Who is fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq?
A breakdown of the main forces fighting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, after operations by warplanes from France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier were launched on Monday: Syrian and Iraqi armies - - SYRIA: The Syrian army numbered 178,000 troops in 2015, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Syria's army has […]A breakdown of the main forces fighting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, after operations by warplanes from France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier were launched on Monday: Syrian and Iraqi armies -
- SYRIA: The Syrian army numbered 178,000 troops in 2015, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Syria's army has been roughly halved from its pre-war strength by deaths, defections and increased draft dodging. In its fight against rebels and jihadists, it relies on militias, which boast 150,000 to 200,000 members.
- IRAQ: The army counts 177,600 men, according to the IISS. After the US invasion in 2003, the Americans dissolved the army, which was then 450,000 strong, and rebuilt a new force, which collapsed in June 2014 when faced with the IS.
