ISIS Fighters Flee Syria To Enter Iraq

Islamic state members walk in the last besieged neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, February 18. At the height of its power four years ago, Islamic State held about a third of both Iraq and Syria in a self-proclaimed caliphate. REUTERS/Rodi Said

CNN: ISIS fighters have been fleeing from Syria into Iraq, perhaps with millions of dollars in tow

(CNN)More than 1,000 ISIS fighters have likely fled from Syria into the mountains and deserts of western Iraq in the past six months, and they may have up to $200 million in cash with them, according to a US military official familiar with situation.

ISIS fighters have continued to flee even as the final fighting has unfolded in the group's last stronghold in southeastern Syria. Some of the last fighters are also believed to be former members of al Qaeda in Iraq, according to a second official.

The assessments and estimates of ISIS' strength come in the finals days of the physical caliphate, the officials said.

Earlier this month, Gen. Joseph Votel, the four-star general in charge of US military operations in the Middle East, estimated there were 20,000 to 30,000 ISIS fighters remaining -- which lines up with a UN estimate from August. A US Defense Department report from the summer estimated there are between 15,500 and 17,100 ISIS militants in Iraq and another 14,000 in Syria.

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WNU Editor: All the experts and analysts are saying the same thing. ISIS is getting ready to fight another day .... From Syria, IS slips into Iraq to fight another day (AP). I hope they are wrong, and this analysis is correct .... Without territory or new recruits, Islamic State is in its death throes (Jason Burke, The Guardian).