BAGHDAD—Fewer than 1,000 ISIS terrorists remain in Iraq and Syria, the United States-led international coalition fighting the hardline Sunni militant group said on Wednesday, a third of the estimated figure only three weeks ago.
Iraq and Syria have both declared victory over the ISIS terrorist group in recent weeks, after a year that saw the two countries’ armies, a range of foreign allies and various local forces drive the fighters out of all the towns and villages that once made up their self-proclaimed caliphate.
The United States has led an international coalition conducting air strikes against ISIS since 2014 when the group swept across a third of Iraq. U.S. troops have served as advisers on the ground with Iraqi government forces and with Kurdish and Arab groups in Syria.
The figure excludes areas in western Syria under the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s government and his allies.
Assad’s main ally Russia also said on Wednesday the main battle with ISIS in Syria was over. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the key task in Syria was now destroying another Islamist group, the Nusra Front.
The U.S.-led coalition had said on Dec. 5 that there were less than 3,000 terrorists remaining. Iraq declared “final victory” over the group on Dec. 9.
Most of the terrorists had been killed or captured over the past three years, the coalition said on Wednesday. It would not respond to a question on whether some terrorists could have escaped to other countries, saying it would not “engage in public speculation” but said it was working on preventing that.
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