UN: Islamic State ‘not defeated,’ responsible for most attacks in Iraq and Syria

A new UN report says international terrorist groups carried out more attacks in Iraq and Syria in the last six months of 2018 than in any other country, and Islamic State extremists were primarily to blame.

UN experts said in the report circulated Wednesday that IS and its affiliates “continue to pose the main and best-resourced international terrorist threat, while al-Qaeda remains resilient.”

They say IS “has not yet been defeated” in Syria — contrary to US President Donald Trump’s declaration of victory over the militant group in December and announcement that all 2,000 U.S. troops would be pulled out of Syria.

The experts say IS jihadists remain under “intense military pressure” in their stronghold in eastern Syria, but have “shown a determination to resist and the capability to counter-attack.”

— AP