UN report : 20,000-30,000 Daesh terrorists remain in Iraq, Syria

A report published by the United Nations says thousands of Daesh terrorists have maintained presence in Iraq and Syria despite the Takfiri group’s defeat and a halt in the flow of foreign militants joining its ranks.

A report published by the United Nations says thousands of Daesh terrorists have maintained presence in Iraq and Syria despite the Takfiri group’s defeat and a halt in the flow of foreign militants joining its ranks.

The report by UN sanctions monitors revealed on Monday that the total Daesh membership in Iraq and Syria was “between 20,000 and 30,000 individuals, roughly equally distributed between the two countries.”

The report also estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Daesh terrorists were based in Libya, while some of the key operatives in the Takfiri outfit were being relocated to Afghanistan.

Daesh once controlled large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, but was driven out of its two strongholds – Mosul and Raqqah – last year.

Daesh “is still able to mount attacks inside Syrian territory. It does not fully control any territory in Iraq, but it remains active through sleeper cells” of agents hiding out in the desert and elsewhere, according to the report.