In only the month of June in 2015, 1,922 people were killed in Iraq because of an infamous militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Before the group gained world recognition, ISIS began as a small militant group named Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999. Later in 2004, Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad decided to pledge its allegiance to al-Qaeda following the 2003 United States (U.S.) invasion of Iraq and became known as the al-Qaeda in Iraq. After its leader was killed in a U.S. airstrike, the al-Qaeda in Iraq was nearly wiped out when Sunni tribes decided to partner with the Americans. However, the group renewed itself and took advantage of the chaos in Syria during the civil war of 2011. Since then, the militant group has taken control of Iraq and Syria and named itself ISIS. Today, ISIS is a worldwide threat due to extreme terrorist actions and propaganda tactics in the media.

While most countries, such as the U.S. and the majority of Europe, believe ISIS is a global threat, there are those, such as professors of international security, who believe ISIS only wants to control its own country and is attacking others in order to achieve that goal, not terrorize the world. According to Audrey Kurth Cronin (2015), Director of the International Security Program at George Mason University, ISIS only wants to control territory and create a pure Sunni Islamist state governed by their interpretation of sharia and to dissolve the political borders in the Middle East that were created by Western powers. People such as those mentioned above only see ISIS as a threat in the Middle East. They state that globally feared terrorist groups typically have a small amount of members and holds little to no territory. ISIS contradicts the description of a terrorist group. In fact, it holds territory, funds itself, has 30,000 fighters, and controls military forces. However, ISIS is more than a militant group with a mission to take control of the Middle East; ISIS is a global threat.

ISIS remains a worldwide threat due to their extreme and abundant terrorist actions, and their global reach. One of its terrorist tactics is its  suicide bombings. According to a Chicago Tribune article by Ali Latifi (2015), a suicide bombing by a bank in Afghanistan killed 34 people and left more than 120 people wounded in April of 2015. Bombings such as these are often targeted at civilians to create fear. ISIS has even extended its terrorist actions such as these outside of the Middle East. On November 13, 2015, terror raged across Paris, France as gunmen and suicide bombers loyal to the Islamic State left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.  In addition, ISIS constantly persecutes minority groups. Countless people have been murdered, abducted, or forced to flee because they do not follow the religious beliefs of ISIS. For example, an Islamic State group affiliate in Libya attacked and beheaded 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt for simply being Christian. In other minority groups, women are often abducted and later forced into slavery. How does ISIS spread news about their violence? ISIS’s most famous terrorist tactics is the multiple videos of beheadings and shootings on the internet. James Foley, an American journalist, was captured by ISIS in 2012, and his beheading was later caught on camera. Several days later, another video surfaced showing the shooting of more than 150 men in the desert. Videos such as these are made to help the world fear ISIS’s power.

ISIS’s promotional tactics are another aspect that makes it a worldwide threat. By uploading startling videos on the internet, ISIS can spread its message to anyone with a computer. When TV networks such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and others  pick up their stories, the images are further boosting ISIS’s global profile. Social media and apps are being created to promote ISIS, making its promotional tactics more effective. Tactics such as these influence some people from foreign countries to join the militant group. According to a New York Times article by Eric Schmitt and Somini Sengupta (2015), American intelligence agents estimate around 15,000 foreign fighters have joined ISIS, which is at a rate of about 1,000 new fighter each month. Although most of the recruits come from Muslim-majority countries, they also have recruited people from Australia, China, Russia, Western European countries, and the U.S., including young teens who are vulnerable on the internet. ISIS’s videos and propaganda have also caught the attention of many extremists, people who go to extremes for political purposes, around the world. For example, insurgents in Egypt pledged to follow ISIS, and another affiliate in Yemen caused a series of suicide bombings in March of 2015 that killed at least 137 people.

Starting as a small terrorist group in 1999, ISIS is now an enormous militant group holding territory in Syria and Iraq, making it a threat to the entire world. Today, ISIS’s terrorist and promotional tactics cause it to be considered a worldwide threat. In reality, if the group is killing thousands of people and is receiving favorable attention from thousands of online supporters, it can have a deadly effect on the world in the future. Perhaps if the world monitors ISIS’s use of the internet more closely and teaches others, especially teens, how to ignore its promotional tactics, less members will join ISIS, and the threat it holds to the world will die out.