The territory held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is shrinking, and they are losing the battle online, the Obama administration said on Sunday. “The number in Syria is anywhere between 16 to 20 percent”, abc.net.au quoted him as saying.
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The Defence Department had previously estimated that IS fighters had lost control of about 40 per cent of the territory they claimed in Iraq and about 10 per cent of the land they held in Syria.
Earnest’s remarks came hours after capital Baghdad was rocked by one of the deadliest ISIS bombings targeting markets and a restaurant in Shiite-dominated neighborhoods, killing at least 69 people.
Counter-terrorism forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, entered the town from the south and took control of al-Intisar district, the force’s spokesman Sabah al-Numan said they expect to reach the center of the town by next morning.
(CNN)ISIS’ latest rampage in Iraq has killed over 115 people in just the past week.
USA and Iraqi forces have repeatedly stressed how IS has gone into retreat in recent weeks, even as the militant group has lashed out with spectacular and deadly attacks on civilian targets in Baghdad and other population centers.
But as Islamic State militants are pushed back along front lines, the group is increasingly turning to insurgency-style terrorist attacks to keep pressure on the Iraqi government. When it swept into Iraq from Syria in 2014, it resembled a conventional military force that operated in large formations and employed heavy weapons.
However, ISIS groups still control big and main areas including Mosul, which Iraqi authorities have pledged to retake this year.
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The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. “It may be that this is the group adapting and accepting that it is no longer able to expand and seize more territory”, he said.
