The US has said ISIS’ leadership is dwindling and territory shrinking as American-led global coalition has eliminated nearly all of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputies and trusted advisers in a series of strikes.
“ISIS now has no access to international border and this has significantly impacted the overall campaign because they are now a very isolated entity within Syria and it is much harder for them to come in and out, which is critical for them to project their terrorist acts outside of Iraq and Syria,” said Brett McGurk, the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS on Tuesday. “So territory will continue to shrink as we speak and that will continue. ISIS’s leadership ranks are dwindling,” he told reporters at a White House news conference.
Referring to recent strikes against ISIS leaders in Raqqa, he said since the start of the campaign, the US-led international coalition has eliminated nearly all of ISIS leader Baghdadi’s deputies and his trusted advisers.