ISIL on defensive, but still a potent force in Iraq, Syria -- Pentagon

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (KUNA) -- While there are signs of progress in the campaign against ISIL with the group more on the defensive, "they are still a potent force inside Iraq and in Syria," Rear Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday.
"We have said this is going to take several years -- three to five, probably," Kirby said during a briefing.
From a military perspective, he said, the real goal is good governance in Iraq and Syria, "options for people so they do not have to be attracted to this ideology." The center of gravity for ISIL is its ideology, "not their fighters, not their trucks and not necessarily every little camp they set up or position that they establish," he said.
"It is about this ideology, and that is going to take time, and it is not going to be done through military means alone," he said.
In Iraq, there are 55,000 square kilometers assessed as dominated by ISIL, 77,000 square kilometers roughly assessed as dominated or controlled by the Iraqi government out of Baghdad, and 56,000 square kilometers assessed to be under Kurdish control, Kirby said.
These numbers fluctuate over time and will continue to change, he said, as will the estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 ISIL fighters, Kirby said.
Those fighters are no longer out in the open, and one reason there are fewer ISIL targets for the coalition to strike is because "they are hiding more. ... We are not seeing them try to take new territory as much anymore. They are getting into defensive positions on territory that they do have. And we are seeing them try to protect their ... supply lines and communication lines." More children are being recruited to fight or conduct suicide attacks, which could mean ISIL is having trouble in the realm of recruiting and manpower, he said.
They also are struggling with financing -- "we know we have taken away millions of dollars of revenue from them just by the oil collection points and the refineries that we have hit" -- and they are showing an inability to reconstitute machinery, Kirby said. (end) rm.ibi