Terrorism is a tactic and combating it requires a concerted strategy. At its peak, the Islamic State controlled an area in the Middle East roughly half the size of Britain.
It attracted tens of thousands of foreign fighters from dozens of countries worldwide. ISIS directed or inspired numerous high-profile attacks across Europe, including the Bataclan in Paris and the Brussels Metro attack. The U.S.-led counterterrorism campaign helped wrest control of large areas of Iraq and Syria from the organization - particularly about the group's strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa. To date, the United States has about 900 troops stationed in Syria and another 2,500 in Iraq, providing a bulwark against an ISIS comeback in those countries. In late March 2019, just over five years ago, the Syrian city of Baghouz fell to the Syrian Democratic Forces, ending the group’s territorial caliphate. “The land of God is wide, and the tides of war are changing,” ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi foresaw.