They kill hundreds of people at a time and won't hesitate to publicly execute you. They're known as ISIS, and they're Al-Qaeda…on steroids.

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Who are they?
ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria--formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)--is a Sunni Islamist rebel group founded in 1999 by their late leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They achieved notoriety by not only conducting terrorist attacks on coalition forces, but also by carrying out suicide attacks (suicide bombers) on civilian targets and publicly beheading hostages. They pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden's terrorism group al-Qaeda in 2004, after which they rapidly grew in strength and numbers by absorbing several smaller Iraqi insurgent groups. ISIS parted ways with al-Qaeda in February 2014. Today, the two groups compete for influence over Islamist extremist groups all over the world.

ISIS was first founded in Jordan, where they were known as The Organization of Monotheism and Jihad (JTJ). After joining al-Qaeda, they were renamed to Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Since then they've expanded drastically, with claimed provinces and territorial control in Iraq, Syria, Sinai, and eastern Libya. They also claim provinces and have members in Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Turkey.

How will they kill you?
ISIS's primary goal is the foundation of an Islamic state by establishing itself as a caliphate and spreading its propaganda. Because they are a Sunni extremist group, they regard anyone who does not agree with the interpretations of Islam as an infidel or apostate. Infidels, political enemies, members of the press, those who are not Muslim have been kidnapped and are victim to public and mass executions through either decapitation or being forced to dig their own graves before being lined up, shot, and pushed in. They're also notorious for recruiting or kidnapping boys to be sent to military and religious training camps. Women are not safe either, as the older ones are sold off as sex slaves while younger girls are either raped or married off to fighters.

The War Against ISIS
There's is currently a US-led group of nations committed to defeating ISIS--The Global Coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Counter-ISIL)--which includes the majority of the European Union's (EU) members, all of NATO's member's, and all members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). Their efforts include:
-Supporting military operations, capacity building, and training
-Stopping foreign terrorist fighters
-Cutting ISIS off from access to funding and financing
-Addressing associated humanitarian relief and crises
-And exposing ISIS's true nature
They've been fighting an ongoing battle vs US Marines and the Syrian Army. 56% of Americans believe ISIS can be defeated but will eventually return in some form down the road, while 20% think they can be defeated without the possibility of return. Where do you stand and what else do you think can be done to completely bring them down?

Now would you rather…suffer from frostbite? Or be attacked by piranhas?