Programs to Counter Foreign Terrorist Fighters

Programs To Counter Foreign Terrorist Fighters in 2016

A core component of the United States' Counter-ISIS strategy has been to prevent the travel of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) to and from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Since 2011, an estimated 40,000 FTFs have traveled to Iraq or Syria from more than 120 countries to fight alongside a number of violent extremist groups, including ISIS and al-Qa'ida's affiliate in Syria, al-Nusrah Front. Over the past year, the flow of FTFs travelling to Iraq or Syria declined significantly. Similarly, ISIS's attempts to establish a stronghold in Libya in 2016 attracted many FTFs, but by the end of the year, international pressure diminished ISIS's aspirations there

As a result of declining FTFs flows, ISIS can no longer replenish its ranks lost on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria with new foreign recruits. The number of ISIS fighters has been reduced to its lowest level in more than two-and-a- half years. While the sustained military campaign and ISIS's loss of territory and resources are key factors, governments enacted a number of reforms and measures to make it demonstrably more difficult for FTFs to transit to and from Iraq or Syria.