What significant setbacks did ISIS face in 2017 and 2018?

What significant setbacks did ISIS face in 2017 and 2018?

• A. Territorial losses in Iraq and Syria and counterterrorism operations against its global network
• B. Loss of leadership
• C. Defeat in European cities
• D. Complete dissolution

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that ISIS was weakened by losing its territorial control and facing intensified global counterterrorism efforts. In 2017, its hold on Iraq and Syria collapsed as Mosul fell and Raqqa, the declared capital of the caliphate, was reclaimed. Losing these major strongholds stripped away the group’s governance framework, revenue sources, and sanctuary, making it much harder to operate as a self-contained state and forcing fighters to scatter. In 2018, the pressure continued through sustained military campaigning and intelligence-driven actions that targeted ISIS’s remaining networks and leadership across regions. With less territory to govern, the group shifted toward insurgency and clandestine operations, while international and local forces disrupted its affiliates around the world. This combination—losing territory and facing persistent countermoves against its global network—represents the significant setbacks of that period. Other options don’t fit as well because there wasn’t a single, decisive leadership collapse, no defeat in European cities, and no complete dissolution of the group; ISIS persisted as an underground and affiliate network even as its core territorial dream unraveled.

The key idea is that ISIS was weakened by losing its territorial control and facing intensified global counterterrorism efforts. In 2017, its hold on Iraq and Syria collapsed as Mosul fell and Raqqa, the declared capital of the caliphate, was reclaimed. Losing these major strongholds stripped away the group’s governance framework, revenue sources, and sanctuary, making it much harder to operate as a self-contained state and forcing fighters to scatter.

In 2018, the pressure continued through sustained military campaigning and intelligence-driven actions that targeted ISIS’s remaining networks and leadership across regions. With less territory to govern, the group shifted toward insurgency and clandestine operations, while international and local forces disrupted its affiliates around the world. This combination—losing territory and facing persistent countermoves against its global network—represents the significant setbacks of that period.

Other options don’t fit as well because there wasn’t a single, decisive leadership collapse, no defeat in European cities, and no complete dissolution of the group; ISIS persisted as an underground and affiliate network even as its core territorial dream unraveled.