Where Did The Islamic State Fighters Go?

Two civilians carry belongings they collected from their damaged house in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic State controlled the northern Iraqi city for three years before being driven out last year. ISIS no longer controls any cities, but small groups of fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, and are still considered a … Continued

Felipe Dana / AP

The Islamic State no longer controls cities. Its previously large ranks are decimated. Survivors have scattered into the desert. Yet ISIS still has militants with weapons and plans for renewed mayhem.

“We have repeatedly said in this room, the war is not over,” Defense Secretary James Mattis noted last week at the Pentagon.

He said U.S. forces are still tracking down small pockets of ISIS fighters. In Iraq, the U.S. is still working closely with the Iraqi security forces, in hopes they can take full control of the country’s territory.