Iraq has lost nearly 40% of its territory in Iraq and about 20% of its territory in Syria.
In the last 15 months ISIS has lost nearly a quarter of its territory according to the leading research company IHS. Since January 2015 the militant group has lost 22% of its territory and 8% of the loses were in the last 3 months.
“The tide of the war is turning against” ISIS, said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS’ Conflict Monitor. He added in a statement that the extremist group was “increasingly isolated, and being perceived as in decline.”
Strack added that the ‘’major losses’’ for the group in Syria come as the group’s domestic rivals have made advances under the cover of U.S. and Russian airstrikes.
The information was confirmed by other sources as well. A day before the data by IHS was released, the State Department spokesman John Kirby made a statement in which he said that there had been ‘’more and more defections’’ from ISIS in the recent weeks.
“Fighters are becoming disenfranchised… and are in increasing numbers choosing to leave the group,” Kirby told reporters, adding that the jihadis were increasingly reliant on child soldiers to battle “side-by-side with adult fighters.”
Additionally, the U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren announced that nearly half of the ISIS-controlled territory in Iraq is liberated and emphasized on the fact that ISIS have not made any progress since May in the region.
The Pentagon spokesperson, Steve Warren said during a press conference that “24,000 square kilometers of the Iraqi land were liberated in Tikrit, Baiji, Ramadi, Heet and some other cities,” Iraqi News reported.
He noted that, “The liberated territories represent nearly 40% of the areas that were controlled by ISIL.”
Written by Yoana Manoilova for South Front
