Insurgency remains a threat in the region and beyond; officials warn a U.S. pullout from Syria could let fighters regroup
U.S.-backed forces ousted Islamic State from its last outpost in Syria, marking the end of a nearly five-year campaign that freed swaths of territory from the extremist group’s brutal rule and returned it back to its roots a guerrilla insurgency.
The demise of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate—which once covered an area the size of Portugal—comes as President Trump prepares to pull U.S. troops from Syria.