A recent United Nations report estimating that up to 30,000 fighters of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) are present in Iraq and Syria seems to present a higher than actual number of terrorists and should be reexamined, Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve Deputy Commander Felix Gedney said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) A recent United Nations report estimating that up to 30,000 fighters of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) are present in Iraq and Syria seems to present a higher than actual number of terrorists and should be reexamined, Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve Deputy Commander Felix Gedney said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
"That number seems a little bit high and I think we need to look at the methodology of the data on which that estimation is based," Gedney told reporters when asked how the UN estimate compares to the one made by the US-led coalition.
Gedney did not provide details regarding the coalitions estimate, however, he pointed out there are more than a thousand Islamic State fighters in the middle Euphrates river valley.
Most fighters had left the eastern Euphrates only to assemble in the Syrian city of Hajin in the Abu Kamal district. The coalition has said it will deal with these fighters in the final phase of Operation Roundup that is expected to start soon to clear the last remaining pockets of Islamic State-held territory.
However, Gedney said the threat of Islamic State fighters throughout Syria and Iraq remains and the coalition must put enough effort to ensure the security and stabilization of the region after it has been liberated from the Islamic State.
The US-led coalition of more than 70 members has been conducting operations against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq since September 2014. The coalition's strikes in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi officials, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.
