ISIS is part of the acronym in Arabic for the Islamic State of Iraq and al - Qaeda . Whatever you call the jihadist group known for killing dozens of people at a time , carrying out public executions , beheadings , crucifixions and other brutal acts , there is no denying they have captured the world 's attention . U.S. military , the CIA , some others use ISIL : Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant . Jihadist literature prefers ` ` the Islamic State '' or just ` ` the State ''
ISIS is part of the acronym in Arabic for the Islamic State of Iraq and al - Qaeda . U.S. military , the CIA , some others use ISIL : Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant . Jihadist literature prefers ` ` the Islamic State '' or just ` ` the State ''