‘Signal of command and control’: New ISIS audio shows consolidation, not comeback, analysts say
Leadership messaging points to internal discipline and network survival rather than renewed territorial expansion.
Leadership messaging points to internal discipline and network survival rather than renewed territorial expansion.
ISIS members fleeing Syria were reportedly hunted down and killed in northern Iraq, illustrating the continued threat of ISIS.
Elimination of last ISIS bastion leads to new challenges as US faces off against Iran, Russia and Turkey in its Syria policy.
The "caliphate" was declared defeated today by Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mustafa Bali.
"Baghouz has been liberated. The military victory against Daesh has been accomplished," wrote the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces on Twitter.
Some of ISIS's fighters are still holed up in the central Syrian desert and others have gone underground in Iraqi cities to wage an insurgent campaign to destabilize the government.
Bilal al-Marchohi, 23, was given the death penalty for belonging to and conducting operations on behalf of the group.
The Syrian Democratic Forces and the US-led Coalition hope this is the final battle, after months of laying siege to Baghuz.
The SDF and Coalition launched a major operation to defeat ISIS in a small area along the Euphrates river in September 2018.
A final battle against ISIS illuminates the failures of the war to destroy it.
Many of the jihadists slipped in clandestinely, sparking fears they could become involved in terrorist activities within the country.