ISIS driven out of their last major outpost in Iraq

Iraqi Army and Shiite militias near Hiwija. Reuters. 

ISIS has been driven out of their last major outpost in Iraq leaving only a few border towns near Syria under their control. Reuters. The town of Hiwija in northern Iraq has been liberated by a combined force of Iraqi Army units and Iranian backed Shiite militia Popular Mobilization force. Hiwija was the last area ISIS controlled in Iraq outside of a small strip of land on the border of Iraq where they are also in retreat. With Hiwija in Iraqi hands, all eyes are now on al-Qaim and the area surrounding it.

My Comment:

Not a whole lot to say about this that I haven't said before, so I will keep it short. It's obviously a good thing that yet another city ISIS controlled has finally fallen. There was also little doubt that this was going to happen. ISIS has been completely demoralized and destroyed. They really had no chance against the combined forces of the Iraqi Army and the Iranian backed militias. They were completely surrounded and had nowhere to flee too. 

We are in the wind down phase of the Iraqi theater in the war against ISIS. ISIS has very little left in Iraq and will be pushed out the country soon. At least in terms of controlling territory. I have little doubt that ISIS remnants will continue to conduct terror attacks and, if given an opportunity, they will take over territory again as well. The Iraqi military will need to keep vigilant to prevent that from happening. 

I have to say that I am fairly amazed at the quick turn around there has been with the Iraqi military. It wasn't that long ago that they completely broke at Mosul. They were in retreat everywhere and were falling quickly to the ISIS onslaught. The military was essentially destroyed. The Iraqis, with quite a bit of American help, were able to completely restore their army and forge it into a competent and effective fighting force. I think that alone means that ISIS won't be able to come back in Iraq. 

This also explains why ISIS has collapsed so quickly in Iraq after the battle of Mosul wrapped out. Sure, part of it was the new "surround and kill" strategy that the Trump White House has come up with has helped. Unlike past efforts under the Obama administration, ISIS was never given a chance to retreat, regroup and counter attack. That was a major factor of course.

But we also have to consider that the Iraqi Army is in much better shape as well. They are a modern military force now with quite a bit of power. They have an army of veterans, skilled and well trained special forces and battle tested officers. Even if things hadn't gone horrible for ISIS, they still would have lost against the reorganized and reformed Iraqi military. It just would have taken longer.

Speaking of ISIS, I think they are in their dying days. Pretty soon they will hold no territory in Iraq and their outposts in Syria are greatly reduced. Though they have regrouped slightly in Libya, they have lost their major outposts there as well. They still control parts of Egypt and Afghanistan and they haven't yet been kicked out of The Philippines, but they are a shadow of their former selves compared to their peak.