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The Elimination of al-Baghdadi: A Limited Shockwave
(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Yoram Schweitzer - ISIS continues to commit terrorist attacks and guerilla operations in Syria and Iraq on a weekly basis. A Pentagon report from July 2019 assesses that it has 14,000-18,000 combatants. Potential combat reinforcements may be added from among ISIS members held in detention and camps controlled by the Kurds in Syria. There have already been reports about hundreds of ISIS combatants escaping from detention. Moreover, ISIS partners throughout the world are continuing their terrorist activities under the symbolic umbrella of the Islamic State "camp." The continuing activities of these forces will continue to pose a regional and global threat. Thus, the elimination of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is far from heralding the downfall of ISIS. The writer heads the Program on Terrorism and Low-Intensity Conflict at INSS, following a distinguished career in the Israeli intelligence community.