Since the war on the Islamic State began in earnest in 2014, the United States and its allies have killed an estimated 50,000 Islamic State fighters, according to a senior U.S. military official.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of military operations, called the enemy death toll over two years “a conservative estimate.”
“I’m not into morbid body counts,” the official said, “but that kind of volume matters, that kind of impact on the enemy.”
The high number of Islamic State fighters killed comes despite what the official called “one of the most pristine strike efforts ever engaged by man,” referring to the extraordinary lengths the U.S. goes to avoid collateral damage and unintended civilian casualties.
The U.S. and coalition bombing campaign has “attrited” the Islamic State forces to the point that the campaigns to seize Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria can be successful with what the official called a “surrogate forces” and with just a “light footprint” of America special operations troops.
“We aren’t losing 1,000 guys a year anymore, or a couple of hundred guys a year,” the official said.
As of this year, 10 Americans have died fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The official said while the defeat of the Islamic State in Mosul and Raqqa seems inevitable, that won’t be the end of the battle.
“Truthfully, the hardest part is still in front of us,” the official said. “The hardest part is governance in Iraq, and the hardest part is ‘where are we going with Syria?'”
The official said if President-elect Trump asks for options to accelerate the defeat of the Islamic State, much of the discussion may center on how to beef up the so-called “hold force” to make sure hard-won gains are not lost.
“The discussion of life after Mosul and life after Raqqa are happening in earnest right now,” the official said. One thorny problem, he said, is how to handle Turkey, which wants to play a role in both Iraq and Syria, in areas where there is a heavy Turkmen population.
“We’re trying to balance that as well.”
