Ten Years Ago, ISIS Seized Power and Territory. What’s Happened Since? – PBS
Ten years ago, the terrorist group known as ISIS stunned the world when it seized wide swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared its own caliphate.
By the time territory from that self-proclaimed caliphate was fully retaken in 2019, ISIS had terrorized civilian populations in Iraq and Syria, carried out a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi religious minority, broadcast the beheadings of journalists and aid workers, and staged deadly terror attacks in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Manchester, Turkey and beyond.
This is one of the first terrorist groups saying, You know what? Were not going to hit and run, and were never going to participate in politics as you know it. We actually want to kill everyone who disagrees with us, counterterrorism expert Ali Soufan told FRONTLINE in 2014s The Rise of ISIS.
In that documentary and 17 others collected below, FRONTLINE has covered how the group that would evolve into ISIS gained strength in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, how it exploited the conflict in Syria, and how the long and costly U.S.-led fight against the group, with a civilian toll of its own, has played out in the Middle East and across the world.
FRONTLINEs documentaries and related reporting have also examined the continuing evolution of the ISIS threat, including how the group has solidified a foothold in Afghanistan. U.S. officials believe ISIS-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, an affiliate of the self-declared Islamic State that emerged in Afghanistan, was behind the suburban Moscow concert hall assault in March that killed more than 130 people and was the deadliest terror attack inside Russia in 20 years.
A decade after ISIS seized power, explore our reporting on the group, the fight against it, the civilian toll and the lasting ramifications below.
As ISIS burst onto the world stage and seized cities and towns in Iraq and Syria, filmmakers Michael Kirk, Jim Gilmore and Mike Wiser traced how the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, its aftermath and the decisions of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama contributed tothe groundwork for the terrorist groups evolution and ascent first as Al Qaeda in Iraq, and then as ISIS. The documentary chronicled the U.S.s role in Iraq from the invasion to the bloody emergence of a terror group that, as former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker told FRONTLINE, made [Osama] bin Ladens Al Qaeda look like Boy Scouts.
From filmmakers Martin Smith and Linda Hirsch, this documentary laid out the unheeded warnings, failures and missed opportunities that allowed a decimated Al Qaeda in Iraq to evolve and expand into ISIS. Reporting from Iraq as U.S. airstrikes against ISIS began, Smith offered a revelatory look at how ISIS grew in Iraq, how it gained strength in Syria, and how it developed and funded its brutal strategy.
How was ISISs founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, once a small-time criminal, able to build a brutal terrorist organization that would destabilize the Middle East and inflict violence around the world? This film showed how, in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi developed what would become the foundation for ISISs playbook of fomenting sectarian violence among Muslims, stepping in to take advantage of power vacuums, and broadcasting brutality far and wide on the internet. From filmmakers Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Jim Gilmore, the film also explored how Zarqawis successor, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, followed Zarqawis method to make ISIS an even more powerful threat.
Martin Smith examined the Obama administrations struggle to deal with the deadly war in Syria, then in its fifth year and explored how the accompanying rise of ISIS heightened the stakes. The documentary also examined how the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad allowed ISIS to flourish.
An on-the-ground investigation of the complexities of the U.S.-led fight against ISIS, this documentary from filmmakers Martin Smith and Linda Hirsch delved into the conditions that allowed ISIS to rise, and the role of powerful, Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq that were accused of abusing civilians while fighting ISIS. Smith traveled to five countries with key roles in the anti-ISIS fight Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Turkey to report on successes, failures and challenges as ISIS lost ground in the region, but lashed out with attacks abroad.
From filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, this two-hour documentary special explored how the 9/11 attacks ushered in an era of fear, mistrust and division in the U.S. and examined the legacy and aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the rise of ISIS.
This groundbreaking February 2014 FRONTLINE report documented ISISs presence in Syria months before the group became an international talking point. Correspondent Muhammad Ali found that three years into Syrias civil war, rebel forces werent just fighting Assads regime. They were also vying for control against a brutal group that was then little-known: ISIS. Ali, a Syrian native, filmed rebels as they tried to unify against ISIS and embarked on a battle to take back an ISIS-controlled town. The documentary was produced by Jamie Doran and James Jones.
