With the attacks in Beirut, over Egypt, and in Paris, the Islamic State has demonstrated a transnational capability that suggests its strategic objectives and tactics have evolved. The response to these attacks by the United States and other nations continues to evolve as the threat posed by IS changes. This report poses frequently asked questions with answers excerpted from other CRS products.

This report discusses the The Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Daesh), which is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, has adherents in several other countries, and disrupts regional and international security with violence and terrorism.

This report provides background and analysis on the politics of Iraq, including its communities, governing personalities and factions, security forces and militias, and the government's human rights record.

This report discusses the armed offensive militants of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) in northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria that has raised significant concerns for the United States.

Iraq's political system, the result of a U.S.-supported election process, is increasingly characterized by peaceful competition rather than violence, but sectarianism and ethnic and factional infighting continue to simmer. This report discusses the current state of Iraq, concentrating primarily on the actions of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, efforts underway to combat sectarian violence, and the projected U.S. troop withdrawal by August 2010.

The majority of the world's Muslim population follows the Sunni branch of Islam, and approximately 10%-15% of all Muslims follow the Shiite (Shi'ite, Shi'a, Shia) branch. Shiite populations constitute a majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan. Sunnis and Shiites share most basic religious tenets. However, their differences sometimes have been the basis for religious intolerance, political infighting, and sectarian violence. This report includes a historical background of the Sunni-Shiite split and discusses the differences in religious beliefs and practices between and within each Islamic sect as well as their similarities. The report also relates Sunni and Shiite religious beliefs to discussions of terrorism and sectarian violence that may be of interest to Congress.

This report discusses several issues relating to homelessness among veterans, which has become more prominent since the beginning of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This report provides an overview of Iraq's political transition from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to a plural polity that encompasses varying sects and ideological and political factions. This report also addresses ongoing governmental instabilities and their causes, as well as U.S. concerns about possible Iranian influence in Iraq as U.S. forces depart the country.

This report reviews policy proposals and interim contracts, analyzes the positions of various Iraqi political actors, and discusses potential implications for U.S. foreign policy goals in Iraq.

Iraq's political system, the result of a U.S.-supported election process, continues to be riven by sectarianism and ethnic and factional infighting. The Administration is optimistic that the passage of key laws in 2008, including a law to govern provincial elections to be held in early 2009, will sustain recent reductions in violence.

This report describes recent developments in the assistance effort in post-authoritarian Iraq and key issues of potential interest to Congress.

The following casualty data was compiled by the Department of Defense (DOD), as tallied from the agency's press release. Table 1 provides statistics on fatalities during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, 2003, and is ongoing, as well as on the number of fatalities since May 1, 2003, plus statistics on those wounded, but not killed, since March 19, 2003. More frequent updates are available at DOD's website at [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/] under "Casualty Update." A detailed casualty summary that includes data on deaths by cause, as well as statistics on soldiers wounded in action, is available at the following DOD website: [http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm].

This report discusses the Special Inspector General provisions in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, H.R. 1424, which was enacted as P.L. 110-343 on October 3, 2008. This Act created a Special Inspector General (SIG) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). This report will compare the duties and authorities of the SIG TARP to those of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), as well as statutory IGs under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (IG Act).

This report identifies online sources for maps of Iraq, including government, library, and organizational websites. These sources have been selected on the basis of their authoritativeness and the range, quality, and uniqueness of the maps they provide. Some sources provide up-to-the-minute maps; others have been selected for their collection of historical maps. Maps of the Iraq, the Middle East, the state of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and the movement of refugees in Iraq are provided.

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Interview with Angela Bynum, veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as part of the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. The interview includes Bynum's personal experiences of childhood and education in California and Texas, enlisting in the U.S. Army, basic and advanced training as a motor transport operator, training in avoidance of improvised explosive devices, and transport missions between Iraq and Kuwait. Bynum also discusses her inability to withstand Airborne training, the decision to leave active duty in 2002, her use of the GI Bill benefits to attend Tarrant Community College, the 2004 call-up from reserve duty and deployment to Iraq, her family's concerns regarding deployment, and aspects of daily life for American soldiers stationed in Iraq.

This report examines Kuwait, which would be pivotal to any U.S. decision to wind down its military involvement in Iraq, has advanced its democratic development since the fall of Saddam Hussein, but it remains concerned about security threats emanating from a still unstable Iraq. In June 2006 parliamentary elections, women voted and ran for the first time, but none won.

This report discusses Iran’s influence over the post-Saddam government in Iraq, which is substantial because the predominant parties in that government have long enjoyed Tehran’s sponsorship. An emerging concern is that Iran’s influence has extended to support for militant groups in Iraq. Some U.S. statements and press sources say that sophisticated explosive devices are entering Iraq from Iran, suggesting that Iran, or factions within Iran, are backing Iraqi factions that use violence to oppose the U.S. and allied military presence in Iraq.

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Iraq’s public debt was estimated to be US$120.2 billion in nominal value as of the end of 2004. The debt owed to Paris Club creditors as of December 31, 2004, was estimated to be US$38.9 billion. The U.S. share of this amount is around $4 billion. Non-Paris Club countries, mostly Persian Gulf countries, are owed around $60 - $65 billion. The remaining debts are to private commercial creditors. Iraqi debt relief is a high priority for both the President and Congress (H.R. 2482). This report will discuss efforts to implement Iraqi debt relief and highlight some policy concerns.

Iraq’s chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs, together with Iraqi long-range missile development and support for al-Queda terrorism, were the primary justifications put forward for military action. On March 17, 2003, President Bush issued an ultimatum demanding that Saddam Hussein and his sons depart from Iraq within 48 hours. On March 19, offensive operations began with air strikes against Iraqi leadership positions. By April 15, after 27 days of operations, coalition forces were in relative control of all major Iraqi cities and Iraqi political and military leadership had disintegrated. On May 1, 2003, President Bush declared an end to major combat operations. There was no use of chemical or biological (CB)weapons, and no CB or nuclear weapons stockpiles or production facilities have been found.

A report intended to inform Congress, the Administration, and the public about how the principal U.S. government agency involved in foreign assistance has responded to the major crises in the developing world, such as reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, averting famine in Ethiopia, and helping hurricane victims in Haiti.

A report which describes USAID results in economic growth, agricultural development, education, environmental protection, health, population, democracy and governance, and humanitarian assistance.

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