(CNBC) Islamic State (ISIS) is looking a shadow of its former self, having lost almost all trace of its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
But experts are predicting that the militant organization will regroup and return should the political and physical reconstruction of those two countries be unsuccessful.
Fearful of a resurgence of ISIS and its aims of setting up a religious state, analysts have warned an "Islamic State 2.0" or "al-Qaeda 3.0" could emerge.
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"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," Ayham Kamel, practice head of Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group, told CNBC on Thursday.