Terrorism

The group's choice of targets is a clear sign of its intention to inflame Sunni/Alawite tensions, raise the price of Moscow's intervention, and assert its symbolic leadership over the rebellion.

The Islamic State (IS or ISIS) is often identified as the world’s leading proponent of Salafism, or fundamentalist Sunni Islam. The IS-affiliated perpetrators of the 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks had close ties with local Salafist groups. In their textbooks, the Islamic State promises to revive a Salafi understanding of Islam

Securing the Iraqi capital won’t be easy, but keeping Baghdad safe from the Islamic State is the only way to ensure it doesn’t fall to Shiite militias.

Continued bombings could bring a devastating flood of sectarian attacks to Baghdad and delay the battle for Mosul, so the coalition should help Iraqis address the capital's longstanding vulnerability.

Mustafa Badreddine's death will hurt the group's operational efforts and morale in Syria, but it remains to be seen who it will blame for the attack and whether it will retaliate.

The survival of the regime enclave in Deir al-Zour is fundamental to the anti-IS fight, so Washington and Moscow's allies on the ground may need to race to its rescue sooner rather than later.

The future of Europe as a political project may depend on how the union and its individual member states respond to the Islamic State threat.

Until ISIS declared its so-called caliphate in 2014, this Islamic theological term barely raised flags for the West.

Aside from President Obama, none of the main players in Syria has an interest in rushing toward Raqqa, so they will likely focus on exploiting the various campaigns around Aleppo instead.