ISLAMIC STATE
Scattered, Not Broken
The United Nations warned that 20,000 to 30,000 Islamic State militants remain in Syria and Iraq, including “many thousands of active foreign terrorist fighters,” the BBC reported Tuesday.
Despite the deaths of numerous commanders and planners, a significant number of militants are still fully engaged militarily, the UN report said. Meanwhile, a “reduced, covert version” of IS will likely prove difficult to eliminate in both countries.
In addition to the fighters in Iraq and Syria, IS maintains “significant” affiliates in Afghanistan, Libya, Southeast Asia and West Africa, while al Qaeda is stronger in areas such as Somalia and Yemen, the UN said.
As many as 40,000 foreign jihadists traveled to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic State during its heyday, but the exodus of these militants since the recapture of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria last year has been “lower than expected,” the report said.
A reminder of that continued presence: Last month, more than 200 people were killed in a large-scale IS attack in southwest Syria.
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