In his address marking the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last year, leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared in public for the first time to proclaim himself caliph of the “Islamic State” and urge supporters to “take up arms” around the world.
Since then, the group has continued to seize territory across swathes of Iraq and Syria and made deals with Islamist terrorist groups in several countries. 
As well as the group’s broadcast of gory beheadings and executions of captives, including Western journalists and aid workers, it has claimed responsibility for international in terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Atrocities in France, Australia and the US have also been carried out by gunmen pledging allegiance to the group.
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Charlie Winter, a researcher London-based counter extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, said Isis will be “more active than ever” over the coming month as the one-year anniversary of the Islamic State approaches.
It coincides with Ramadan, which was also an active time for the group in 2013, when Isis militants freed hundreds of inmates from two of Iraq’s largest prisons – Abu Ghraib and Taji.
Mr Winter said that recent gains seizing the cities of Ramadi and Palmyra in Iraq and Syria will have been “meticulously” timed to give Isis a much-needed perception of momentum.
“There is a concerted effort to appear as relevant as ever, stronger than ever and more defiant than ever in the face of international opposition,” he added, saying the group would be planning "more violence, more advances, more attacks".
The US is heading two separate international coalitions conducting air strikes against Isis in both Iraq and Syria, while Kurds, Iranian-backed militias and government troops are fighting on the ground.
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