article_snippet.sent: London (CNN)The Pentagon released a map this week showing coalition forces have taken back 25-30% of Iraqi territory seized by ISIS.
article_snippet.sent: The map, above, shows gains in key central and northern areas of Iraq where the terror group was previously the dominant force.
article_snippet.sent: The gains made in the fight against the terror group by Iraqi security forces and coalition air power certainly look impressive -- although as the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledges it's a dynamic conflict and territory can change hands depending on "daily fluctuations in the battle lines.
article_snippet.sent: What does this information say about the wider fight against ISIS?
article_snippet.sent: CNN asked Afzal Ashraf, a counterinsurgency specialist and consulting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute to give CNN a steer on what this new data tells CNN about the fight against ISIS in Iraq.
article_snippet.sent: So, is the tide turning in Iraq -- is the coalition winning?
article_snippet.sent: Afzal Ashraf: When it comes to insurgencies it's always problematic to think about the tide turning in terms of territorial gains because insurgencies by insurgencies very nature are extremely good at adapting to change.
article_snippet.sent: The one difference between ISIS and insurgencies in general is that ISIS declared ISIS a state, a caliphate once had territory so any loss is very strategic loss of prestige and image for them.
article_snippet.sent: (There have been) significant gains against ISIS -- particularly in Tikrit -- and it's no coincidence we've seen ISIS make spectacular attacks in refugee centers in Syria.
article_snippet.sent: There are losses but most of losses are around the edges of losses territory and what that means is a very conventional push forward by the Iraqi forces.
article_snippet.sent: It's a push against the front line of ISIS rather than being brave and creative and going in behind ISIS's lines and breaking it up.
article_snippet.sent: ISIS seems to be winning there.
article_snippet.sent: Ramadi has been a potential battlefield for the past decade.
article_snippet.sent: But in this context (ISIS) will ... be pushing in Ramadi because that's an area they have lots of support.
highlights_snippet.sent: Pentagon releases map showing coalition forces have taken back 25-30% of Iraq territory from ISIS .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Counterinsurgency specialist Afzal Ashraf on what new data tells us about fight .
  