Did A Top U.S. General Make-Up A Number When He Was Asked On How Many Foreign Fighters Are Joining The Islamic State?

Reuters: U.S. military softens claims on drop in Islamic State's foreign fighters

The U.S. military on Thursday retreated from a top general's claim this week that the number of foreign fighters joining Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has plummeted by as much as 90 percent.

Air Force Major General Peter Gersten, deputy commander for operations and intelligence in the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State, told reporters on Tuesday that the number of foreign fighters joining the group had fallen to 200 a month from between 1,500 and 2,000.

U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition, told Reuters that the official estimate is higher than the one Gersten offered, although he did not provide a precise figure.

"We believe the foreign fighter flow was 2,000 at one point and is now down to a quarter or less of that," Warren said. That would equal roughly 500 fighters per month, or a drop of about 75 percent from the peak.

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WNU Editor: It appears that the number the General quoted on the decrease of foreign fighters  joining the Islamic State .... and was widely reported .... Islamic State Having Trouble Recruiting Foreign Fighters .... was a number that was simply made up.