As major Iraqi cities fell to ISIL in June 2014, Jessica Lewis, a former US Army intelligence officer at the Institute for the Study of War, described ISIL at that time as not a terrorism problem anymore, an army on the move in Iraq and Syria, and they are taking terrain.
Ketika kota-kota besar di Irak jatuh ke tangan NIIS bulan Juni 2014, Jessica Lewis, mantan pejabat intelijen Angkatan Darat A.S. di Institute for the Study of War, menjelaskan bahwa NIIS bukan persoalan teroris lagi, pasukan militer yang bergerak di Irak dan Suriah, dan mereka menguasai sebuah wilayah.