Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Islamic State Resilient as Ever in Iraq, Syria Jeff Seldin WASHINGTON - Intelligence agencies studying the fate oftheIslamic Statein Iraq fear the terror group is not going anywhere,even as U.S. combat forces in the country prepare to"recededeep into the background"and leave the brunt of the work to Iraqi forces. The assessment is one of the key findings in a report released by the United Nation's sanctionsmonitoringteam, which warns that despite setbacks, IS, also knownasISISorISIL,is poised to be a problem for some time to come in Iraq and in neighboring Syria, as well. "The group has evolved into an entrenched insurgency, exploiting weaknesses in local security to find safe havens and targeting forces engaged in counter-ISIL operations,"according to the reportreleased Friday,which wasbased on member state intelligence. "Attacks in Baghdad in JanuaryandApril 2021 underscore the group's resilience despite heavy counter-terrorism pressure from Iraqi authorities,"the report added.IS"is likely to continue attacking civilians and other soft targets in the capital whenever possible to garner media attention and embarrass the Government of Iraq." In addition to IS'ability to launch attacks in Baghdad,U.N. member state intelligence agencies see the terror group reasserting itself in theDiyala, Salah al-Din and Kirkukgovernorates, where its operatives have carried out a series of attacks on roadslinking one area to another. Intelligence agencies also expressed concern that IS operatives are successfully [1]exploiting poor communicationand coordination amongdifferent Iraqi provinces. "Such attacks indicate that some [2]#ISIL fighters remain sheltered in the [3]#Hamrin mountain range & continue to exploit security gaps & inefficient security coordination in some areas of these governorates" per [4]@UN report -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [5]July 23, 2021 Some intelligence agencies further cautioned that the precarious political situation in Iraq, as well as in Syria,will giveIS more opportunitiesto solidify its status. A weakened IS? In contrast, however, some recent U.S. assessments have been more optimistic. U.S. officials describe IS in Iraq as"diminished,"noting that it may now command as few as 8,000 fighters across Iraq and Syria,afar cry fromthe upwards of 34,000 fighters the terror grouplikely hadduring its heyday. The U.N. report likewiseindicatesthat in some ways, ISisa shellofits former self, having seen Iraqi forceshelpwhittleaway at its leadership. NEW: [6]#Iraq says it has killed the leader of [7]#ISIS in Iraq, Abu Hassan al-Gharibawi Prime Minister [8]@MAKadhimi says al-Gharibawi & another ISIS who helped transport suicide bombers were killed in an operation Tuesday [9]pic.twitter.com/H846e1H5Qn -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [10]February 2, 2021 U.N. member state intelligence agencies also note thatthe group's self-proclaimed caliph,Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimial-Qurashi(also known asAmir MuhammadSa'idAbdal-Rahman al-Mawla)"remains reluctant to communicate directly with supporters,"according to the U.N. assessment. At the same time,its financial resourceshave waned. Intel from [11]@UN member states finds significant decline in [12]#ISIS finances ISIS now thought to have btw $25 million & $50 million, down from hundreds of millions of dollars just a few years ago -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [13]July 23, 2021 Andfor now,at least someofficials remain unconvinced that the decision by the United States to end its combat mission against IS in Iraq will make much a of difference. "They're not going into combat themselves,perhaps the way they were a few years ago,"Bayan Sami AbdulRahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the U.S.,saidof the American forces in Iraqduring a call on Monday."Really, the assistance that they're providing is training, intelligence, airstrikes." However, there is also a reluctance to dismiss the threat. The latest public U.S. assessment of IS in Iraq and Syria cautionedthatthe terror group"remains capable of waging a prolonged insurgency,"warning that no matter what happens on the ground,"the appeal of ISIS's ideology almost certainly will endure." Some experts think that fervor could soon begin to play out on the ground in Iraq, if only in a limited way, for the time being. "There are some areas where it poses a significant threat,where ISIS fighters could potentially carry out assassinations or even an offensive to take territory,"DaveedGartenstein-Ross,acounterterrorism analystandtheCEOof Valens Global,toldVOA. "Certainly,for some smaller towns that are closest to areas ofISIS'strength, ISIS is a great threatthere,"he said. Others warn that no matter what happensas a result ofthe U.S. ending its combat mission in Iraq, IS'propaganda arms willseekto spin it as nothing less than a victory. "The Islamic State will take the decision as evidence of the success of its own strategy,particularly in light of the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan,that the Americans are not willing to commit the resources to stay in the fight over the long term,"Katherine Zimmerman, a fellow attheAmerican Enterprise Institute,told VOA. References 1. https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/islamic-state-exploiting-security-gaps-step-violence-us-partners-warn 2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 3. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamrin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 4. https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 5. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1418605342104162306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 6. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iraq?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 7. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 8. https://twitter.com/MAKadhimi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 9. https://t.co/H846e1H5Qn 10. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1356715851253231619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 11. https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 12. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 13. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1418568999114317827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw .