Islamic State loses control of towns in Syria and Iraq as ‘caliphate’ crumbles
IS, which at its peak controlled territory roughly the size of Britain, has suffered a string of losses in recent months in both Syria and Iraq
Islamic State (IS) on Friday lost control of two of the last major towns under its grip in Syria and Iraq, as Syrian troops and Iraqi security forces advanced in the Euphrates Valley border region.
The simultaneous assaults on Deir-ez-Zor in eastern Syria and al-Qaim in western Iraq dealt fresh blows to IS in its former heartland, leaving Albu Kamal, on the Syrian side of the border, as the last town of note under its control.
The jihadist group that once laid claim to a self-styled “caliphate” spanning swathes of Syria and Iraq has seen its proto-state crumble in recent months under the pressure of multiple offensives.
In October, it lost its one-time de facto Syrian capital Raqqa after an assault of more than four months waged by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Arab alliance.
On Friday, Syria’s army announced that its Russian-backed assault had recaptured all of Deir-ez-Zor city, in the oil-rich east of the country, while Iraqi forces captured the Husaybah border post and the nearby town of al-Qaim.
Deir-ez-Zor represents the final phase in the complete elimination of Daesh
“The army forces … restored security and stability to all of Deir-ez-Zor city,” a spokesman for the Syrian army command said in a statement broadcast live on state television.