The Islamic State group’s “caliphate” has shrunk to less than one percent of its original size, the US-led coalition said Thursday, as a final onslaught in eastern Syria loomed.
Kurdish-led forces spearheading the offensive have paused operations but US President Donald Trump predicted Wednesday that a final declaration of victory would come next week.
At its height, the jihadist proto-state proclaimed by IS in June 2014 straddled swathes of land in Syria and Iraq and was roughly the size of Britain.
Major General Christopher Ghika, the coalition’s deputy commander, described the size of the last IS pocket as “now less than one percent of the original caliphate.”
The coalition has been training and providing aerial support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, which launched an offensive on the last patch of jihadist territory in September 2018.
Two months later,…
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
