ISIS Threat Persists Even As Capital Slips from its Grasp

Smoke rises in Raqqa, Syria.
Black smoke rises from Raqqa city where U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters battle against Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, northeast Syria, Thursday, July 27, 2017. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters have captured almost half of the Islamic State group’s de facto capital of Raqqa, but the push into the city in northern Syria has slowed due to stiff resistance and large amounts of explosives planted by the extremists, a spokeswoman for the fighters and monitors said Thursday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The end is near for the battle for Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate, but the terrorist group still has ways of raising funds and plenty of cash on hand — and still remains a threat near and far.

Although U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday announced they had liberated the city from ISIS control, some fighting remains.  Col. Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, said that reports of complete victory are premature, but confirmed that “Raqqa is 90 percent cleared” of ISIS fighters and it is only a matter of time before the terrorist group is completely ousted from the city.

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