First in a two-part series, this backgrounder explores the rise of one of the most well-funded, organized, and militarily effective jihadist groups of all time.

Following a series of Islamic State triumphs on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, former al-Qaeda affiliates as far away as Southeast Asia are pledging loyalty to the newest brand in global terror.

A lull in fighting between Islamic State and Peshmerga forces came to an abrupt end last week with a sweeping advance that left some worried the Kurdish lines wouldn’t hold. Now the question is: Will Erbil be next to fall?

It took just one day for President Obama’s announcement of US air strikes in ISIS-held Iraq to translate into operational reality, and the first target chosen by US forces illustrates why this policy shift came about.

Politicians in Baghdad continue to squabble as news of violence and hardship filters out of ISIS-occupied Iraq.

If you asked a State Department employee what their worst-case scenario for the Middle East was five years ago, the response might have described what is currently unfolding across the region.

What the civil war in Syria failed to expose, Iraq threatens to bring out into the open.

At two years old, up to 65, 000 dead, and with no end in sight, the Syrian civil war can officially be called a stalemate.