In one of his last interviews in 2020, Iraq’s foremost security expert, Hisham al-Hashimi, spoke of the resurgence of IS. Three weeks later he was murdered in Baghdad. The incident caused shockwaves and revealed that Iraq's fragile status as an independent, secular country is being fatally undermined by both sides of the sectarian religious divide. This investigation examines the resurgence of IS and the implications for Iraq's future.