Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Axios
Axios
World
Orion Rummler

Last ISIS-held territory seized by U.S.-backed Syrian forces, but fighters remain

An SDF fighter overlooks the village of Baghouz. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images

The last ISIS-held territory in the Middle East — Baghouz, Syria — was seized by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday, reports CBS.

The big picture: CBS says, "the U.S. military estimates an underground network of hundreds of thousands of ISIS supporters remain a threat." Also on Wednesday, President Trump said that ISIS will be "gone by tonight," per Politico.


Reality check: According to 3 reports referenced by NYT reporter Rukmini Callimachi, as of January 2019 "ISIS is estimated to have between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters just in Iraq and Syria ... that's more than 20–30 times what they had in 2010."

Go deeper: Intelligence chiefs say ISIS is still active around the world

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.