Report: ISIS Ready to Retake Syria in 6-12 Months

 The Pentagon warns that ISIS could regain territory in Syria in just six to 12 months, according to a draft of the Department of Defense Inspector General's Quarterly Report on the Syrian conflict.

NBC News reported Friday that the draft reveals "ISIS is intent on reconstituting a physical caliphate and that with ungoverned spaces in Syria and no military pressure, the terror group could retake land in a matter of months."

The report spans Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2018 and fans fears that a US pullout from Syria will leave the region wide open for the resurgence of extremist groups. Last month, President Donald Trump ordered the removal of approximately 3,000 US troops from Syria in 120 days.

When President Trump announced the withdrawal he said on Twitter that "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency."

However, US officials acknowledge the potential for ISIS to regain power.

"We need to continue to do all that we can to make sure that there's not a resurgence of ISIS or that all the other variants of that terror regime continue to be under pressure," Pompeo told Fox News Wednesday.

The secretary told CBN News earlier this month that the US is working with their partners in the region to make sure ISIS no longer poses a threat to the US or its allies.

"We're having conversations with them even as we speak about how we will effectuate this in a way that protects our forces, makes sure that the Americans, as we withdraw, are safe, and we will complete the mission of taking down the last elements of the caliphate before we depart," he said.

The withdrawal has sparked a geopolitical tug of war between Turkey, Iran, Russia, and Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime. All of them are vying for valuable real estate in Syria once the US leaves.

Religious and ethnic minorities like Christians and Kurds are left especially vulnerable with the United States' absence in the region.

"The people in this area are very frightened by the decision of the American pullout because a lot of countries and militias are coveting the region east of the Euphrates to replace the American: Russia, the Assad regime, Iran and Turkey or the Nasra Front that have declared publicly that they will support Turkey on their attack of the east of the Euphrates," Amina Omer, co-chair of the Council of Democratic Syria, told CBN News.

Many Christians fear another genocide and hope President Trump reconsiders his decision to pull out.

"We believe that President Trump is a Christian and he has a faith in God and when he gave his sign this promise to protect our people, the Christian people in Iraq and Syria, he has to do it in reality," Narisa Goriye, co-president of the Syriac Union Party told CBN News.