Is ISIS Really Defeated? Why Syria & Iraq Still Drive the Jihadist Threat, with Brigitte Boucher from Franceinfo

Author

Rebroadcast from Franceinfo 29/12/2025

ISIS was territorially defeated in 2017 — but the threat didn’t disappear. In this interview, we unpack how jihadist networks adapt (Syria, Iraq, Sahel), why “deterritorialized” terrorism is harder to contain, and what the situation in Rojava/SDF-controlled areas means for regional security.

Chapters

0:00 Who’s speaking + context

0:14 U.S. strikes in Nigeria: what was targeted, what’s the real threat?

0:28 Why the “heart” of the threat remains Syria & Iraq

0:41 2017 “victory” vs today’s reality: from territory to networks

1:26 “Deterritorialized” terrorism: diffuse, mobile, global

2:21 Sahel security vacuums + politics of counterterrorism narratives

3:20 Syria: attacks, desert networks, and infiltration risks

4:55 Veteran/foreign fighter cells and fragmentation on the ground

5:15 New Syrian authorities: break with jihadism vs militant base dynamics

6:46 Can ISIS rebuild territory? Numbers on fighters + detainee challenge (SDF/Rojava)

7:28 ISIS vs al-Qaeda: rivalry, shared ideology, shared targets

8:20 Rojava: governance limits, infiltration, and why it complicates stabilization

9:00 Wrap-up

“A Highly Symbolic Withdrawal”: What Changes as the Anti-ISIS Coalition’s Military Mission in Iraq Ends

INTERVIEW. As the international coalition’s military mission against Islamic State in Iraq officially comes to an end on September 30, Adel Bakawan, director of the European Institute for Middle East and North Africa Studies, examines the announced departure of American troops. Interview by Julie Malo. Published on September 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in Le Point.

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