BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq’s conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a “caliphate.”
Its territorial rule, which at its height in 2014 stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq, ended in March with a last stand by several hundred of its militants at a tiny Syrian village on the banks of the Euphrates near the border with Iraq.
But the militants have maintained a presence in both countries, and their shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had continued releasing messages urging them to keep up the fight. US officials said late Saturday that he was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion.
Here are the key moments in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group:
___
April 2013 — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq, announces the merger of his group with al-Qaida’s franchise in Syria, forming the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
___
2014
January — Al-Baghdadi’s forces overrun the city of Fallujah in Iraq’s western Anbar province and parts of the nearby provincial capital of Ramadi. In Syria, they seize sole control of the city of Raqqa after driving out rival Syrian rebel factions, and it becomes their de facto capital.
___
February — Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri disavows al-Baghdadi after the Iraqi militant ignores his demands that IS leave Syria.
___
June — IS captures Mosul, Iraqi’s second-largest city, and pushes south as Iraqi forces crumble, eventually capturing Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and reaching the outskirts of Baghdad. When they threaten Shiite holy sites, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric issues a call to arms, and masses of volunteers, largely backed and armed by Iran, join militias.
___
June 29 — The group renames itself the Islamic State and declares the establishment of a self-styled “caliphate,” a traditional model of Islamic rule, in its territories in Iraq and Syria. Al-Baghdadi is declared the caliph.
___
July 4 — Al-Baghdadi makes his first public appearance, delivering a Friday sermon in Mosul’s historic al-Nuri Mosque. He urges Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the caliphate and obey him as its leader.
___
August — IS captures the town of Sinjar west of Mosul and begins a systematic slaughter of the tiny Yazidi religious community. Women and girls are kidnapped as sex slaves; hundreds remain missing to this day.
___
Aug. 8 — The US launches its campaign of airstrikes against IS in Iraq.
___
Sept. 22 — The US-led coalition begins an aerial campaign against IS in Syria.
___
2015
January — Iraqi Kurdish fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes, drive IS out of several towns north of Mosul. In Syria, Kurdish fighters backed by US airstrikes repel an IS onslaught on the town of Kobani on the border with Turkey, the first significant defeat for IS.
___
April 1 — US-backed Iraqi forces retake Tikrit, their first major victory against IS.
___
May 20 — IS captures the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, where the extremists later destroy archaeological treasures.
___
2016
Feb. 9 — Iraqi forces recapture Ramadi after months of fighting and at enormous cost, with thousands of buildings destroyed. Almost the entire population fled the city.
___
June 26 — Fallujah is declared liberated by Iraqi forces after a five-week battle.
___
July 3 — IS sets off a gigantic suicide truck bomb outside a Baghdad shopping mall, killing almost 300 people, the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.
___
Oct. 17 — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of the operation to liberate Mosul.
___
Nov. 5 — The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launch Operation Euphrates Wrath, the first of five operations aiming to retake Raqqa, starting with an encircling of the city.
___
2017
Jan. 24 — Al-Abadi announces eastern Mosul has been “fully liberated.”
___
May 10 — SDF captures the strategic Tabqa dam after weeks of battles and a major airlift operation that brought SDF fighters and their US advisers to the area. The fall of the dam facilitated the push on Raqqa, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
___
June 6 — SDF fighters begin an attack on Raqqa from three sides, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes.
___
June 18 — Iraqi forces launch battle for Mosul’s Old City, the last IS stronghold there.
___
June 21 — IS destroys Mosul’s iconic al-Nuri Mosque and its 12th century leaning minaret as Iraqi forces close in, according to Iraqi and coalition officials.
__
July 10 — Iraqi prime minister declares victory over IS in Mosul and end of the extremists’ caliphate in Iraq.
___
Oct. 17 — SDF takes full control of Raqqa after months of heavy bombardment that devastates the city.
___
September-December —Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian forces, recapture IS territory on the western bank of the Euphrates River, seizing the cities of Deir al-Zour, Mayadin and Boukamal on the border with Iraq.
___
2018
Aug. 23 — IS leader al-Baghdadi resurfaces in his first purported audio recording in almost a year; he urges followers to “persevere” and continue fighting.
___
Sept. 10 — SDF launches a ground offensive, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, to take the last territory held by IS in Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
___
2019
March 23 — SDF declares the complete capture of Baghouz and the end of the Islamic State group’s territorial “caliphate.”
Oct. 27 — The White House says President Donald Trump plans to make a “major announcement” after US officials say al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. The officials say confirmation of his death in an explosion is pending.
Image: FILE – In this Nov. 29, 2016 file photo, Iraqi Army soldiers celebrate as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured during a military operation to regain control of a village outside Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq’s conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a “caliphate.” US officials said late Saturday that their shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)
