March 2015 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626142235/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-mideast-crisis-syria-icrc-idUSKBN0M921N20150313 |url-status=live}}</ref> No prominent Muslim scholar has supported its declaration of caliphate; even [[Salafi jihadist]] preachers accused the group of engaging in political showmanship and bringing disrepute to the notion of Islamic state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gerges |first=Fawaz A. |title=ISIS: A History |author-link=Fawaz Gerges |pages=283–284 |isbn=978-0-691-17579-9 |year=2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref>

ISIL has been at war with armed forces including the [[Iraqi Army]], the [[Syrian Army]], the [[Free Syrian Army]], [[Al-Nusra Front]], [[Syrian Democratic Forces]], and [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]'s [[Peshmerga]] and [[People's Protection Units]] (YPG) along with a 60 nation coalition in its efforts to establish a de facto state on Iraqi and Syrian territory.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/world/middleeast/assad-supporters-weigh-benefits-of-us-strikes-in-syria.html?_r=0 |title=Blamed for Rise of ISIS, Syrian Leader Is Pushed to Escalate Fight |date=22 August 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715060520/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/world/middleeast/assad-supporters-weigh-benefits-of-us-strikes-in-syria.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref> At its height in 2014, the Islamic State held "about a third of Syria and 40 percent of Iraq". By December 2017 it had lost 95% of that territory, including [[Mosul]], Iraq's second largest city, and the northern Syrian city of [[Raqqa]], its capital.<ref name="Wilson Center2019" /> Its caliph, Al-Baghdadi, was killed in a raid by U.S. forces on 26 October 2019, its "last holdout", the town of [[Al-Baghuz Fawqani]], fell to [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] on 23 March 2019.<ref name="Wilson Center2019">{{cite web |title=Timeline: the Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state |website=The Wilson Center |access-date=27 March 2022 |date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208025300/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state |url-status=live}}</ref>