The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, often abbreviated as "ISIL" and pronounced as such, is a militant Islamist terrorist group. It is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham, abbreviated as "ISIS" (and pronounced the same as the ancient Egyptian goddess, Isis) or sometimes as just Islamic State "IS", which has caused name changes to distinguish other entities from the group.