Security

ISIS threat continues to exist due to ‘the ideology’, says ex-Coalition official

The terror group’s self-proclaimed caliphate was brought down by the Kurdish and Iraqi forces with the support of the international coalition against ISIS.

Kurdistan 24 2022/11/16 17:54

Myles B. Caggins III speaking to Kurdistan 24, Nov. 16, 2022. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The ongoing ISIS threats both in Syria and Iraq are due to the existence of “the ideology”, a top official from the international coalition against the terror group told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday.

The remarks by the former spokesperson for the anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve Myles B. Caggins III came during an interview on the sidelines of the Middle East Peace and Security Forum 2022 held at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province.

“ISIS continues to exist because of the ideology. There are people who believe in what ISIS believes in. And they are willing to fight for those beliefs,” Caggins III told Kurdistan 24 in response to a question regarding the persistent threats from the group despite the military defeat it suffered in 2017.

The former coalition official said that the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces have defeated the ability of the terror group to launch major attacks, limiting their activities to only “small attacks”.

Caggins III concluded his assignment in September 2020.

The terror group’s self-proclaimed caliphate was brought down by the Kurdish and Iraqi forces with the support of the international coalition against ISIS.

Despite its territorial defeat, ISIS still launches low-level insurgency against security and civilian targets across the country, including the disputed territories.

The third annual conference officially began on Tuesday on the AUK campus, where parallel workshops were held.

On the second day of the event, numerous topics related to Middle Eastern politics, economics as well as climate change challenges were discussed along with the West's position in the region's dynamics.

A number of top Iraqi and Kurdistan Region officials are set to take part in the last day of the conference, including Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, President Latif Rasheed as well as Speaker Mohamed Al-Halboosi.