ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic State (ISIS) can no longer hold physical territory in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria due to the pressure the force has put on them, said the spokesperson for the global coalition against ISIS on Friday.
Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III noted that while operations “must continue” against the terror group, SDF pressure on ISIS remnants has left them unable to resurge in the area.
“ISIS [has] been unable to resurge and they cannot hold physical territory because of the pressure from the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Caggins said in a rare press conference in Rmelan in Syria’s Hasaka province.
He added that the SDF – a multi-ethnic and religious armed group- fights ISIS sleeper cells on a daily basis.
The SDF has been the coalition's only ally on the ground in Syria since the fight against the terror group began in 2014.
Friday’s press conference between Caggins and SDF spokeperson Mustafa Bali was in the spirit of the first anniversary of the defeat against ISIS in its last stronghold of Baghouz- announced on March 23 last year.
“We are approaching the one year anniversary of the physical defeat of ISIS in the battle of Baghouz. But the fight still continues. ISIS is down and not out,” Caggins told reporters.
“We know there are sleeper cells in Deir ez Zor and Hasaka, and other areas of Syria. The military coalition remains committed to partnering with the SDF to ensure there is peace and safety for the people of eastern Syria,” he reiterated.
The US-led coalition has provided the SDF with logistical and military support, mostly providing air support to SDF operations against ISIS since the militants took control of swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014.
More than 10,000 SDF fighters have been killed and some 20,000 injured in the fight against ISIS.
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