Pentagon: ISIS Defeated, Its Threat Remains

US Troops in Mosul, Iraq (File photo: Reuters)
US Troops in Mosul, Iraq (File photo: Reuters)
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Pentagon: ISIS Defeated, Its Threat Remains

US Troops in Mosul, Iraq (File photo: Reuters)
US Troops in Mosul, Iraq (File photo: Reuters)

The ISIS organization had been defeated but remains a threat, Pentagon quoted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, who asserted that the alliance between the US and coalition forces must continue to prevent the return of the terrorist group.

Dunford confirmed that the strategy to drive ISIS from its “so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq” has succeeded, but that doesn't mean the struggle against the ideology is over.

A Pentagon report published along with Dunford’s statements indicated that the US forces and allies came into the region to help those forces become more effective in combat.

However, many critics said the only way to defeat the terror group was “via vast numbers of Western troops – by Western, they meant American. Some believed the United States had to launch another military surge into Iraq.”

It added that some political and military leaders believed there was a better strategy through train, advise, and enable. Then, a small number of US and partner-nation forces instructed Iraqi and Syrian security forces, advising them in combat and providing enabling capabilities to ensure ISIS defeat.

“The strategy has proven successful, and in March, the physical caliphate was eliminated,” noted the report.

“We can all certainly be proud of the progress that has taken place since 2015 … in terms of clearing ISIS from Mosul, from Raqqa, from Fallujah and so forth," Dunford announced.

“But we also know there is still a fairly vibrant insurgency that has reverted to guerilla tactics, and so there is still a threat.”

Dunford reiterated that ISIS’ physical caliphate is defeated, but the organization has not disappeared. It has reverted to a guerrilla group, with individuals banding together to launch small attacks.

Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee summoned several military commanders, including General Raymond Thomas, commander of US Special Operations Command, who voiced Dunford’s statements.

“Threats have declined significantly, but the terrorist group remains a threat,” Thomas said.

Testifying before the committee, the General declared: “We have crushed the physical caliphate” ISIS established in Syria and Iraq.

The terrain that ISIS formerly maintained, a sanctuary from where they drew their resources, specifically oil resources, has been badly diminished, but they continue to be a threat, he warned.

Thomas appeared before the committee alongside acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Owen West and Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of US Cyber Command, to testify on cybersecurity threats.

“I’d be cautious to use the word ‘victory’ but I think it’s important not to diminish what has happened there,” West said to the committee.

He warned that if US troops are withdrawn entirely from Syria, it would make operations more difficult from a military standpoint, but assured the committee the US can “remotely assist and advise” in the mission to contain ISIS.

“It will certainly be harder to not have that proximity, [it will] make it more challenging,” Gen. Thomas noted, adding: “but we’re working on solutions to maintain some contact, some level of support.”



Thai-Cambodian Fighting Extends into Third Day, Malaysia Urges Ceasefire

Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Thai-Cambodian Fighting Extends into Third Day, Malaysia Urges Ceasefire

Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. (AFP)
Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. (AFP)

Fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border extended into a third day and new flashpoints emerged on Saturday as both sides said they had acted in self-defense in the border dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations.

More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors in 13 years.

There were clashes early on Saturday, both sides said, in the neighboring Thai coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's Pursat Province early, a new front more than 100 km (60 miles) from other conflict points along the long-contested border.

The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.

As of Saturday, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while in Cambodia five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata.

In the Thai border province of Sisaket, a university compound has been converted into temporary accommodation, where a volunteer said more than 5,000 people were staying.

Samrong Khamduang said she left her farm, about 10 km from the border, when fighting broke out on Thursday. The 51-year-old's husband stayed behind to look after livestock.

"We got so scared with the sound of artillery," she said. "But my husband stayed back and now we lost the connection. I couldn’t call him. I don’t know what is happening back there."

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, said he would continue to push a ceasefire proposal. Cambodia has backed Anwar's plan, while Thailand has said it agreed with it in principle.

"There is still some exchange of fire," Anwar said, according to state news agency Bernama. He said he had asked his foreign minister "to liaise with the respective foreign ministries and, if possible, I will continue engaging with them myself – at least to halt the fighting".

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING

Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July - claims Cambodia has strongly denied - and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning.

"Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media.

Cambodia's defense ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" and was mobilizing troops and military equipment on the border.

"These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of its military activities, while Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally.

Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes.

Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths.

Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognized the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.