ISIS has reportedly lost recruits in recent months. Above, a member
loyal to the terrorist group waves an ISIS flag in Raqqa, Syria, June
29, 2014.
Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
"Now we have been fighting this enemy for a year, our
estimates are down to 200 [per month], and we are actually seeing now an
increase in the desertion rates of these fighters," Gersten said. "We
are seeing a fracturing in their morale, we are seeing their inability
to pay, we are seeing the inability to fight."
The revelation comes the same month Deputy Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said the total number of fighters with the group,
also known as ISIS, has hit its lowest point since the U.S. began
keeping track in 2014. Gersten did not offer an estimate for the present
size of ISIS’ forces. In the past, it has been placed at between 20,000
and 31,500.
ISIS has reportedly been losing ground and revenue amid
bombardment by a U.S.-led coalition. Kurdish and Arab fighters —
including governmental and opposition forces — have also been battling
the group and have managed to retake key territory. ISIS has lost about 20 percent of the territory it once held in Syria and 40 percent in Iraq, military officials have said.
Much of the anti-ISIS campaign has also focused on targeting the group’s revenue, including oil infrastructure and cash storage facilities. Gersten said as much as $800 million in cash has been blown up.
"We are watching them try to leave Daesh. In every single
way, their morale is being broken," Gersten said, using an Arabic
acronym for ISIS.
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