The Islamic State extremist group is militarily on the defensive in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria but is partially adapting by moving to covert communications and recruitment and expanding its areas of attack away from conflict areas, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a new report. The report to the UN Security Council, which was circulated Monday, said member states highlighted that internal communications and recruitment by ISIS “are increasingly moving towards more covert methods, such as the use of the dark web, encryption and messengers.” ABC news reported that Guterres said the military campaigns against ISIS are having a major impact. ISIS has lost “large numbers of fighters and territory,” which “together with the group’s deteriorating financial situation have considerably reduced its draw for foreign terrorist fighters.” It is reported that ISIS militant group is now operating on a crisis budget but its revenue streams remain the same oil and gas extortion and taxation, which together account for up to 80 percent of its income.
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