In 2014, a terror group once affiliated with al Qaeda blitzed across Iraq and Syria—and into global headlines—in a military campaign aimed at establishing a new caliphate. At the height of its power, Islamic State is estimated to have controlled a third of Iraq and about half of Syria.
An array of local forces, many of them backed by a U.S.-led coalition, fought back over the years that followed. A series of battles led to the recapture of cities held by the extremists, and the self-proclaimed caliphate began to shrink. Last month, Islamic State was pushed out of its last urban stronghold in the two countries. These maps tell the story of the terror group’s rise and fall.
But the threat of terrorism remains. Islamic State followers have launched attacks in major Western cities in recent years, and affiliates of the group have been active in other countries. And thousands of fighters traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight with the group, sparking concerns over the risk they could pose back home.

Land Grab

Islamic State seized urban centers during a rapid advance. Fallujah was one of the first Iraqi cities to fall to the extremists, in January 2014. Later in the year, Islamic State seized Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. By August, as the group’s atrocities were broadcast worldwide, a U.S.-led military coalition began launching strikes against the extremists in northern Iraq.
The following month, the coalition began striking parts of Syria held by Islamic State, including Raqqa. Despite the bombardment, Islamic State still maintained its grip on Raqqa and other cities, including Sinjar in Iraq.

Turning the Tide

The battles to take territory back from Islamic State took place on many fronts in Iraq and Syria. In April 2015, Iraqi troops and militias declared victory in their campaign to retake the city of Tikrit.
Islamic State continued to seek new territory. By the next month, the terror group had captured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The seizure of the city and its ruins, once a major tourist draw, led to a global outcry.
In November, Iraqi Kurdish forces drove Islamic State from the small northern city of Sinjar.
At the end of 2015, Iraq continued its military campaign against Islamic State by taking back the city of Ramadi, with the support of the U.S.-led coalition.

The Fight Continues

In March 2016, Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra. The government’s antiquities chief said it could take years to repair the extremists’ damage to some of the city’s most venerated sites.
In June, Islamic State was defeated in Fallujah—a major blow to the group’s fortunes in Iraq, as the city had functioned as a staging ground and operations center to carry out attacks across the country.
In October, the Iraqi military launched its much-anticipated battle to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, a fight that would last nearly nine months. It followed Islamic State’s loss of significant ground in Raqqa province.

On The Run

Forces fighting Islamic State kept the terror group on the run. In March 2017, pro-regime Syrian forces seized additional villages from the extremists in northeast Aleppo province, recapturing critical infrastructure.
As the battle for Mosul entered its final phase, U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab Syrian forces began an assault in June to take Raqqa, across the border in Syria.
In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his troops had recaptured Mosul.
In October, U.S.-backed Syrian forces declared victory in Raqqa, one of Islamic State's last urban strongholds. The terror group still controlled a pocket of territory in eastern Syria, including Albukamal in Syria.

Oil and Money

Later that month, U.S.-backed forces recaptured Syria’s largest oil field, a major source of the Islamic State’s revenue. Regime and U.S.-backed forces both raced to capture territory from the terror group in the oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzour.

Ousted

On November 9, Islamic State was ousted from Albukamal, its last urban stronghold. On December 9, Iraq’s military said it had recaptured the entire country from Islamic State.