Daesh has lost 14 percent of territory in Iraq, Syria: Study
The Daesh Takfiri terrorists have in a year lost nearly 15 percent of the land that they had had under control in Iraq and Syria as the group suffers more setbacks in the two countries, a study shows.
The results of a study by IHS Jane's Defense Weekly published on Tuesday showed that Daesh has lost control over more than 13,000 square kilometers of the territory it controlled in the two Arab countries since January, a net loss of 14 percent.
The main areas that are no longer under the control of the terrorists include a vast region along the Syrian-Turkish border as well as the two major cities of Tikrit and Baiji in northern Iraq.
The defeats in northeastern Syria in June included the city of Tal Abyad and its border crossing, which Daesh lost to the Kurdish and Arab fighters. The defeat effectively cut a main supply line of Daesh from Turkey to its de facto capital of Raqqa.
In Iraq, Daesh launched an offensive into Iraq’s desert province of Anbar, capturing the provincial capital of Ramadi. However, after seven months, the group is currently encircled inside the city’s central parts, with the Iraqi government saying that almost 70 percent of the strategic city has been liberated.
Daesh lost control of Tikrit in March, before it was pushed from the refinery town of Baiji. The terrorists currently control Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul in the north.
Daesh has also suffered major setbacks in Syria over the past few weeks since Russia began an airstrikes to assist the Syrian government in its drive against the Takfiri militants. Russia says it has managed to destroy many facilities controlled by Daesh, including oil installations.
Iraqi officials on December 20 said they have managed to push back Daesh from more than half of the areas they were controlling 18 months ago. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said the control of Daesh over Iraqi territories has shrunk from 40 to 17 percent as a result of successful operations by the Iraqi military and volunteer fighters.
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