"The militants are now more skilled and more dangerous than al-Qaeda, according to Lahur Talabany, a top Kurdish counter-terrorism official.
“They have better techniques, better tactics and a lot more money at their disposal,” he said. “They are able to buy vehicles, weapons, food supplies and equipment. Technologically they’re more savvy. It’s more difficult to flush them out. So, they are like al-Qaeda on steroids.”
“We see the activities are increasing now, and we think the rebuilding phase is over,” said Mr Talabany, who heads the Zanyari Agency, one of two intelligence agencies in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A different kind of IS has emerged, he says, which no longer wants to control any territory to avoid being a target. Instead - like their predecessors in al-Qaeda before them - the extremists have gone underground, in Iraq’s Hamrin Mountains."
Welp. What now? There’s something like 15-20,0000 ISIS fighters left in Iraq and Syria, and they’re going back to an Iraq-war style Insurgency, except with more expertise and resources available to them than Al Qaeda et al ever had.
And one wonders they are getting the cash flow from, assuming it’s not leftovers from the Caliphate.
Doesn’t look like taking out Baghdadi has slowed them down much unfortunately.
There is an endless supply of potential ISIS fighters from all around the world. All countries should ban them from ever returning…period. The next time a ruthless dictator takes over and keeps ISIS in check because they are more ruthless than ISIS, leave the dictator alone. The problem you create is bigger than the one you’re trying to solve.
Somewhere at an undisclosed safe house in Iraq, Jihad Jerry is splashing around in the water having a gran ol’ time with his new American friends, discussing the where’s and how’s.
There are growing indications that the Islamic State (IS) group is re-organizing in Iraq, two years after losing the last of its territory in the country.
In Trump’s first year ISIS lost all the territory they had gained in Obama’s 8 years and the money BO sent has enabled them to “re” emerge.
We didn’t exterminate them we defeated them. Nothing false in that statement. We can not control if they decide to do it again, many examples in history of that.
That is just a complete fabrication. What the heck do you think they were doing when they wanted a Caliphate? They can not do that because they were defeated.
The only thing correct in that statement is they adapted.
