Tracking Jihadist Movements in 2019: The Islamic State

The Islamic State made headlines around the world when it captured one of Iraq's largest cities, Mosul, in 2014. The group soon declared a caliphate and began expanding control of vast swaths of Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State's successes in the Levant soon inspired movements in places as geographically diverse as Libya, Nigeria, the Sinai, Afghanistan and the Philippines, where extremists pledged allegiance to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But that success came with consequences in the form of sustained international and local military pressure. The Islamic State has lost nearly all its territory in its heartland, yet it continues to remain a powerful force around the world. Here's a closer look at the Islamic State's activities last year, as well as what its various provinces will do in 2019. ...