US experts: Daesh not defeated despite losing territory in Iraq, Syria

US experts warned that Daesh has not been defeated despite losing major territories in Iraq and Syria.

The Institute for the Study of War explained in a new report titled “ISIS’s Second Comeback: Assessing the next ISIS insurgency” that in August 2018 Daesh had as many as 30,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria “an army large enough to recapture Fallujah, Mosul and other cities in Iraq and dominate much of eastern Syria in only three years”.

According to the report, US President Donald Trump has made a mistake by announcing that the group had been eliminated.

READ: Iraq court sentences Daesh member to death for kidnapping, killing Yazidis

The report called on the United States to take all security precautions and prepare for this return, adding that the slowdown in the fight against Daesh has given the group time to plan and prepare for the next phase of the war.

The report said the group still maintains a global funding network that supports its return, especially with its members being able to rebuild its media capabilities and supply it with weapons and equipment to serve its new recruits.

According to the report, the group began rebuilding its main capabilities late last year.