Using undercover footage, this documentary presented firsthand accounts of women from the Yazidi religious minority who were abducted and enslaved by ISIS and who escaped its brutal reign. Some nights I cant sleep until the early morning hours because of the nightmares, Aeida, a 21-year-old Yazidi woman who was abducted by ISIS with her two young children, said in the documentary. Filmmakers Edward Watts and Evan Williams also followed an underground network that helped the women escape.
Read More: Where Are the Yazidis Today, Almost a Decade After ISISs Genocidal Campaign?
Described at the time by some military commanders as the deadliest urban combat since World War II, the battle to drive ISIS out of Mosul, Iraq, was brutal and grueling. Reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad reported from the frontlines of the fight.
Shot during the months-long battle to retake Mosul, this film from Olivier Sarbil, James Jones and Dan Edge followed four young soldiers on an Iraqi special forces squad, trained for intense urban warfare, as they dealt with the fight and the fallout. I have these dreams, then-staff sergeant Jamal al-Zain told FRONTLINE. My family tells me that I shout, ISIS, ISIS! Shoot him. When everyone is sleeping and Im awake, I break down and cry.
Shia militias played a crucial role in Iraqs fight against ISIS. But correspondent Ramita Navai found that some of the Iranian-backed Shia forces battling ISIS had themselves been accused of atrocities, including kidnapping, imprisoning, torturing and killing ordinary Sunni civilians whom the militias saw as ISIS suspects. On my journey through Iraq, Ive seen ISIS losing ground, but its come at a cost, Navai said in the film. Mistrust between Sunnis and Shias seems greater than ever. The challenge for Iraq now will be preventing this from starting yet another war.
From director James Bluemel, this film documented the story of the Iraq War, as told by Iraqis who lived through it. They shared their personal accounts and lasting memories of life under Saddam Hussein, the U.S.-led invasion of their country and the years of chaos that followed from the sectarian violence to the rise and brutal reign of ISIS. Everybody was terrified that ISIS would enter Baghdad at any time. They were close to the borders, only one hour away from us, a young woman named Sally Mars said in the film. They understood how to attack us mentally before they attacked us with weapons. They made us fear them.
Correspondent Najibullah Quraishi revealed on film the degree to which ISIS had gained a foothold in Afghanistan, and how the group was focusing its efforts on training a new generation of jihadists. Theyre completely different than the Taliban, Quraishi said of ISIS in the documentary. They are not after one country or one place or one district. Their aim is to have their groups, to have their networks all over the world.
Following a wave of deadly terror incidents, including ISIS-claimed attacks in Paris and Brussels that killed more than 170 people, FRONTLINE and ProPublica went inside Europes fight against terrorism. Correspondent Sebastian Rotella sat down with officials tasked with carrying out the fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda and examined missteps and systemic breakdowns that allowed known terrorists to launch an attack in the heart of Europe.
These documentaries told the first-person stories of refugees and migrants fleeing war, persecution and hardship including violence wrought by ISIS and the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Our future has gone, Saed, an Iraqi man who was living in a refugee camp after fleeing ISIS, told FRONTLINE in Exodus: The Journey Continues. Saed, whose brother had worked as a translator for the U.S. Army, said, My only hope now is to leave this land, to be able to get to America.
Nearly 20 years after the U.S. drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan, and as then-President Donald Trump said he wanted to end the war, reporter Najibullah Quraishi went on a dangerous journey inside both Taliban- and ISIS-held territory in Afghanistan. With filmmakers Karim Shah, Dan Edge and Monica Garnsey, Quraishi exposed the harsh reality that not only was the Taliban once again wielding power, but ISISs threat was also looming large.
Filmed on the ground in Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal under President Joe Biden, this documentary revealed how the Taliban takeover had transformed daily life in Afghanistan. Najibullah Quraishi also investigated how the Talibans rise to power in Afghanistan was intensifying the threat from Al Qaeda and ISIS both within the country and beyond. A longtime source told Quraishi that ISIS is a very serious danger, not just for Afghanistan but for the whole world.
