The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) effectively governs a nation-size tract of territory that stretches from the eastern edge of the Syrian city of Aleppo to Fallujah in western Iraq – and now also includes the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
As many as 500,000 people fled Mosul after the militants attacked the city.
The head of the Turkish mission in Mosul and almost 50 consulate staff are being held by the militants, Turkish officials say. Turkey's foreign minister warned there would be "harsh retaliation" if any of its citizens were harmed.
The fall of Mosul to the extremists on Tuesday, after the apparent collapse of Iraqi security forces there, offers only the latest example of the extraordinary resurgence of the militant organization in the past 2½ years, aided to a large extent by the vacuum of authority in neighboring Syria.
Mavi Boncuk |
In Arabic:
الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام Ad-Davla Al-Islāmiyya fi al-'Irāq wa-sh-Shām
In Turkish:
IŞİD: Irak ve Şam İslam Devleti
In English:
Isis: Islamic State of Iraq in Syria also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant(Isil)
In French
l'EIIL: l'Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant
In German:
Islamischer Staat im Irak und (Groß-)Syrien (Isis)