Fierce combat waged against ISIS fighters hellbent on savage dominion was ravaging Syria in 2014 when a revolution unlike any other began turning the tide.
Since about half of 2,000 special operations and other train-advise-assist forces returned to the U.S. in the spring, ISIS has been staging a comeback, according to an inspector general report from DoD, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development released Tuesday.
A year after it was routed from Iraq in a devastating war that left entire neighborhoods and towns in ruins, the Islamic State group is fighting to hang on to its last enclave in eastern Syria, engaging in deadly battles with U.S.-backed forces.
Iraqi and coalition planes have stepped up airstrikes on Islamic State targets in the town of Tal Afar ahead of a planned offensive there, Iraq’s air force commander said on Tuesday.
High-ranking Iraqi security officials say up to 7,000 Islamic State group affiliates remain in Iraq after the fall of Mosul, where the group's leader declared the self-styled caliphate three years ago.
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