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Source: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/BEHIND-THE-LINES-ISIS-and-the-virus-624913
ISIS Is Still Alive
(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - Across a broad swath of Iraq and Syria, ISIS retains networks of support, and lines of communication and supply. Some 20,000-30,000 members remain active in this area, with no shortage of either money or weaponry. Beneath the nominal authority of the Assad regime, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council and the government of Iraq, the structures and networks of ISIS are alive. With all three administrations preoccupied with the pandemic, Islamic State is raising its head, with a sharp uptick in ISIS activity over the last two weeks across a broad but contiguous majority-Sunni Arab area. The ongoing, slow-burning ISIS insurgency is proof that the "victories" in the wars in Syria and Iraq have resolved little. Both Baghdad and Damascus are dominated by non-Sunni ruling authorities with little interest in the large Sunni Arab populations living under their rule. The writer is director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.