The US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) has liberated 99.5 percent of the territory the terror group controlled in Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a news release on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2019) The US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) has liberated 99.5 percent of the territory the terror group controlled in Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a news release on Thursday."In Syria, CJTF-OIR partner forces have now liberated approximately 99.5 percent of [IS]-controlled territory following the liberation of the town of Al-Marashidah in the Abu Kamal District of Deir ez-Zor," the release said.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he will likely announce next week that the Islamic State has lost all its territory in Syria and Iraq.
Trump emphasized that the US-led coalition and allied Syrian Democratic Forces will soon finish liberating all Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq.
In December, the president announced that US forces would soon leave Syria and declared the Islamic State defeated in the country.
Meanwhile, remaining Islamic State fighters are attempting to escape the battlefield through intermixing with the innocent women and children, CJTF-OIR Deputy Commander-Strategy and Information Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika said in the release.
In Iraq, the Baghdad Operational Command released a statement announcing the opening of al-Rashid Street for the first time in 15 years. Iraqi Security Forces have destroyed more than 430 improvised explosive devices through route clearance patrols, according to the joint task force.
Syria has been engulfed in an armed conflict since 2011, with the government forces fighting numerous terrorist organizations and armed opposition groups. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the ceasefire in Syria. Russia has also been providing humanitarian aid to residents of the crisis-torn country.
