In early 2014, the Islamic State was quickly gaining power and infamy.
Some US officials labeled the terror group as the country’s greatest security threat,
and according to a number of national polls, most of Americans agreed.
Today, ISIS is struggling financially and has lost much of its territory in Iraq and
Syria.
So, what happened?
Is the Islamic State losing the war?
Well the short answer is, yes.
The Islamic State’s goal is to secure a global caliphate, which they hope to achieve
by waging war, overthrowing foreign governments and erasing existing borders.
With land as their number one objective, the group began taking over major cities and territories
in Iraq and Syria in mid 2014.
They took in million of dollars by looting bank vaults, taxing and extorting residents
and selling stolen oil on the black market.
Over the course of that year, ISIS extended its caliphate across more than 35,000 square
miles.
Combined, that’s roughly the size of the US state of Maine.
But in the years since, ISIS has somewhat fallen off.
According to US government estimates, ISIS has lost nearly half of its holdings in Iraq
and 20 percent in Syria.
They’ve also lost major cities like Fallujah, Kobani and Palmyra, and millions of dollars
in the process, even cutting its soldiers salaries in half.
So what happened?
Well in August and September of 2014, a US-led coalition began arming rebel groups and carrying
out airstrikes on ISIS strongholds.
They also partnered with Kurdish and Iraqi armies on the ground to uproot the terror
group from civilian areas.
As a result of these efforts, the Islamic State has lost an estimated 45,000 fighters,
as well as some of their highest ranking officials, including their minister of war, chemical
weapons specialist, and most recently, their minister of information.
As the Islamic State’s caliphate shrinks, so does its revenue.
With less territory, the group has less taxes to collect, people to extort, banks to rob,
and women to enslave and sell.
What’s more, a large portion of the group’s oil infrastructure and cash depots have been
bombed, slashing one of their biggest sources of funding by more than one-third.
Additionally, the United States has slapped sanctions some of the Islamic State’s top
donor and fundraisers, and new laws by the Iraqi government have made it almost impossible
for the group to receive international funds from banks in their controlled territory.
Nevertheless, the Islamic State continues to operate, mostly relying on tax income from
the territories they do still control - one of which is Mosul, Iraq’s second largest
city and a major source of oil.
In September 2016, the Iraqi military launched an ambitious plan to retake this city, which
some are calling ISIS’s last major stronghold in Iraq.
If they succeed, we could see the beginning of
the end for
the Islamic State’s reign of terror.