After the SDF announced in 2019 that Isis had been defeated, having lost their final area of control in Syria, we take a look at the group's origins and its defining moments.

At its peak, Isis controlled a vast swathe of territory across Syria and Iraq roughly the size of Britain, with a population of some 10 million. Over 40,000 are thought to have emigrated to the caliphate with the jihadists’ brutal and gruesome tactics inspiring numerous terrorist attacks around the globe. Where did the group come from and which acts defined its reign?

2004

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi establishes al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). AQI carries out attacks against the country’s majority Shia community in the hope of sparking a sectarian war.

Zarqawi had moved to Iraq a year earlier - along with thousands of other insurgent volunteers - to fight against American and British forces that had invaded the country.

The Jordanian became an internationally recognised name after Colin Powell mentioned him by name during a speech to the United Nations in 2003.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

June - October 2006

Zarqawi is killed in an US airstrike in Iraq on 7 June, and Abu Ayyub al-Masri becomes the new leader of AQI.

Masri announces the creation of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and appoints Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as the new leader.

April 2010

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Masri are killed in a joint US-Iraqi operation and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes the new leader of ISI.

April 2013

Baghdadi says that his group will now be known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil or Isis) after it absorbs an al Qaeda-backed militant group in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front.

January 2014

Isis takes control of Syria’s Raqqa and declares it their capital.

February 2014

Al-Qaeda cuts ties with Isis after infighting between Isis and the Nusra Front.

June 2014

In the group’s largest offensive to date, Isis takes control of Mosul and Tikrit.

Iraqi forces manage to retake most of Tikrit with the support of Iranian forces but the UN warns that the fighting had displaced more than one million Iraqis. The jihadists continue to make territorial gains and seize the strategic border crossing between Syria’s Deir ez-Zor and Iraq. Having lost Mosul, Iraq asks the US to launch airstrikes against the militants.

29 June 2014

Baghdadi announces the establishment of the caliphate from the pulpit of the Great Nouri mosque in Mosul, rebranding the group as “Islamic State.”

Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?

August 2014

Isis takes over Sinjar and Zumar in Iraq, killing and abducting thousands of Yazidis.

The UN later recognises the jihadists’ attack on the Yazidis as a genocide.

US President Barack Obama then announces the beginning of airstrikes against Isis in Iraq.

Isis begins to release a series of videos depicting the execution of a number of foreigners, including American journalist James Foley and British NGO worker David Haines.

September 2014

The US starts bombing in Syria. Over the next year the US conducts over 8,000 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

October 2014

The Pentagon names the campaign against the jihadists “Operation Inherent Resolve”.

January 2015

Isis’ network expands and the group is said to have affiliates in at least eight countries.

Under the cover of US airstrikes, SDF fighters force Isis out of the Syrian town of Kobani after a four month long campaign.

February 2015

Isis releases a video showing Jordanian military pilot Moaz al Kasasbeh being burnt alive, sparking widescale protests across the country.

March 2015

Isis-linked militants bomb two mosques in Yemen’s Sanaa, killing 137.

April 2015

Isis posts a video depicting its Libyan branch executing dozens of Ethiopian Christians.

May 2015

Isis takes control over Iraq’s Ramadi and Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra. The militants’ Libya affiliate takes Sirte.

June 2015

Isis claims responsibility for the attack on the Tunisian resort of Sousse, where 38 people were killed, including 30 Brits.

September 2015

Russia begins airstrikes in Syria, which it claims is a bid to fight Isis. The US accuses Russia of striking opposition groups and civilians.

November 2015

Isis carries out a number of attacks across Paris, killing 130 people. France begins to ramp up the number of airstrikes against Isis in Syria. Meanwhile in Iraq, Kurdish forces retake Sinjar.

December 2015

Iraqi forces seize Ramadi from Isis.

June 2016

Iraqi forces, with the help of US and coalition airstrikes, retake the strategic city of Fallujah after a month-long campaign. The city was under Isis control since 2014.

July 2016

An Isis suicide bomb attack on a busy shopping street in Baghdad kills over 200 people.

Carried out during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, it was the jihadists’ most deadliest bomb attack on civilians.

August 2016

US-backed forces in Syria retake the key north-eastern city of Manbij.

October 2016

Iraq and US-led coalition forces begin their campaign to liberate Mosul.

December 2016

Libyan forces liberate Sirte with the help of US airstrikes.

December 2016

Isis manages to retake Palmyra from Syrian government forces, despite intensive Russian bombing against them.

Despite territorial losses in Iraq and Syria, Isis carried out more than 1,400 attacks and killed more than 7,000 people in 2016 – a 20 per cent increase from 2015 – according to a 2017 report by the University of Maryland.

January 2017

Isis claims responsibility for an attack at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, when a gunman opened fire on people celebrating New Year’s Eve and killed 39.

Iraqi forces liberate eastern Mosul from Isis, 100 days since the start of their campaign.

Iraq PM Haider al-Abadi hails 'big victory' in Mosul

February 2017

A suicide bomber attacks a Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan, killing at least 72 - including 30 children - and wounding dozens more. Isis claims responsibility.

May 2017

Isis claims responsibility for a suicide bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, which killed 22, including children, and injured 59.

July 2017

Iraqi forces liberate Mosul.

In what Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi called “an official acknowledgement of defeat”, Isis blows up the Grand al Nuri Mosque – the place where al-Baghdadi declared the caliphate in 2014 – and the al Hadba minaret.

September 2017

A bomb explodes but fails to detonate on a morning commuter train at Parsons Green station in London. Isis claims responsibility, but British and US government sources later say there is no evidence to link the jihadist group to the incident.

October 2017

The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Raqqa, the caliphate’s former capital, after a four-month long campaign.

”The defeat of Isis in Raqqa represents a critical breakthrough in our worldwide campaign to defeat Isis and its wicked ideology,” US President Donald Trump says.

US officials say that some 60,000 Isis militants have been killed since 2014.

December 2017

Abadi says Isis has been defeated in Iraq.

The coalition estimates that fewer than 1,000 militants remained in Iraq and Syria – just one third of the figure from three weeks before. It has now lost 95 per cent of its territory.

July 2018

At least 200 people are killed in a suicide bombing and other attacks in Sweida in Syria. Isis claims responsibility.

August 2018

Isis releases a 55-minute audio recording that they say is from Baghdadi. The man in the recording admits Isis groups are losing and urges followers to continue the fight.

Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Show all 14 1 /14 Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Men who fled the last Isis-held area of Syria line up to be questioned by American and Kurdish intelligence officials Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate A young girl pulls her belongings after arriving Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate An SDF fighter hands out bread to women and children after they arrive Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Sita Ghazzar, 70, after fleeing from the last Isis-held territory in Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate A family from Russia who recently fled the last Isis-held area of Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall Richard Hall/The Independent

December 2018

In a shock announcement, Trump announces that US forces will be withdrawn from Syria and claims that Isis has been defeated.

February 2019

British-born Shamima Begum – the teenager who left Bethnal Green to join Isis – is found in al-Hol camp in Syria, sparking a nationwide debate on what the UK should do with returning jihadists. UK home secretary Sajid Javid strips the 19-year-old of her British citizenship. A few weeks later, her newborn son Jarrah dies.

March 2019

The British government claims that just one civilian was harmed in RAF airstrikes that killed more than 4,000 enemy fighters in Iraq and Syria. US President Donald Trump meanwhile scraps a policy requiring US intelligence officials to publish the number of civilians killed in drone strikes outside active war zones.

SDF say they have made "significant" advances against Isis, and that the militants are now trapped in small “pockets next to the river".

April 2019

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears on video for the first time in nearly five years.

In a speech released by Isis’ media arm, al-Baghdadi addressed the group’s territorial defeat in Syria.

October 2019

On 5 October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns Turkey is preparing a full-scale invasion of northern Syria.

Days later, the Trump administration announces that it will withdraw US forces from the area and permit the invasion to take place, which leads to hundreds of Isis prisoners escaping during the offensive.

October 2019

Al-Baghdadi is reportedly killed by a US military raid in northern Syria.