Timeline: Key moments in the rise and fall of ISIS
The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts
The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate."
Its territorial rule, which at its height in 2014 stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq, ended in March with a last stand by several hundred of its militants at a tiny Syrian village on the banks of the Euphrates near the border with Iraq.
But the militants have maintained a presence in both countries, and their shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had continued releasing messages urging them to keep up the fight. U.S. officials said late Saturday that he was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion.
Here are the key moments in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group: