In response to rapid territorial gains made by the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (
ISIL or
ISIS or
Daesh, calling itself the
Islamic State) militants during the first half of 2014, and internationally condemned brutality, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further
spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many states began to intervene against ISIL in
Syria and
Iraq. Later, there were also minor interventions by some states against ISIL-affiliated groups in
Nigeria and
Libya.