ISLAMABAD/BAGHDAD: Iraqi General Qais al-Mohamadawi, part of an anti-jihadist coalition, has said that up to 500 Islamic State (IS) fighters were still in his country.
However, Gen Mohamadawi said that the IS, now mainly based in remote desert and mountain areas, has “lost its ability to attract new recruits.”
Speaking at a press conference, General Mohamadawi, the deputy commander of the Iraqi operations unit working with the international anti-jihadist coalition, said that according to intelligence agencies, the total number of IS fighters did not exceed 500 and they were active in three or four provinces.
He also talked about a February 26 military operation that had killed 22 IS fighters and destroyed a “training camp” in Al-Anbar province.
The United Nations, in a report published last month, said that IS still has “5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters” across Iraq and Syria, and roughly half of them were fighters.”
In 2014, the IS launched its self-proclaimed “caliphate” across vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in a crusade marked by its brutality, including mass killings, torture, rape and slavery.
US-backed militants ended their territorial hold in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019 but IS cells continue targeting security forces and civilians in both countries.
US commander warns against IS fighters
With thousands of alleged IS fighters and their relatives now held in vast detention camps in Iraq, head of US Central Command Gen Michael Kurilla warned on Saturday of the persistent threat from IS fighters in detention.
The UN report said IS had been much depleted by “sustained counter-terrorism operations” in Iraq and Syria.
The report said that the extremist group still operates cells of up to 30 individuals across Syria and continues “guerrilla warfare tactics” against Syrian forces, other fighters, and civilians.
“IS cells operate in Iran’s rural mountain areas, taking advantage of the porous Iraqi-Syrian border and retaining manoeuvrability to escape attacks” while trying to “rebuild and recover”, the UN report said.
The report estimated IS’s cash reserves at $50 million and said it had started investing in hotels and real estate to shore up money and engaging in cattle rustling to raise funds.
