U.S.Led Coalition: Fewer Than 3,000 Islamic State Fighters Remain In Iraq And Syria

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, Iraq, June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Reuters: Coalition says fewer than 3,000 IS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States-led international coalition fighting Islamic State estimates that fewer than 3,000 fighters belonging to the hardline Sunni militant group remain in Iraq and Syria, its spokesman said on Tuesday.

Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate has crumbled this year in Syria and Iraq, with the group losing the cities of Mosul, Raqqa and swathes of other territory.

“Current estimates are that there are less than 3,000 #Daesh fighters left - they still remain a threat, but we will continue to support our partner forces to defeat them,” U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon tweeted, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

Dillon’s tweet was part of his responses to an online question and answer session in which he also said the coalition had trained 125,000 members of Iraqi security forces, 22,000 of which were Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

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Update: Fewer than 3,000 IS fighters left in Iraq, Syria: coalition (AFP)

WNU Editor: There may be only 3,000 fighters left in Iraq and Syria, but I suspect there are hundreds of thousands (if not more) who support their cause.