Syrian forces backed by the United States are struggling to contain ISIS following President Donald Trump's partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, a Defense Department watchdog warned
"We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency," Trump wrote in December
Trump announced in December that the U.S. would soon reduce its fighting force in Syria, surprising allies and prompting the departure of then-Defense Secretary James Mattis. But the report, which largely summarizes the views of the U.S. military force overseeing operations against ISIS, says that the group remains a threat in Iraq and Syria despite the loss of its final stronghold in Syria earlier this year.
In Syria, it also began to reestablish "illicit fundraising capabilities" which the report likened to "taxes" on residents and businesses where it operates, the inspector general found. In Iraq, it was able to establish logistics nodes for coordinating attacks, bolstered by fighters who arrived from Syria following their final territorial defeat in March.
"Despite losing its territorial 'caliphate,' the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was resurging in Syria this quarter," the report says.
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