Daesh losing its territory, leaders: Kerry
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Daesh Takfiri terrorist group is losing its territory, leaders and fighters.
“Its territory is shrinking every day,” Kerry told reporters in Brussels, Belgium on Friday. "Its leaders are being decimated, its revenue sources are dwindling, and its fighters are fleeing.”
His remarks came following terrorist attacks by Daesh that claimed the lives of at least 31 people and wounded 200 others in Brussels on Tuesday.
The attacks, coordinated from a northern suburb of Brussels called Schaarbeek, drew the world’s ire as 11 people died in a suicide bombing in the Zaventem airport and 20 others were killed in Maelbeek metro station near the US Embassy and European Union headquarters.
Kerry said the US and other countries are trying to defeat Daesh terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, but added that this will take time, effort and resources.
“As we have said many times, President Obama, myself and others, our mission to destroy and defeat Daesh is not going to happen overnight,” Kerry said.
“It’s going to take some time and patience and persistence. It will require resources and commitment and cooperation across many cultures and beliefs, and the recognition that this is in fact a global challenge, but I am absolutely confident that we’ll be successful.”
On Friday, US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed that two Americans were among those killed in the terrorist attacks.
"We can confirm that two US citizens were killed in the attack," Trudeau said, adding, "We offer our sincere condolences to their family and friends."
The two were identified by a family spokesman as New York-based brother and sister Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski, who had arrived at the Brussels Airport when two explosions went off Tuesday.
Belgian police have identified three suspects behind the bombings, who were reportedly linked to the last November attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives.
According to two sources, brothers Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui, who carried out the bombing attacks at Zaventem International Airport, and Maelbeek metro station, were known to US government agencies before the attacks.
The two were on US government counterterrorism watch lists, added the sources who were familiar with the matter.
A number of intelligence officials have said Daesh has a network of semi-autonomous interlocking terror cells comprised of more than 400 Takfiri terrorists trained and prepared to target European cities.
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