What Is The ICO On 'House Of Cards' Season 4? The Terrorist Group Is Messing With The Wrong President

Frank Underwood doesn't take well to threats. The President, while used to people turning against him, is not one to lay down and take whatever people seeking power throw at him. He's a fighter, but there's one force that he's facing in Season 4 of House of Cards and that's terrorist group ICO that is proving to be difficult to beat. In the second half of Season 4 of House of Cards, (spoiler warning for Episode 9 and on) terrorist group ICO — the Islamic Caliphate Organization — captures a family and is holding them hostage until their demands are met by the U.S. government.

We first hear of the Muslim extremist group when a message is intercepted that read: "Soon heads will role at the Euphrates." The threat is then followed up with a video, which shows the Miller family held captive and the captors ordering the U.S government to: end mass murder against Muslims, give billions of dollars in reparations to the Caliphate, and return their leader Yusuf Al Ahmadi. Oh, and they only want to communicate with Will Conway, the GOP candidate for the presidential election.

The group proves to be difficult to work with, naturally. Because they'll only work with Conway, Frank not only feels a bit slighted — he's the President of the United States, after all — but also like he doesn't have control. The government organizes a video conference with the seemingly cooperative Yusuf Al Ahmadi, who is transferred from Guantanamo Bay, and the two men behind the ICO's hostage crisis in order to hopefully convince them to release the family. The meeting goes awry when Yusuf goes against the plan he made with Claire and supports his organization's members.

There's a lot more that happens with the group by the end of the season, but to save you the gory details — actually — I'll say this: the ICO is a rival that is definitely going to throw Frank off of his game. He knows how to screw over a Congressman, or ruin the career of a Senator. That's child's play for him. But, the ICO is a force that Frank Underwood is going to have to pull the big guns out for, and I for one can't wait to see how he "creates terror" as promised in the finale, because no one defeats Frank Underwood. Not a governor from New York, not a reporter, and definitely not a terrorist organization.