Security officials believe that the radical Islamic State has lost an estimated 50000 fighters in the last two years since it was embroiled in conflict with coalition forces led by the United States in Iraq and Syria.
This was recently disclosed by senior US officials and security contractors, for which the numbers were sourced from a collective data compiled over the last two years. These figures were attributed to battles fought with the militant ISIS group.
They, however, admit that even with the massive number of casualties from the terror group, ISIS is capable of recruiting new fighters to train and fight for them. Many of whom are spread throughout the world either as new converts through indoctrination or sleeper cells strategically blended with various cultures and societies.
Nonetheless, the huge number of their loss in fighters has indeed caused a set-back to their campaigns and is starting to tighten the grip on their acts of terror. US officials also have not released an official statement that would either confirm how many of the terrorist fighters.
ISIS has claimed numerous terrorist attacks all over the world and has claimed responsibility for a lot of terror attacks committed all over the world. But with the loss, officials believe that they are already gaining good ground in the struggle to regain control of Mosul.
The militant group gained notoriety back in 2014 after it seized control of Iraq's second biggest city. They initially called themselves the Islamic State in Iraq and al- Sham/ the Levant or ISIL. Their surprise attacks also divested money believed to be amounting to $500 million from the Mosul branch of Iraq's Central Bank. They also captured large quantities of weapons and ammunition from the recently rebuilt Iraqi army.
The terror group rebranded themselves as ISIS and continues to take control of more territories in Iraq, once controlled by the Kurds. They leave in their wake thousands of bodies either killed in cold blood or massacred.
The terror group also took advantage of the internet to sow terror and publicize their terrorist acts. They have been responsible for televised executions of Christians, foreign journalists and hostages.
Many security experts tagged the ISIS as being the "best-funded terrorist organization" in recorded history, which has been allegedly getting massive financial funding from wealthy Islamic fundamentalists, as well as controlling revenue-generating interests like oil refineries, human trafficking, selling seized weapons, kidnapping for ransom and other business interests.
