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Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the US support rebel groups that later formed ISIS?

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) began as an offshoot of the Islamist group al-Qaida, which formed to oppose the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The U.S., then engaged in the Cold War, funnelled weapons and money to al-Qaida to aid its opposition. The Soviets were eventually driven out of Afghanistan and the sharia-based Taliban regime was established. Al-Qaida went on to commit acts of terrorism against the U.S., including 9/11.

More recently, the U.S. armed Syrian rebel groups fighting against the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War. One of these groups, al-Qaida in Iraq, later combined with other Islamist groups to form ISIS. A 2017 study from weapons tracker Conflict Armament Research found ISIS possessed "significant quantities" of U.S.-supplied weapons and ammunition.

While U.S.-backed efforts beginning in 2014 reclaimed all ISIS-controlled territory, the group remains active in the Middle East.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Encyclopædia Britannica Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant | History, Leadership, & Facts

AP News A timeline of more than 40 years of war in Afghanistan

Encyclopædia Britannica al-Qaeda in Iraq | History, Leadership, & Founder

The Hill Study shows US weapons given to Syrian rebels ended up in ISIS hands

BBC Islamic State group defeated as final territory lost, US-backed forces say

Wilson Center Explainer: The Islamic State in 2021

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.