Report: ISIS preparing for end of its so-called caliphate
FOX NEWS - Islamic State terror leaders are reportedly preparing for the fall of its so-called caliphate after the U.S.-led coalition and Russian-backed forces made significant gains in recent months in Iraq and Syria. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the terror group's leaders in Syria are bracing for its strongholds to fall, but vow to continue its wave of terror attacks abroad. U.S. counterterrorism experts believe the recent large-scale attacks in Istanbul and Baghdad are a sign that its reign in the Middle East is dwindling. Experts still believe that even if the terrorists affiliated with ISIS start to move underground, the group will still remain dangerous abroad.
"Where Al Qaeda was hierarchical and somewhat controlled, these guys are not. They have all the energy and unpredictability of a populist movement," retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden told The Post.
ISIS officials still believe that its vision of a "caliphate" across the Middle East is still viable despite its losses across the region it claims. One also insisted that the group had "shifted some of our command, media and wealth structure to different countries."
Officials in the terror group issued a grim statement to its fighters that soon all could be lost. The Post reported that an editorial in ISIS' weekly Arabic newsletter acknowledged that its territory could be lost just two years have rejoicing in the start of its Islamic State across the Middle East. In the editorial, the group insists that the Islamic State will survive even if its foes take all of its territory. However, US- and Russian-backed forces would have to wait for victory, "until an entire generation of Muslims that witnesses the establishment of the Islamic State and the return of the caliphate … is wiped out."