ISIL

Aviation ordinancemen organize 1000 pound MK-83 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bombs on their racks on the flight deck of the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier in this archival photo taken in the northern Persian Gulf March 18, 2003.

The US is dropping bombs quicker than it can make them

Conflict

The Pentagon’s stockpile of air-to-ground munitions has suffered an unexpected dip — and it may take a long time to restore it.

An Iraqi soldier carries a displaced child from Ramadi on the outskirts of Baghdad on May 19, 2015.

As ISIS seeks revenge in Ramadi, a US veteran fears for his Sunni allies there

Conflict
An armed motorcade belonging to members of Derna's Islamic Youth Council, consisting of former members of militias from the town of Derna, drive along a road in Derna, eastern Libya October 3, 2014.

This man got a glimpse of life under ISIS control — in Libya

Conflict
A Jordanian protester cries during a march after Friday prayers in downtown Amman February 6, 2015.

Jordanians rally against the Islamic State

Conflict
Veiled women sit as they chat in a garden in the ISIS-controlled province of Raqqa in northern Syria.

In ISIS-held territory, the Great Satan is the beauty shop

Conflict
Militant Islamist fighters hold the flag of ISIS while taking part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province in this June 30, 2014 file photo.

Oil prices have collapsed, but oil-rich ISIS says it’s still in the black

Economics

News reports from Qatar say ISIS, which has control over oil fields in Iraq and Syria, will run a $250 million dollar surplus next year. So how is that possible with oil prices falling through the cellar?

The World

How ISIS uses catchy, violent tunes for propaganda

Music

From online magazines, social media accounts and sleek videos, ISIS has a powerful PR machine. And it also knows the power of a good earworm.

A masked man speaking in what is believed to be a North American accent in a video that Islamic State militants released in September 2014.

ISIS taunts the West in its latest beheading video

Conflict

ISIS militants released a graphic video of the beheading of American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig and 18 Syrian prisoners this weekend. The footage was shocking, but also revealed faces and locations of the executioners in a move to incite the US and other Western countries.

Aleppo's Umayyad mosque in northern Syria. The 8th century structure is labelled "in danger" on UNESCO's list of culturally significant heritage sites.

ISIS is waging another war — on culture and history

Conflict

All year long, the world has watched as ISIS rampaged across Syria and Iraq. Beyond the grotesque human cost, the group has attacked ancient landmarks where Western civilization began, earning both propaganda value and profit.

Suited up for the news, a cartoon by Slovakian cartoonist Marian Kemensky.

An international cartoonists’ conference shows off the artists’ wit and predictive power

Arts

Ebola, ISIS and Ukraine are the issues of the day for political cartoonists gathering in San Francisco for their annual conference. But for some of the international cartoonists visiting from Cuba, Pakistan, India and other places, the issue is more fundamental: Can I even get my cartoons published?