DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE: US-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State’s last territory in Syria yesterday, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed “caliphate”, but the militants remain a threat from sleeper cells around the world.
Originally an offshoot of Al Qaeda, IS took large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad – but it was eventually beaten back to the village of Baghouz.
“We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organisation and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghouz,” Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi told a victory ceremony.
SDF fighters, who besieged Baghouz for weeks while planes pounded from above, paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS. A band played the American national anthem.
France and Britain, which also back the SDF, welcomed the develop ments, though US officials acknowledged work remained.
In a separate statement yesterday, President Donald Trump said the region had been “liberated,” but added the US will remain vigilant.
“While this is a critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, we understand our work is far from complete,” acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan said.
The capture of Baghouz marked a big moment in Syria’s eight-year war, wiping out one of the main contestants’ territory, with the rest split between President Bashar Al Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF.
Assad and Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, while Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group. The continued presence of US troops in northeast Syria might avert this.
In his speech, Abdi urged Assad to recognise autonomous administration in areas controlled by the SDF and Turkey to quit areas of northern Syria it has taken over.
President Emmanuel Macron said a source of potential terror attacks had been “eliminated”, but warned that “the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue”.
Prime Minister Theresa May called the bastion’s fall “a historic milestone” in the fight against IS, and said the British government remained “committed to eradicating their poisonous ideology”.
In Al Omar, an oil field used by the SDF as a staging base, fighters laid down their weapons and broke into song and dance. They joined top Kurdish and Arab tribal officials for a ceremony unveiling a monument to their fallen comrades and celebrating the landmark victory.
The state proclaimed in mid-2014 by fugitive IS supremo Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi started collapsing in 2017 when parallel offensives in Iraq and Syria wrested back its main hubs Mosul and Raqa.
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