ABSTRACT
In December 2017, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced the defeat in Iraq of the Islamic State, also known as Islamic State (ISIS) or ISIL. In the course of 2018, however, ISIS adapted to its loss of territory by reforming as a covert-network organisation, a process that was most advanced in Iraq. Iraq has been the site of multiple overlapping conflicts since the US-led invasion in 2003. A sectarian civil war, anti-government insurgencies, intra-Shi’ite militia violence and Kurdish paramilitary forces have all challenged the authority of the Iraqi government and its international partners. The Iraqi security forces have three main components deployed in the conflict with ISIS: the Army; Federal Police; and Counter-Terrorism Service. The US leads on the Combined Joint Task Force, which brings together more than 30 coalition partners to conduct airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and provide air support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS.
