Categories: NewsWorld

US-Backed Syrian Troops Declare Victory over Islamic State

BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced Saturday they have liberated the last area held by the Islamic State in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, declaring victory over the extremist group and the end of its self-declared Islamic caliphate.

“Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved,” tweeted Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, referring to the group by its Arabic acronym.

Elimination of the last IS stronghold in Baghouz marks the end of the militants’ self-declared caliphate, which at its height blanketed large parts of Syria and Iraq. The campaign to take back the territory by the U.S. and its partners has spanned five years and two U.S. presidents, unleashed more than 100,000 bombs and killed untold numbers of fighters and civilians.

But the weekend announcement, in a tweet, was anti-climactic, and on-the- ground sporadic gunfire continued. A day earlier, President Donald Trump declared that Islamic State militants no longer control any territory in Syria.

Associated Press journalists in Baghouz on Saturday reported hearing mortars and gunfire directed toward a cliff overlooking Baghouz, where U.S.-led coalition airstrikes were carried out a day earlier. SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told the AP Friday that there were still IS fighters hiding in caves near Baghouz and that clearing operations were still underway.

At its height, the Islamic State group ruled a third of both Syria and Iraq, holding millions of people hostage to its harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. The group carried out large-scale massacres and documented them with slickly produced videos circulated online. During a rampage through Iraq’s Sinjar region in 2014, it captured thousands of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority and forced them into sexual slavery. Many remain missing to this day.

The group also used its caliphate as a launchpad for attacks around the globe, including the assaults in Paris in 2015 that killed more than 130 people.

While it imposed an unforgiving version of Islamic law through public beheadings and crucifixions, the group also carried out the mundane duties of governance in its territories, including regulating prices at markets and building infrastructure.

IS no longer controls any territory in Syria or Iraq, but continues to carry out insurgent attacks in both countries. It also maintains affiliates in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

0
Dipo

Dipo Kehinde is an accomplished Nigerian journalist, artist, and designer with over 34 years experience. More info on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dipo-kehinde-8aa98926

Recent Posts

Anti-Graft DG Resigns after Setting the World on Fire with High Profile Serial Sexcapades in Equatorial Guinea

Matilda Omonaiye/ The Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar…

6 hours ago

Aquitane Oil & Gas Accuses Zenith Bank of Forgery, Alleges ₦1.4 Billion Dividend Theft, Unauthorized Sale of Collateral Shares

Segun Atanda/ In a scandal shaking Nigeria’s financial sector, Aquitane Oil & Gas Ltd., a…

9 hours ago

Quincy Jones: Legendary American Music Producer behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller Dies at 91

Segun Atanda with AP/ After a career spanning 70 years, Quincy Delight Jones, Jr., the…

2 days ago

Tinubu’s Team Hits Atiku, Defends Economic Reforms

Segun Atanda/ The presidency has hit back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, dismissing his…

2 days ago

UN in Nigeria: Charting a Path Towards a Brighter Future

By Mohamed Malick Fall/ The indescribable destruction caused by the first and second world wars…

2 days ago

Kemi Badenoch Becomes UK Conservative Party’s First Black Leader

Segun Atanda/ Kemi Badenoch has been elected the new UK Conservative leader. The former business…

4 days ago