Aug 8, 2018

The Pentagon has more Islamic State fighters left to defeat in Syria than it has previously acknowledged, according to a US government watchdog.

As US-backed forces begin targeting IS remnants near the Iraqi border, as many as 4,000 to 6,000 IS fighters remain in their former stronghold in northeastern Syria, a joint inspector general report to Congress on Monday revealed.

The figure, attributed to a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment, would accord IS significantly more troop strength than the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged.

Pentagon officials estimated in December last year that as many as 2,000 IS fighters remained in Syria. The coalition has since stopped providing public estimates for IS remnants, but has not given a reason for halting estimates, even as it enters the final stage of so-called Operation Roundup that is aimed at clearing the city of Hajin near the border, where three divisions of Iraqi troops are holding a blocking position.

Defense Department spokesman Cmdr. Sean Robertson said DIA’s figure “speaks for itself” and in response to a question from Al-Monitor the Pentagon did not provide a reason for halting public estimates of IS fighters. US-led coalition spokesman Col. Thomas Veale told reporters in June that he had “nothing to add” to previous estimates that had ranged between 1,000 to 3,000 militants in Syria.