Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Two men are shown sitting on a sofa with Alexanda Amon Kotey on the left, wearing a blue sweatshirt.

British national pleads guilty to role in terror beheadings

Alexanda Anon Kotey pleaded guilty to all eight counts against him at a plea hearing in US District Court in Alexandria. The charges include hostage-taking resulting in death and providing material support to ISIS from 2012 through 2015.

British national pleads guilty to role in terror beheadings
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is shown in a black shawl and turbine speaking into a microphone.

Trump says ISIS leader Baghdadi dead in US raid

Trump says ISIS leader Baghdadi dead in US raid
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS

Syrian rights monitor says ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead

Syrian rights monitor says ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead
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

This man got a glimpse of life under ISIS control — in Libya
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds a weapon while another holds a flag in the city of Mosul, shortly after the Islamic State captured the city. The flag reads, "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

The so-called Islamic State is even worse than you thought

The so-called Islamic State is even worse than you thought
Dean Obeidallah

Middle East comedians are using ISIS to make jokes

The rise of ISIS and their brutal acts of terror have been a horrifying development in the past year. And yet within in the Middle Eastern artistic community, an unlikely group of voices has begun to stand up to try and combat’s the group’s message of fear and intolerance: comedians.

Middle East comedians are using ISIS to make jokes
Freed Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg stands outside the Home Office with his father, Azmat, after delivering a petition in London on March 14, 2005.

Former Guantanamo detainee says the UK rejected his offer to help save an ISIS hostage

Moazzam Begg, a former prisoner at Guantanamo Bay prison, says he offered to help negotiate the release of British hostage Alan Henning. Instead, the British Foreign Office ignored him for months.

Former Guantanamo detainee says the UK rejected his offer to help save an ISIS hostage
Camp Bucca

Meet the US prison camp that helped give birth to ISIS

The US has long worried that its attempts to fight terrorism might actually spur more terrorism. We learn that a US detention camp in Iraq seems to have helped incubate ISIS. Meanwhile, it is Election Day in the US and an app lets Americans show their partisan choices as they shop. And an Egyptian bus driver found one heck of a way to fail a drug test. We have those stories and more in today's Global Scan.

Meet the US prison camp that helped give birth to ISIS
A man inspects a damaged site in what activists say was a US strike in Kfredrian, Idlib province, Syria, on September 23, 2014.

Airstrikes in Syria may help — but their impact will be limited

After resisting involvement for months — and even years — the US and five other countries finally launched airstrikes in Syria against ISIS, the Khorasan Group and other Islamist militants. But will the US be able to keep its long-standing vow not to send ground troops to defeat ISIS?

Airstrikes in Syria may help — but their impact will be limited
A man looks at a computer screen showing logos of Russian social network VKontakte in an office in Moscow.

The ISIS Internet army has found a safe haven on Russian social networks — for now

When ISIS accounts were kicked off of Facebook and Twitter, the terrorist group turned to Russian social network VKontakte to keep up its propaganda and fundraising. A new report from a Russian news site exposed the extent of the militants' use of Russian sites and that seems to have started a crackdown by authorities.

The ISIS Internet army has found a safe haven on Russian social networks — for now
A map showing the early Islamic Caliphate.

Who wants a caliphate, anyway?

The idea of a caliphate has a powerful history for Muslims, who enjoyed their greatest political and military successes under ancient caliphs. But Muslims are divided over whether the caliphate proclaimed by ISIS militants is worthy of that proud mantle.

Who wants a caliphate, anyway?
Parrotfish

Saving this fish is crucial to the survival of the Caribbean coral reefs

Caribbean coral reefs provide food, create jobs and draw millions of tourists every year, but they are disappearing. Parrotfish are one key to their survival. Parents in China have a way to ensure success for their children: pay to get them into the army. And ISIS militants in Iraq want to head to Rome next, all in today's Global Scan.

Saving this fish is crucial to the survival of the Caribbean coral reefs
ISIS member

ISIS leader tells Muslims to move to Iraq and Syria to help build an Islamic state

Abu bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the militant group ISIS — Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ‚— has called on Muslims to immigrate to Iraq and Syria to help build an Islamic state. ISIS hopes to create an Islamic state in the Middle East.

ISIS leader tells Muslims to move to Iraq and Syria to help build an Islamic state
ISIS imposing summary justice. A still from an ISIS video, allegedly showing events in Mosul this week.

The back story of ISIS, the jihadi group that has just seized control of northern Iraq

The Sunni militant group that has seized most of northern Iraq is called ISIS, or ISIL. Where have they come from? What are their connections to the old al-Qaeda in Iraq?

The back story of ISIS, the jihadi group that has just seized control of northern Iraq