Reuters
Reuters: Less than 1,000 IS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, coalition says
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Fewer than 1,000 Islamic State fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, the United States-led international coalition fighting the hardline Sunni militant group said on Wednesday, a third of the estimated figure only three weeks ago.
Iraq and Syria have both declared victory over Islamic State in recent weeks, after a year that saw the two countries’ armies, a range of foreign allies and various local forces drive the fighters out of all the towns and villages that once made up their self-proclaimed caliphate.
The United States has led an international coalition conducting air strikes against Islamic State since 2014 when the group swept across a third of Iraq. U.S. troops have served as advisers on the ground with Iraqi government forces and with Kurdish and Arab groups in Syria.
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WNU Editor: I suspect that the numbers are actually much higher, and the survivors are trying to blend back into society and/or are hiding .... Foreign jihadists hide in deserts of Syria and Iraq to evade justice (The Times). Bottom line .... the Islamic State is going to continue to be a threat in 2018 .... ISIS will remain a threat in 2018, experts warn (NBC).
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