The Islamic State has suffered serious blows within the past few days.
Losing the city of Sinjar in Iraq to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces brought big headlines on Thursday, as the city connects the two main Islamic State strongholds of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. With Sinjar falling back under Kurdish control, the supply route used by ISIS between its two major centers is now severed, which hugely impacts their operation.
But that isn't the only big loss the militant group suffered recently. The US backed coalition has been ramping up air strikes on ISIS-controlled oil fields, stifling its income as the New York Times reports that the Islamic State pulls in $40 million from the sale of oil each month.
The Islamic State also lost control over an air base in the Syrian city of Aleppo to the Syrian army, and US intelligence said Thursday that an air strike likely killed the infamous Islamic State beheader "Jihadi John."
However, ISIS did take credit for a suicide bombing that killed more than 40 in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, a sign that no matter what gains are made against the Islamic State, the fight is far from over.
Story by Allan Smith and editing by Kristen Griffin
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