ISIS is now relying on ‘Dad’s Army’ of elderly men after air strikes cripple the terror group’s numbers
ISLAMIC State is now relying on a “Dad’s army” of old men after losing thousands of troops to air strikes, the New Day reports.
The terror group’s propaganda wing released pictures of its newly graduated soldiers from a training camp close to the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Many of the troops are wizened old men with beards, while others look as young as 15.
The terror group has lost 25,000 soldiers in the last two years due to coalition air strikes and the recapture of key cities like Tikrit and Ramadi in Iraq.
As well as troops, air strikes have devastated Islamic State’s oil fields, ammunition depots, vehicles, buildings and other infrastructure.
The terror group’s numbers are at their lowest for two years in both Syria and Iraq, where they have been losing up to 2,500 personnel a month.
This has been achieved through a combination of coalition jet strikes, the Russian air campaign and recent successes by ground troops in Syria and Iraq.
The USA’s Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “These hard fought victories undermine more than Daesh’s fighting force.
“They erode the narrative it has built of its own success – the perception of which remains one of Daesh’s most effective recruiting tools.”
However, militants have since boasted of their expansion in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia through affiliates in their official propaganda magazine.
