Islamic State’s contingent of fighters in Syria and Iraq has fallen from about 31,000 to 25,000 according to a US intelligence report revealed by the White House.
Officials in Washington cited battlefield casualties and desertions to explain the roughly 20% decrease and said the report showed a US-led campaign against Isis was making progress.
US-backed security forces in Iraq, and tribal militias and moderate opposition groups in Syria, contributed, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, alongside a US-led air campaign that has launched more than 10,000 strikes against the Islamist extremists.
The announcement came as Saudi Arabia offered to send group troops into Syriaas part of “any ground operations that the coalition [against Isis] may agree to carry out”.
Earnest said the new US intelligence estimate “means they continue to be a substantial threat, but the potential numbers have declined”.
“Isis has sustained significant casualties,” Earnest said.
Ground fighting efforts by coalition partners of the United States are having an effect in the conflict against Islamic State, he said, while international efforts were beginning to stem the flow of foreigners seeking to join the movement.
“Isil is having more difficulty than they’ve had before in replenishing their ranks, and we have long been aware of the need of the international community to cooperate to stop the flow of foreign fighters to the region,” said Earnest.
The new intelligence report of 19,000-25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria contrasts with 2014 estimates of 20,000-31,000 fighters.
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