US military officials believe that in the last half year, over 1,000 ISIS fighters including former members of al Qaeda in Iraq have fled from Syria into neighboring Iraq. The fighters could have taken along up to $200 million in cash.
While the officials are convinced that the physical caliphate of ISIS will soon come to an end, recent estimates indicate that there are still between 20,000 and 30,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq. Moreover, one official is convinced that defeating ISIS should be about more than merely ending the physical caliphate. The networks of Islamic State should also be defeated, which include all actors that provide the group with money, weapons and hiding places.
