ISIS fighters have continued to flee even as the final fighting has unfolded in the group’s last stronghold in southeastern Syria. Some of the last fighters are also believed to be former members of al Qaeda in Iraq, according to a second official.
The assessments and estimates of ISIS’ strength come in the finals days of the physical caliphate, the officials said.
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Earlier this month, Gen. Joseph Votel, the four-star general in charge of US military operations in the Middle East, estimated there were 20,000 to 30,000 ISIS fighters remaining — which lines up with a UN estimate from August. A US Defense Department report from the summer estimated there are between 15,500 and 17,100 ISIS militants in Iraq and another 14,000 in Syria.
Source: ISIS fighters have been fleeing from Syria into Iraq, perhaps with millions of dollars in tow
