News / Foreign Policy

Daesh territorial defeat 'historic milestone': British PM

Saturday, 23 March 2019 2:13 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 23 March 2019 4:38 PM ]

British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference on March 22, 2019, at the end of the first day of an EU summit focused on Brexit, in Brussels. (AFP photo)

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said the fall of the last bastion held by Daesh terrorists in Syria marked "a historic milestone" as she paid tribute to British forces and coalition partners.

"The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory is a historic milestone that would not have been possible without their commitment, professionalism and courage," she said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group.

"I commend the tireless work and extraordinary courage of the British forces and our global coalition partners that have fought Daesh in Syria and Iraq," she added.

Britain is part of the US-led coalition claimed to be fighting Daesh terrorists in Syria. London has deployed about 1,400 troops to the region to support local forces, while Britain's Royal Air Force has conducted more than 1,600 air strikes in Iraq and Syria.

"We must not lose sight of the threat Daesh poses and the government remains committed to eradicating their poisonous ideology," May said.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people and our allies."

American and British leaders have tried to take credit of major victories achieved in Syria by Syrian forces.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Daesh no longer held any territory in Syria. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that the territorial Daesh-held had been “100 percent eliminated” from the Middle Eastern country.

PressTV-Syrian Kurds announce death of Daesh 'caliphate'

Syrian Kurds have pronounced the death of Daesh's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" after flushing out diehard terrorists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria.

In December, the US president said he would withdraw all 2,000 troops from Syria. However, the Wall Street Journal said recently that Washington planned to keep about 1,000 troops in Syria.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford later rejected the report as “factually incorrect,” stressing that there was no change to the planned 400 troops which the White House wanted to keep in Syria.

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