VICE: Embedded with Al-Qaeda in Syria: ISIS and al-Nusra - Full Documentary

Aug 14, 2014

The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced its intention to reestablish the caliphate and has declared its leader, the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph.

The lightning advances the Islamic State made across Syria and Iraq in June shocked the world. But it's not just the group's military victories that have garnered attention — it's also the pace with which its members have begun to carve out a viable state.

Flush with cash and US weapons seized during its advances in Iraq, the Islamic State's expansion shows no sign of slowing down. In the first week of August alone, Islamic State fighters have taken over new areas in northern Iraq, encroaching on Kurdish territory and sending Christians and other minorities fleeing as reports of massacres emerged.

VICE News reporter Medyan Dairieh spent three weeks embedded with the Islamic State, gaining unprecedented access to the group in Iraq and Syria as the first and only journalist to document its inner workings.

Watch next: "Fighting ISIS-linked snipers in Marawi, Philippines" - http://bit.ly/2sR2GWj

Click to watch "Ghosts of Aleppo (Part 1)" - http://bit.ly/Ghosts-of-Aleppo

Check out the VICE News beta for more: http://vicenews.com

Follow VICE News here:
Facebook:

/ vicenews
Twitter:

/ vicenews
Tumblr:

/ vicenews
Instagram:

/ vicenews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFZhQ4u2Cbg