The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) originated as an al-Qaeda linked Sunni insurgent group in Iraq after the 2003 US invasion. It expanded into Syria during the civil war, declared a caliphate in 2014, and controls territory in Iraq and Syria while carrying out operations in other countries. ISIL generates revenue through oil production and smuggling, taxes, ransoms from kidnappings, selling plundered artifacts, and other criminal activities to fund its violent extremist activities and attracts foreign fighters through effective propaganda.