chinks in Islamic State's armor?

There once was a joke whose lead-in I can't remember, but whose punch line was that the little bird flew in ever-decreasing circles until finally it flew up its own asshole and disappeared.

1. Today, there is a Reuters story about ISIS threatening operators of the Internet social medium, Twitter. Twitter has been one of Islamic State's most reliable propaganda tools, even if the service has deleted especially-grisly transmissions.

"Your virtual war on us will cause a real war on you,” one online post by Islamic State supporters said, according to Buzzfeed. "We told you from the beginning it's not your war, but you didn't get it and kept closing our accounts on Twitter, but we always come back."

Irrespective of ISIS irritation and threats, the wider world is unlikely to react kindly to one of its favorite media being threatened or diminished. This in itself may be a propaganda loss for Islamic State. It's like threatening mom.

2. One of Islamic State's allegedly Koranic requirements is that it capture and hold land. I think this is in aid of proving the righteousness of its cause. Today, the Iraqi army launched an attack on the IS-held town of Tikrit, possibly as a prelude to similar future assaults.

The Iraqi army, backed by Shiite and Sunni fighters, has begun a major effort to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from ISIS militants, a likely prelude to a move on the Islamist terror group's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

If the Islamic State 'must' hold territory as a means of proving its legitimacy and/or moral higher ground, what happens if that land is denied to them?

Is there any virtue or righteousness which, if held tightly enough, won't fly up its own asshole and disappear?