, Columnist
Islamic State Remains Dangerous in Defeat
Deprived of its own territory, the group can still shake up the Mideast and the West.
Losing flag.
Photographer: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
With Mosul recaptured from Islamic State and Raqqa, part of its old town already in the hands of U.S.-backed groups, probably weeks from being taken, the Islamic State is likely soon to be wiped off war zone maps. Like Lord Voldemort in the early Harry Potter books, it won't have a physical presence -- but it will live on in other forms: the minds of the foreign fighters returning to their homelands, the online presence it has built and the souls of the disaffected Sunni populations in the areas that the terrorist group has held for years.
QuickTake Fighting Islamic State