DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria, (Reuters) – U.S.-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State’s last territory in Syria yesterday, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed “caliphate”, but the jihadists remain a threat from sleeper cells around the world.
Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, IS took large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad – but it was eventually beaten back to the village of Baghouz.
“We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organisation and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghouz,” Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi told a victory ceremony.
SDF fighters, who besieged Baghouz for weeks while planes pounded from above, paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS.
