According to Iraqi army general, no more than 500 IS fighters remain in the country

The total number of Islamic State (IS) militants remaining in Iraq amounts to about 400-500 people. This is what Iraqi General Qais al-Muhammadavi stated to the press with reference to the country's security services.

The militant groups are mostly hiding in remote desert areas in three or four provinces, he said. At the same time, IS is trying to recruit volunteers, but the rate of their arrival is much lower than at the time when the organization controlled territories of Syria and Iraq with a population of up to 10 million people.

Al-Muhammadavi noted that the Islamic was no longer able to attract sufficient numbers of supporters. He also reported on the counter-terrorist operation carried out on February 24 which left 26 militants were killed at the IS training base in Anbar province.

Nevertheless, a number of sources have their own opinion regarding the total size of the group. For example, according to the UN, there are about 5,000 more IS fighters and their supporters operating in Syria and Iraq. At the same time, it is worth remembering about “sleeping cells”, which are quite difficult to uncover. Thus, isolated terrorist attacks can be carried out by the group for many more years, despite regular special operations by law enforcement agencies.

Currently, IS is not capable of conducting major offensives. The militants limit themselves to attacks on civilians and law enforcement officers deploying small groups, and carry out sabotage attacks on infrastructure assets. In particular, over the past two years, terrorists have carried out a series of explosions at power transmission lines and power plants, leaving vast areas of Iraq without power.