Pentagon, Trump Cheer Liberation of ‘Loser’ Islamic State Lands
- Syrian Democratic Forces announce victory over terror group
- Militants eradicated from last stronghold in Baghouz, Syria
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The final swath of territory once held by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been liberated, the Pentagon said, hours after a largely Kurdish fighting force in Syria claimed victory.
Saturday’s statement by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan followed one by President Donald Trump. Unlike the president, who’s said for months that victory had been achieved, it was the first time the U.S. military has proclaimed that the terrorist group no longer holds land it called its “caliphate.”