In 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) emerged as a major player in the Syrian Civil War. ISIS is a radical Islamist group that seeks to establish a caliphate in the Middle East. They took control of large parts of Syria, including oil fields and major cities, and began carrying out brutal attacks against both the Syrian government and other rebel groups. This added a new layer of complexity to the already complicated conflict, as the international community had to decide how to respond to the threat posed by ISIS while also trying to find a solution to the broader civil war.
