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Flow of Foreign Fighters Plummets as Islamic State Loses Its Edge

(Washington Post) Griff Witte - The flow of foreign fighters to the Islamic State has been cut to a trickle this year as the group's territory has shrunk. From a peak of 2,000 foreign recruits crossing the Turkey-Syria border each month, the number is down to as few as 50, according to U.S. intelligence assessments. Yet this raises questions about whether the terrorism threat is actually easing or just morphing into a more dangerous new phase in which would-be fighters choose to carry out attacks at home. The lack of fresh Islamic State manpower is evident on the battlefield. Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, said that whereas the Islamic State once used foreign fighters as suicide bombers, it is increasingly tapping young Iraqi boys.
2016-09-13 00:00:00
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