BEIRUT, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S.-backed fighters say they have captured Islamic State's last shred of ground in eastern Syria - but while its era of territorial rule may be over for now, there is near universal agreement that IS remains a threat.
WHAT HAS ITS TERRITORIAL DEFEAT ACCOMPLISHED?
Islamic State's possession of land in Iraq and Syria set it apart from other like-minded groups such as al Qaeda and became central to its mission when it declared a caliphate in 2014, claiming sovereignty over all Muslim lands and peoples.
The destruction of the quasi-state it built there has denied the group its most potent propaganda and recruiting tool as well as a logistical base from which it could train fighters and plan coordinated attacks overseas.
It also freed its former subjects from summary executions and draconian punishment for breaking its strict laws or, for some minorities, sexual slavery and slaughter.
Warfare wiped out thousands of its fighters. And, financially, its defeat deprives it of greater resources than any modern jihadist movement has enjoyed, including taxes on its inhabitants and the proceeds of oil sales.
WHAT THREAT DOES ISLAMIC STATE STILL POSE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA?
In its previous guise as an al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq a decade ago, IS navigated adversity by going underground, biding its time to rise suddenly again.
Since suffering devastating territorial losses in 2017, IS has steadily turned again to such tactics. Sleeper cells in Iraq have staged a scatter-gun campaign of kidnappings and killings to undermine the Baghdad government.
The group has also carried out many bombings in northeast Syria, which is controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, including one that killed four Americans in January. Kurdish and U.S. officials say it remains a menace there.
In Syria, IS fighters still have a presence in sparsely populated territory west of the Euphrates River in an area otherwise held by the Syrian government.
The U.S. Pentagon's internal watchdog released a report last month saying Islamic State was regenerating functions and capabilities more quickly in Iraq than Syria.
"Absent sustained (counterterrorism) pressure, ISIS could likely resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory," the report said.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ITS LEADERS, FIGHTERS AND FOLLOWERS?
The fate of the IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains a mystery. The U.S. government's top experts strongly believe he is alive and possibly hiding in Iraq, U.S. sources recently said. Other top-echelon leaders have been killed in air strikes.