UN report, "Isis and Al Qaeda, far from dead". 30 thousand fighters around the world

The Islamic State has as many as 30.000 members engaged in Iraq and Syria, according to a United Nations report. Last month, the Iraqi government announced that the war against the group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), had been won. The statement was echoed by US President Donald Trump, who said the war against the Sunni militant group was "98%" won. But now two new reports, one produced by the United States Department of Defense and the other by a group of UN experts, warn that both ISIS and al-Qaeda remain powerful, popular and dangerous in Iraq, Syria and in many other regions of the world.
The UN report was released by the UN Sanctions Assistance Analysis Support Group, which is tasked with monitoring the impact of international sanctions imposed by the UN. The report acknowledges that ISIS suffered unprecedented military defeats in Iraq and Syria last year, and that many of its strongest fighters died or fled conflict zones in the region. But he warns that the organization is turning into a "secret version" where its organizational core remains largely intact in both Iraq and Syria. The organizational core is supported by 30.000 members, who are equally divided between the two countries. The US Pentagon report, delivered to Congress this week, claims that ISIS has 1700 fighters in Iraq and another 14.000 in Syria. Many of the conflict survivors are citizens of dozens of different countries around the world. Some of them are still engaged in armed combat, while others are "hiding in supportive communities and urban areas", especially in Iraq, the UN report said.
There are also tens of thousands of ISIS fighters and supporters in Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt and several countries in West Africa and Southeast Asia, according to the authors of the reports. These fighters are led by commanders who remain in contact with senior ISIS leaders and continue to worship Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the central figure of the group. In addition to ISIS, al-Qaeda still remains strong and dangerous, according to the UN report. Its regional structure "continues to show resilience" and in some regions of the world it is much stronger than ISIS. These include several regions of Africa, including areas of Somalia and the Sahel, as well as Yemen, where al-Qaeda has at least 7.000 armed fighters strong.

UN report, "Isis and Al Qaeda, far from dead". 30 thousand fighters around the world

| INTELLIGENCE |