The U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) has announced that the last area held by the Islamic State terrorist organization in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz has been liberated.
“Baghouz is free and the military victory against Da’esh has been achieved,” tweeted Kurdish SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali. Da’esh is the Arabic acronym for Islamic State, or ISIS. The group no longer controls any territory in Syria or Iraq.
The spokesperson said on Saturday the terror group’s self-declared caliphate is at an end. His force pledged to continue the fight against those terrorists who remain, until the organization is complete obliterated, Associated Press reported.
The group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has still managed to elude capture and death.
Islamic State terrorists are continuing to carry out attacks in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere around the world, even though the group no longer controls territory anywhere.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the news, he warned the group is still a threat.
“We will remain vigilant . . . until it is finally defeated wherever it operates,” Trump said in a statement on Saturday. The U.S. will “continue to work with our partners and allies . . . to fight [ISIS] until it is finally defeated,” he said.
“The United States will defend American interests whenever and wherever necessary.” The president also urged “all of the young people on the internet believing in [ISIS] propaganda” to reconsider their direction: “Think instead about having a great life,” he said.