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It turns out that the Islamic State, which seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria this year, is not so good at the whole running a state thing. According to The Washington Post, areas under ISIS' control are rapidly falling apart due to severe mismanagement:
In the Iraqi city of Mosul, the water has become undrinkable because supplies of chlorine have dried up, said a journalist living there, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety. Hepatitis is spreading, and flour is becoming scarce, he said. "Life in the city is nearly dead, and it is as though we are living in a giant prison," he said.
In the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's self-styled capital, water and electricity are available for no more than three or four hours a day, garbage piles up uncollected, and the city's poor scavenge for scraps on streets crowded with sellers hawking anything they can find, residents say. [The Washington Post]
In many areas of Iraq and Syria, Islamic State militants were initially greeted as liberators from Shiite oppressors. It's not too hard to imagine residents changing their tune if living conditions continue to deteriorate.
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