The Iraqi government policemen and soldiers in Mosul abandoned their weapons and uniforms with barely a fight against the army of black-clad killers from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terror group. The gunmen quickly laid their hands on a mass of abandoned U.S. military equipment to add to their massive arsenal, ranging from Humvee vehicles to night-sights and body armour. Among the first acts of this ruthless force of Islamic militants was to liberate 2,500 prisoners from two jails - many of them terrorists who immediately joined their ranks. Scroll down for video Brutal: Masked ISIL gunmen gather in the Iraq desert
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) rules nation-sized swathe of land
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Grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, but has eclipsed them in power and brutality
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Boasts 12,000 fighters, many of whom have flooded in from abroad
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Grew stronger thanks to unrest in Syria - and is well-armed and well-funded
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Rules its territory with a ruthless take on Islamic law, involving brutal punishment
Today, it effectively governs a nation-sized area stretching over north and west @placeholder and Syria.