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Page added on July 18, 2015
ISIS Lost Almost 10 Percent of Territory
The Islamic State group (ISIS) saw its territory in Iraq and Syria shrink almost 10 percent in the first six months of the year, as recent victories in Palmyra and Ramadi were outweighed by “significant” losses elsewhere, a report said.
The area in which Islamic State is the dominant military force now spans about 82,940 square kilometers (32,000 square miles), the U.K.-based research center IHS said in a study published Friday. That’s about the size of Austria. The militants lost territory in north Syria near the Turkish border, and in Iraq around the city of Tikrit.
The group’s reverses in Syria mostly came at the hands of Kurds and associated Sunni groups, starting with defeat at Kobani early in the year, report author Columb Strack said in an e-mailed reply to questions.
The real breakthrough though “came with the capture of the Tal Abyad border crossing last month, which was the Islamic State’s main access point to the Turkish border from its de- facto capital in Raqqa,” he said.
In Iraq, most of the territory lost was in the northern province of Salahuddin, most notably Tikrit, which had been seized by Islamic State during its lightening advance across the country’s north last year. It was recaptured by Iraqi forces in March. Islamic State also failed to hold key areas in the central Anbar province, such as the supply corridor from the Syrian border to the provincial capital Ramadi.
Ramadi itself is among the group’s notable gains in the period, and some of those are “arguably of much greater strategic significance” than the territory it lost, Strack said. The group’s consolidation of control in Ramadi and surrounding areas also enabled it to tighten its grip on Fallujah, which it captured earlier, he said.
Islamic State is likely to make further gains in western Syria if President Bashar al-Assad’s army is pushed back, Strack said. Ultimately, the group’s main rival in the areas where it operates may prove to be other radical Islamist movements that are also fighting against Assad and gaining territory, such as the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front, he said.
6 Comments on "ISIS Lost Almost 10 Percent of Territory"
ghung on Sat, 18th Jul 2015 1:49 pm
One of the most asymmetrical conflicts in recent history and the ‘powerful’ US-backed coalition gains back a whopping 10% of territory captured largely with its own weapons. Gosh,, that’s significant, eh?
At least the Kurds have the will to fight…
joe on Sat, 18th Jul 2015 2:21 pm
Break out a map and a quick look will reveal the obvious strategy. Taking and holding all Sunni areas is pointless. All the areas that have oil are controlled by US ‘allies’.
If Sunnis wan to throw each other off roofs and burn people alive, I think the US is willing to let them do it, they mostly do I to each other. When they are done getting ISIS out of their system, playing ‘old timey religious knights’ and want to bring something real to talk about, Im sure the world will listen.
The real war 5/10 years from now is the question of Yemen and the Shia dominated areas of the Persian Gulf. Its called Persian because until the British showed up and created these false ‘trucial states’ it was Shia controlled. When WW3 breaks out , is could easily begin as a Sunni/Shia war for control of oil.
shortonoil on Sat, 18th Jul 2015 6:04 pm
At that rate they should have them driven back to an area, of let’s say, Rode Island in another 100 years. Someone is really kicking some butt!
Is it my imagination, or is the spin machine starting to sputter?
Makati1 on Sat, 18th Jul 2015 9:27 pm
Short, if you ever had a phonograph that played vinyl records, you remember when they got scratched and started to jump and repeat the same bit over and over. That is what seems to be happening to ‘world news’ in the West. Nothing new, just same old in new places and faces.
The rest of the world is starting to see behind the curtain and the MIC wizards are getting nervous. It’s getting harder and harder to sell weapons in a world where the major countries can make their own and the only customers have no money.
The US has resorted to leaving behind billions of dollars worth of hardware and munitions to be scavenged up by the needy ISIS, etc. Or by ‘accidentally’ airdropping them in the wrong place…lol.
But then, the trillion per year that pays for the Military/Security Complex is all printed dollars anyway. The National Debt is mostly war dollars. There would be no national debt if the US had minded it’s own business for the last 70 years.
BobInget on Sat, 18th Jul 2015 9:56 pm
Much attention paid to an intentional act of war killing five US marines in Chattanooga.
The very same day 150 Iraqis paid with their lives in a Baghdad car bomb. Did you all hear anything about that?
Baghdad:
http://www.albawaba.com/news/baghdad-car-bomb-deaths-soar-120-deadliest-attack-year-720654
Another car bomb in SA
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/07/18/isis-claims-responsibility-for-car-bomb-attack-in-saudi-capital/
Nigeria: (3) incidents;
64 dead: http://www.wral.com/multiple-suicide-bombs-kill-64-in-northeastern-nigeria/14778883/
That’s roughly 184 people dead in just two countries.
Google anything mentioned here.
Algeria: http://allafrica.com/stories/201507141096.html
“Egypt in a state of War”
https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/12910.2.0.0/world/terrorism/egypt-in-a-state-of-war
Libya:
ews.antiwar.com/2015/07/12/us-seeks-base-for-drone-war-against-libya/
Yemen:
http://www.thejournal.ie/yemen-saudi-airstrikes-doctors-without-borders-2219942-Jul2015/
Mind you, all of the above are happening rat now. I’m certain if you all didn’t hear of at least one of the above events, your neighbor didn’t either.
penury on Sun, 19th Jul 2015 11:44 am
But, But they were not American Heroes were they?