By Michael Georgy

DUBAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The shooting attack at a Jewish Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach put ​the spotlight on Islamic State, which police said appeared to ​inspire the gunmen.

The men accused of carrying out Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years had spent time in the Philippines, ⁠where Islamic State-linked networks are known to operate.

WHAT IS ISLAMIC STATE?

The Sunni Muslim group emerged in Iraq and Syria and quickly created a "caliphate", declaring its rule over all Muslims and largely displacing al Qaeda.

At the height of its power ​from 2014-2017 it held swathes of the two countries, ruling over millions of people. It ‍had a base only a 30-minute drive from Baghdad, ​and also held the city of Sirte on Libya's Mediterranean coast.

On its territory Islamic State sought to rule like a centralised government, imposing its interpretation of Islamic Sharia law strictly and deploying shocking........

© Al Monitor