About 45,000 fighters of the jihadist group Islamic State have been killed in Iraq and Syria as a result of the ongoing operation two years ago the international coalition headed by the United States. This was announced by US General Sean MacFarland, commander of the coalition operations.
“We estimate that over the past 11 months, we’ve killed about 25,000 enemy fighters. When you add that to the 20,000 estimated killed (previously), that’s 45,000 enemy (fighters) taken off the battlefield,” said the general.
According to him, at present IS has between 15,000 and 30,000 fighters, but for the group is very difficult to fill its ranks. “The number of fighters on the front line has diminished. They’ve diminished not only in quantity but also in quality — we don’t see them operating nearly as effectively as they have in the past, which makes them even easier targets for us,” added Gen. MacFarland.
Furthermore, Islamic State has also lost 25,000 square km area in Iraq and Syria as a result of military operations against it by land and air.
(Soma)
