Islamic State is a radical Islamist group that seized territory in northern Syria and Iraq in 2014. They have brutal tactics like mass killings and abductions of religious and ethnic minorities. Originally founded in 2004, ISIS declared the creation of a caliphate in 2014 and changed its name to the Islamic State. They are based on a radical Sunni ideology and want to be governed by a single caliph, currently Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.