Read More: The Backstory on ISIS-K, the ISIS Affiliate Believed Responsible for Moscow Attack
Read the original here:
Ten Years Ago, ISIS Seized Power and Territory. What's Happened Since? - PBS
- Exclusive: Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath - Reuters - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Executions at 10-year high after huge increases in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia - The Guardian - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Why Trump threats have cowed Tehrans axis of resistance in Iraq - The Times - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iran seeks indirect talks with US, warns Iraq, Kuwait over supporting strikes - Hindustan Times - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iran-backed militias in Iraq are ready to disarm following Trumps threats - New York Post - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Pro-Iran militias in Iraq mulling disarming under threat of US attack, sources say - The Times of Israel - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iraq, 2nd top destination of Iranian non-oil goods in a year - Tehran Times - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iraq calls for meeting to resume negotiations on Kurdistan regional oil exports - Reuters - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iranian proxies in Iraq willing to disarm to avoid conflict with US, commanders and Iraqi officials say - The Times of Israel - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Exclusive-Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath - MSN - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iran's influence in neighboring Iraq is waning - Neue Zrcher Zeitung - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- A man wielding an axe wounds 3 people at the Assyrian Christian new year parade in Iraq - AP News - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Landmines and explosive remnants cast a long shadow over Iraq amid recovery efforts - International Committee of the Red Cross - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Marine writes book aiming to clear his name after bloody Iraq ambush - Marine Corps Times - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Washington halted the Iraq-Iran electricity waiver. Here is how it's perceived by Washington and Baghdad. - Atlantic Council - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- In the minefields of Iraq, Noora works to restore life and hope to her homeland - International Committee of the Red Cross - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iraq aims to utilize 70% of flared gas by end of 2025 - Iraqi News - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- How Carey Mulligans brother found himself dodging bombs and bullets in Iraq - The Irish News - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Who are the main Iran-backed militias in Iraq? - thenationalnews.com - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iraq Seizes Over Two Tons of Drugs, Arrests More Than 1,500 Traffickers in Major Crackdown - kurdistan24.net - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- FM Fidan calls on Iraq to confront PKK terror group with same determination shown against Daesh - Trkiye Today - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath - The Japan Times - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Pressured by US, Iraq calls for negotiations on Kurdistan regional oil exports - The Arab Weekly - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- All the Mountains Give review gripping portrait of smugglers on the Iran-Iraq border - The Guardian - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq: American Embassy, Targets In Iraq Will Be Attacked If Iran Attacked - MEMRI | Middle East Media Research Institute - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- The Real Military History Behind the New Iraq War Film 'Warfare' - Military.com - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- One Photo from Abu Ghraib Lost the Iraq War. Kristi Noem Continues the Tradition - Rolling Stone - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iraq agrees to supply Lebanon with fuel for six months - Reuters - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iran Joins Russia, Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Belarus, Myanmar, and Iraq as US Issues New Do Not Travel Alert: What You Need to Know -... - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Activation of TIR system in Iraq to boost connectivity and trade across Central Asia, Middle East and Europe - UNECE - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Crafting Warfare: Inside the intense, star-studded film about an Iraq War battle and the Navy SEALs who lived it - Entertainment Weekly - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- UN-Habitat and the Government of Japan Expand Efforts to Support Returnees in Northern Iraq [EN/AR] - ReliefWeb - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iraq joins TIR transit system - Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Trkiyes Development Road Project advances toward Iraq and Syria - Trkiye Today - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iraq Officially Announces Sunday as First Day of Eid Al Fitr - Morocco World News - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iraq agrees to supply Lebanon with fuel for six months - The New Arab - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iran committed to implementing agreements with Iraq - - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- The Iraq War lasted nearly 9 years, claiming the lives of almost 4,500 Americans. Hampton Roads ships, planes and troops played important roles. -... - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- PM: Iraq rejects the threats facing the Islamic Republic of Iran - ina.iq - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Palestine keep hopes of first World Cup alive with dramatic Iraq turnaround - Al Jazeera - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Hakim ccalls for Iraq's exemption from sanctions on Iranian gas and electricity imports - Tehran Times - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- 'I know what I'm doing next fall': Disabled Iraq veteran in Star honored with big game hunting tags - KIVI-TV - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iranian Ambassador To Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh: If Trump Is Willing To Return To Nuclear Talks We Are Prepared To Do So Following The P5+1... - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- KFC expands in Iraq with tenth location in Baghdad - Iraqi News - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Boosting ties with Iraq help counter enemy plots: Pezeshkian - Tabnak - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Iran's MOIS-Linked APT34 Spies on Allies Iraq & Yemen - Dark Reading - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Warfare Review: Alex Garlands Iraq War Film Is Full Of Bombastic Aestheticism That Leaves You Feeling Empty - Deadline - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Warfare Review: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garlands Harrowing Retelling of an Iraq War Mission - slantmagazine - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Alex Garland and Ray Mendozas brutal Iraq film Warfare offers only violence to its detriment - The Independent - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Kurds ponder future in Turkey, Syria and Iraq with guarded optimism - South China Morning Post - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Will Iran derail the Development Road set to run through Iraq? - Amwaj.media - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Warfare Review: Alex Garland and Ray Mendozas Hyper-Intense Iraq War Simulator Is Realistic to a Fault - IndieWire - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraqi Tribal Leader Adnan Al-Danbous: The Arabs and Muslims Invaded Iraq and Drove Out the Chaldeans, Babylonians, Jews, and Christians Who Used to... - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- On This Night in 2003, the Fifth Night of the Iraq War, We Won the Oscar. - Michael Moore | Substack - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- ICRC: water, life and the fight against climate impacts in Iraq - Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraq war veteran brings battlefield to big screen with 'Warfare' film - KEYE TV CBS Austin - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- After Serving Together for 4 Years in Iraq, Dog and Army Handler Are Reunited to Live the Couch Life in Texas - Good News Network - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraq in Talks Over Floating Gas Terminals to Bridge Power Gap - Bloomberg - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraq religious gathering falsely portrayed as pro-Duterte rally - Yahoo - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Vets Who Fought in Iraq Honored on 22nd Anniversary of Invasion - Movieguide - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraq discusses Al-Faw Grand Ports operation with KBR - Iraqi News - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- After 45 years, will the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in Iraq come to an end? - Ynetnews - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- TIR goes live in Iraq in breakthrough for Middle East trade and development - IRU - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Iraq seizes more than one tonne of captagon pills shipped from Syria - Reuters - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Iraq Joins India, Brazil, Turkey, Australia, Kenya, Sri Lanka in Replacing Visa on Arrival and Making Electronic Visa the New Norm of Travel - Travel... - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Iraq Is Building a $17 Billion Trade Corridor to Bypass the Suez Canal - The Wall Street Journal - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- CENTCOM Forces Kill ISIS Chief of Global Operations Who Also Served as ISIS #2 On March 13, U.S. Central Command forces, in cooperation with Iraqi... - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- The Kurdification of Northern Iraq (Assyria) | Opinion - Newsweek - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- ISIS' chief of global operations killed in precision airstrike in Iraq: CENTCOM - ABC News - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Iraq Is Building a $17 Billion Trade Corridor to Bypass the Suez Canal - MSN - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Leader of ISIS in Iraq and Syria killed in military operation, Pentagon says - CBS News - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Iraq set to double electricity imports from Turkey to address shortages - The Arab Weekly - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Iraq And Turkey Strengthen Cooperation On Energy And Water - Evrim Aac - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- The Invasion of Iraq and St. Patrick's Day: Picturing This Week in History March 17 23 | Photos | U.S. News - U.S. News & World Report - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- 'Fugitive' leader of ISIS 'relentlessly hunted down' and killed in Iraq, Trump says - CNYcentral.com - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Whats behind the demand to divide Iraq? - Middle East Monitor - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Ooredoo Group and ITPC partner to land FIG subsea cable in Iraq - w.media - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Spreadsheets of empire: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds - The Guardian - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed, Iraqi prime minister says - The Associated Press - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Putting ISIS on the ropes: Did the US dent terrorism in Iraq? - analysis - The Jerusalem Post - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]