The U.S. military says its campaign against the Islamic State has resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of foreign fighters flocking to Iraq and Syria to replenish the group.
The U.S. second-in-command of the anti-Islamic State operations said that a year ago there were 1,500 to 2,000 foreign fighters entering the fight a month, which was providing the group with a steady flow of fresh reinforcements.
In a Tuesday briefing from Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten told reporters, “Now that we’ve been fighting this enemy for a year, our estimates are down to around 200.”
Gersten said with the group’s territory shrinking, and as it faces increasing pressure from a variety of U.S. backed groups, the Islamic State is showing signs of losing its combat effectiveness.
“We’re actually seeing an increase in the desertion rates in these fighters. We’re seeing a fracture in their morale. We’re seeing their inability to pay.”
But Gersten would not provide an estimate of the number of Islamic State fighters who remain on the battlefield. When asked how many had been removed from the fight, he replied, “The answer is not enough.”
