A United Nations report revealed on Tuesday that ISIS is still active through cells in several cities in Iraq and Syria that were under its control.
It said that the Jaysh Khaled bin al-Walid group alone has some 700 to 1,500 fighters operating east of the Euphrates River.
Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy of the report, which also warned that the al-Qaeda terrorist network was still active and that its al-Nusra Front affiliate still boasts some 7,000 to 11,000 fighters.
The report said that ISIS had effectively lost all the territories it had controlled in Iraq and Syria, but it is now turning into “a global network, with a flat hierarchy and less operational control over its affiliates,” with some members willing to cooperate with al-Qaeda networks “to support one another’s attacks.”
As a result of the changing threat, the report said the fight against the extremist group is entering a new phase “with more focus on less visible networks of individuals and cells acting with a degree of autonomy.”
The report to the Security Council circulated Tuesday said ISIS “has lost its focus on conquering and holding territory” but is continuing “to give prominence to external attacks.”
“In future, it will focus primarily on a smaller and more motivated group of individuals willing to fight or conduct attacks,” the experts said.