The Islamic State has lost over a quarter of the territory it grabbed in Iraq and Syria over the past 19 months, according to a new report by IHS. In Iraq, IS is now only able to hold on to about half its former territory, down from more than 90 percent at the start of 2015. This news comes ahead of a large scale assault on Mosul, the last major ISIS stronghold in Iraq. " The Islamic State's territorial losses since July are relatively modest in scale, but unprecedented in their strategic significance. The loss of direct road access to cross-border smuggling routes into Turkey severely restricts the group's ability to recruit new fighters from abroad, while the Iraqi government is poised to launch its offensive on Mosul," said IHS Conflict Monitor's Columb Strack.
The Islamic State has lost over a quarter of the territory it grabbed in Iraq and Syria over the past 19 months, according to a new report by IHS. Land controlled by the terrorist group has fallen from 90,800sq km in January 2015 to 65,500 sq km as of 3 October this year, marking a 27.9% loss. This news comes ahead of a large scale assault on Mosul, the last major ISIS stronghold in Iraq. "The Islamic State's territorial losses since July are relatively modest in scale, but unprecedented in their strategic significance. The loss of direct road access to cross-border smuggling routes into Turkey severely restricts the group's ability to recruit new fighters from abroad, while the Iraqi government is poised to launch its offensive on Mosul," said IHS Conflict Monitor's Columb Strack.