ISIL enforces Islamic state over captured cities

The extremist group, ISIL, has taken a step forward to enforcing an Islamist rule over the cities it has captured in Iraq and Syria.

ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has changed its name to ‘Islamic State’ and the militant group has established a caliphate, an Islamic state ruled by a supreme religious and political leader, in the cities it controls.

The supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been declared ‘caliph for Muslims everywhere’ in a statement posted on Twitter and several Islamic websites.

Meanwhile, Iraq, together with the US, have launched a military campaign on Saturday, hoping to regain control over the cities captured by ISIL. The current battle is fought to regain the city of Tikrit.

If the campaign proves to be successful, the Iraqi forces will regain, to some degree, its faith in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government.