ISIS DEFEATED: Terror group loses 100 PERCENT of territory in Syria
ISLAMIC State (ISIS) has lost 100 percent of its territory in Syria, the White House has confirmed.
US: Donald Trump shows map of ISIS decline in Syria
The terror group, who carried out deadly attacks across the globe as they attempted to build a brutal caliphate in the Middle East, is now close to being totally defeated. The US Defense Department has confirmed the militant group no longer holds any territory in Syria, a White House spokeswoman said today. US acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan briefed President Donald Trump on the caliphate's destruction as he was traveling to Florida on Air Force One.
Upon arriving in Florida, President Trump held up two maps showing how ISIS's territory has been wiped out by US backed fighters in Syria.
As he pointed to the maps, one of which showed swathes of Islamic State territory in red two years ago while the other from today was completely clear, Mr Trump said: "Here's ISIS on Election Day. And here's ISIS right now."
The US President added: "You guys can have the map. Congratulations, I think it's about time."
Mr Trump had claimed several times over the last few weeks that ISIS no longer holds any territory but US officials were cautious that fighting still continued late into Thursday.
US-backed forces surrounded the south-eastern Syrian town of Baghouz, close to the Iraq border, two weeks ago hoping to crush the caliphate in a single day.
But ISIS militants continued their stand off as they battled to hold onto the group’s last remaining territory, having once controlled thousands of square miles or a third of Syria and Iraq.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) finally overcame Islamic State militants holed up in Baghouz overnight, supported by US-led coalition air strikes, seeking to defeat the last pockets of jihadist resistance.
The SDF are cautious about declaring the caliphate completely defeated as they fear guerrilla attacks having driven the militants’ resistance underground.
While the SDF has captured most of the area, Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, said his fighters were still clashing late on Thursday with IS militants in more than two positions where they were refusing to surrender.