It’s been a rough several months for the Islamic State in its quixotic effort to build a viable functioning nation-state. The Kurds and the Iraqi military keep slicing meaty territorial chunks from its flanks; the group is slashing its fighters’ salaries to make up for financial shortfalls; the U.S. continues its ruthless targeting of its leadership and infrastructure. President Obama recently told his national security team, “I want to make totally clear that there will be absolutely no cease-fire with respect to ISIL. We remain relentless in going after them.”
Given the Islamic State’s increasingly tenuous grip on major Iraqi urban centers—Ramadi fell in late December, the city of Hit is next on the chopping block, and there are plans to liberate the northern stronghold of Mosul—it might seem odd the group is devoting finite personnel and resources to striking outside the borders of both Iraq and Syria proper.
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