U.S military can’t take out remaining ISIS terrorists because they’re hiding in tunnels

As 2018 draws to a close, it is unclear if U.S. troops and their Arab-Kurdish allies have made a dent in ISIS’ last stronghold in Syria.

A spokesman for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria estimated in December 2017 that fewer than 3,000 ISIS fighters remained in both countries. Since then, defense officials have said consistently that roughly 2,000 ISIS fighters are trapped in Syria’s Middle Euphrates River Valley.

Army Capt. Sean Ryan, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, repeated the 2,000 figure when briefing reporters on Tuesday. However, it is difficult to determine exactly how many ISIS fighters remain in their last enclave in Syria because they are dug in deeply and the terrain is difficult for combat operations, he said.

“The numbers game is difficult to count because ISIS is underground – they’re in tunnels; they’re hiding,” Ryan said. “So it’s not like we watch them walk into to a building and we’re counting as they go in. They’re spread apart.”

When asked about why the numbers had not changed, Ryan told Task & Purpose in an email there could be a variety of factors: “In October, Gen. Dunford stated new followers were arriving, mostly over the Turkish border, at a rate of about 100 a month.”

“The early estimates from December probably did not take into account the elaborate industrial strength tunnels where many ISIS were hiding in the MERV and the size of the area. The 3,000 may have been conservative and currently, we believe it is around 1,500-2,000, and more difficult to reinforce now with stricter border security throughout the region.”

Source: Task And Purpose