7,000 ISIS firefighters have taken advantage of the pandemic of coronavirus to reorganize themselves in Iraq, according to a Kurdish general.
Arbil-based Peshmerga leader Sirwan Barzani said the lack of anti-ISIS operations in the area had allowed jihadists to emerge from hiding, the Times reports.
Speaking to the paper, the Kurdish general said the group remained a major threat to the entire world, estimating that more than 7,000 ISIS fighters are still in Iraq.
Barzani explained that with the liberation of Islamic State territory, many of the warriors shaved their beards and made them members of the public.
Kurdish generalist Sirwan Barzani (pictured) has warned that an Islamic State has used the pandemic of coronavirus to reorganize Iraq in their thousands
The Peshmerga leader (pictured in 2015) said the group remained a major threat to the entire world, estimating that more than 7,000 Isis fighters are still in Iraq
He said: ‘They reorganized more quickly because of the pandemic. ‘
The coronavirus pandemic was cited by Barzani as one of the reasons why ISIS was able to regroup, as coalition forces had not been doing such a consistent job.
He said last month’s RAF strike against a depot containing an IEDn was the first action taken by British forces in three months.
However, a spokesman for the defense ministry told the Times that the pandemic had not affected the frequency of coalition attacks and that strikes were an intelligence-led ‘final step’.
Consortium training of Iraqi and Kurdish forces was suspended in January last year after a U.S. aircraft carrier killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
The coronavirus pandemic was cited by Barzani as one of the reasons why ISIS was able to regroup, as coalition forces had not been doing such a consistent job. Pictured: Iraqi soldiers training with members of the U.S. Army on June 2, 2015
Barzani explained that when the Islamic State lands were liberated, many of the beasts shook their beards and set themselves up as members of the public. Pictured: International coalition forces and Iraqi forces will install a floating bridge at the Taji camp, north of Baghdad, on March 6, 2017
The same training was stopped again when the spread of coronavirus infection began.
After the Taji Camp was handed over in northern Baghdad to Iraqi forces, only 100 British troops remain, and only 2,500 American troops remain stationed in the country.
It comes after two ISIS terrorist cells were destroyed by RAF fighter jets using laser-guided bombs in Iraq.
A pair of RAF Typhoon FGR4s carried out simultaneous attacks using two Paveway IV guided bombs to kill the terrorists stationed in two caves near Bayji, a city 130 miles north of Baghdad.
A coalition surveillance plane had found several ISIS fighters on January 24 and the two fighter jets were called to strike, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defense.
There are now only 2,500 American troops still stationed in Iraq and 100 British troops. Pictured: File image of U.S. soldiers walking through the city of Oreji, south of Mosul on February 22, 2017
After the Taji Camp (pictured) handed over in northern Baghdad to Iraqi forces, only 100 British troops remain, and only 2,500 American troops remain stationed in the country
The pilots surveyed the area around the caves, which were a mile and a half apart, for any signs of a civilian who might be in danger. They then placed two laser-guided bombs against each group.
‘The four bombs hit the targets correctly and the strike was deemed successful in eliminating the threat of terrorism,’ the MoD said. They did not reveal how many casualties there were.
Coalition work against ISIS began in 2014 when America began a bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, and began supporting ground forces – largely led by the Kurds – to the terrorist group to push back.
In early 2016, the U.S. estimated that ISIS had lost 40 percent of the 36,000 square miles of land it held.
The following year ISIS lost the battle for Mosul, its last stronghold in Iraq, shortly before its expulsion from Aleppo in Syria.
Last month, two ISIS terrorist cells found hidden in caves were destroyed by British RAF fighter jets using laser-guided bombs in Iraq. Pictured: The explosion following the airstrikes
A pair of RAF Typhoon FGR4s carried out simultaneous attacks using two Paveway IV guided bombs to kill the terrorists stationed in two caves near Bayji, a city 130 miles north of Baghdad.
In March 2019, the terrorist’s last suspicion – a piece of land known as Baghouz in Syria – was seized by Kurdish forces, spelling the group’s end as a territorial power.
ISIS has since transformed into an Al Qaeda-like guerrilla fighting force, launching bomb and gun attacks directly in Syria and Iraq.
Last year, Masis of Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan independent region, warned Isis The number of troops doubled when it began seizing land in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
While ISIS has lost all its territory and much of its dominance, last year Barzani believed that the terrorist group still had 20,000 fighters across Iraq and Syria and had been trying to hire more.