Analysts have warned an “Islamic State 2” or “al-Qaeda 3.0” may be launched as the fanatical cult regroups and regenerates.
ISIS strongholds have been recaptured from the terror group in Syria and Iraq, but there are still unresolved issues in the region, such as sectarian conflict, economic hardship and religious rivalries.
Head of the Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group, Ayham Kamel, told CNBC: “The Islamic State is almost defeated, but a radical Islamist insurgency will remain in both Iraq and Syria as the fighters turn to traditional terrorism.”
He said: “However, losing the pillars of its state, ISIS no longer represents a strategic threat to the integrity of either Iraq or Syria. There’s even a possibility of alliances with al-Qaeda in Syria as these configurations are always fluid.”
Director of the Joint International Counter-Terrorism Unit, Jane Marriott, added: “Defeating the physical caliphate so it’s no longer on a map has to be a good thing, it’s the right thing to do.
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“But you then have to get the follow-up right and if we, the international community, don’t get the politics right, the reconstruction, the economic element and the governing solutions in the right place then it will lead to Daesh 2.0 or al-Qaeda 3.0
“So it’s about ensuring that the things that governments do are the right things and that ultimately they don’t make the situation worse in the long run.”
A huge number of towns and cities in parts of Syria and Iraq have been wiped out during the war to defeat ISIS.
According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, millions of people have been displaced by the fighting.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared the end of ISIS, while a senior military commander thanked the “thousands of martyrs” killed in operations organised by Iran to defeat the militant group in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Rouhani said: “Today with God’s guidance and the resistance of people in the region we can say that this evil has either been lifted from the head of the people or has been reduced.
“Of course the remnants will continue but the foundation and roots have been destroyed.”
A journalist who was kidnapped in Syria by Al Qaeda and the Nusra Front warned in March a new ISIS could turn up in London or Paris.
Mr Padnos said: “I think that the Western understanding of what is happening in Syria is inadequate.
“Something very dangerous and alarming is occurring in northwestern Syria, and this is the emergence of the second Islamic State there.”