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IS ideology will still lure the marginalized
The IS may fade out in Iraq and Syria physically, but its ideology will remain alive.
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In victory: Members of the Iraqi forces celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on July 10 after the government's announcement of the (AFP/Fadel Senna)
F
inally, after fierce fighting for more than eight months, Iraqi Prime Minister Heidar al-Abadi on July 9 declared the great victory of Iraqi forces over the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul.
Mosul, the country’s secondbiggest city after Baghdad, was the de facto capital of the IS in Iraq. In Syria, the terrorist group has also been under pressure in various cities since September last year.
In Jarablous and Al-Bab, it is subjugated by Turkish forces. In Palmyra, President Bashar alAssad’s forces have defeated the IS. Meanwhile, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled the IS from Manbij and Tabqa.
The SDF is currently encircling Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS in Syria. Considering its limited armament and personnel and the huge enemy forces, like Iraq’s Shiite militia (Hashid Shaabi), Iraq’s Kurdish militia (Peshmerga), Iraq’s Sunni militia, Turkish, Syrian, Iranian and SDF forces — assisted by United States-led coalition airstrikes — the IS cannot avoid defeat.
However, the fate of the IS in Iraq and Syria shall not be sealed very soon. They are still holding out in towns near the IraqSyrian border, like Tal Afar and Hawija.
They even still control Deir azZour, an oil city in eastern Syria, and some enclaves in various parts of Syria.
Out of these places they are still able to unleash terror on Iraqi and Syrian cities. From Iraq and Syria, the IS is even capable of recruiting and driving its supporters to carry out terror attacks all over the world.
