IS fanatics plot ‘spectacular attacks’ amid desert retreat

ISLAMIC State militants are planning ‘spectacular attacks’ from the desert as they change into an insurgent force, a top US Army officer claimed yesterday.

Colonel Ryan Dillon said IS no longer has an army nor the capability to launch major combat operations in Iraq and Syria following a series of devastating defeats. But he said as a result they were moving into remote areas where they can plot attacks on civilians and local forces.

Col Dillon, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the Western coalition against IS, said the terror group was ‘no longer a military threat’ but still had 3,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. These were ‘moving off into uninhabited areas, in smaller cells, to transition back to how they began with insurgent-like tactics’.

He added: ‘We are going to make sure we adjust accordingly, whether that’s through training or intelligence sharing.’

The colonel warned that the defeat of IS in major towns and cities did not mark the end of the campaign. ‘We are looking at the enemy and seeing how he adapts and we will provide our partners the support that they need to deliver lasting defeat to them in Iraq and Syria,’ he said.