The year 2017 was a disastrous year for ISIS with stinging defeats on the battle front. The Iraqi army, with the support of American warplanes and ground forces, finally drove the Caliphate out of the country. In Syria, attacks by Assad’s army, by rebel forces and by U.S. and Russian airstrikes left ISIS in tatters.
The Caliphate now exists only in a small part of Syria and ISIS has been reduced to affiliated insurgencies in Afghanistan, Central Africa and Southeast Asia.
Now that the Caliphate is all but gone, ISIS has been reduced to carrying out terrorist attacks in the Middle East and in the Western world. On the internet ISIS had strongly urged its followers to attack the crowds at New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney, New York, London and other cities throughout the Western World.
2018 did not start out well for ISIS either. There were no terrorist attacks in Sydney or London. No ISIS inspired suicide bomber blew himself up in the midst of Times Square. No plane dove into the million celebrants crowded into Times Square. And no gunshots were fired into the crowd.
In fact there were no ISIS-called for terrorist attacks anywhere in the Western World on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.
While ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks will continue from time to time, 2018 does not look like a better year than2017 for the once powerful Islamic group.
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