A year after its blitz across Iraq and Syria, Islamic State group creates nation of fear

In this May 26, 2015 photo, Bilal Abdullah poses for a portrait in the village of Eski Mosul in northern Iraq, nearly a year after Islamic State militants took over the village. In the Islamic State's realm, a document testifying that one has "repented" from a heretical past must be carried at all times and it can mean the difference between life and death. Abdullah learned that not long after the extremists took over his home village. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) (The Associated Press)

prev next

In this Wednesday, May 27, 2015 photo, a resident sits on a hill overlooking the town of Eski Mosul, Iraq. The hole next to him is a former grave that was opened up by the Islamic State group militants and used as a sniper hideout. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) (The Associated Press)

In this Wednesday, May 27, 2015 photo, a girl holds a broom in the town of Eski Mosul, Iraq, which had been under the control of the Islamic State group for months. Most residents stayed in the town after it was liberated by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in January 2015. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) (The Associated Press)

ESKI MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqis and Syrians who lived under territories held by the Islamic State group say that the extremists have entrenched their rule into a quasi-nation over the past year.

More than 20 people interviewed by The Associated Press describe an extensive bureaucracy run by the group to impose control and spread their radical version of Islamic Shariah law over their territories bridging Iraq and Syria.

Those interviewed provided an array of documents, including copies of "repentance cards" that former government loyalists and police must carry to show they abandoned their "heretical" past.