The ISIS group has been eroded by international efforts to crush the jihadist group but its ability to mount devastating attacks on the West remains very real, defence and security experts say.
As France prepares to mark the first anniversary of the Paris attacks by the group on November 13, analysts say military defeats in its strongholds in Iraq and Syria will almost certainly not make its Western targets any safer.
“Depriving ISIS of control over population centres and sanctuary to raise funds and train fighters, and breaking it up as key organisation, matters,” said Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), using another name for the group.
“Defeating it in any practical sense, however, will not begin to deal with the lasting threat,” he added.