The city of Raqqa, formerly ISIS’ “capital” of its self-proclaimed caliphate, has been reclaimed by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an American-backed militia group composed of Syrian Kurds and Arabs.
There have been multiple reports that the northern city in Syria has been seized. This is being declared a huge blow to ISIS.
Army Col. Ryan Dillon, Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) – the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, sent out a series of tweets on Tuesday regarding the takeover.
“[Syrian Democratic Forces] control 90 [percent] of Raqqa,” Dillon tweeted. “Fully take Al-Naim circle, once infamous ISIS setting for public executions/murder.”
Raqqa (Twitter)
Dillon then sent a series of tweets about the victory.
“In the past 3 years, our Coalition has made great progress against ISIS and their self-declared caliphate,” he tweeted.
“In the ensuing 3 years of fighting, we halted ISIS’ advance and have beaten them back on all fronts. […] Our partners have removed ISIS from 87 [percent] of territory they once held and liberated over 6.5 million people,” he pointed out.
Dillon said: “ISIS is losing in every way. We’ve devastated their networks and eliminated leaders at all levels. […] The Coalition has degraded ISIS’ ability to finance their operations, cutting oil revenues by 90 [percent].”
“The flow of foreign recruits has gone from a high of 1,500 a month, down to nearly 0 today,” he pointed out.
Army Colonel Ryan Dillon (Twitter)
His feed continued with tweets.
“ISIS’ story of leading a holy cause has proved to be a cesspool of brutal lies, torture and oppression,” Dillon said.
“After more than 4 months of operations, Raqqa is more than 90 [percent] cleared,” he tweeted.
Dillon pointed out: “In the last 96 hours we have seen about 1,300 civilians safely assisted to safety by the SDF;” and, “In the last few days about 350 fighters surrended to the SDF in Raqqa.”
“In Iraq, Coalition Forces remain focused on supporting Iraqi Security Force offensives against ISIS holdouts in Raqah and Al Qaim,” he added. “The SDF have proven throughout the campaign to defeat ISIS, to be a very capable partner.”
Army Colonel Ryan Dillon (Twitter)
He also tweeted: “As we look forward after the defeat of ISIS in Al Qaim, there will still be work to be done in the defeat of ISIS.”
Army Colonel Ryan Dillon (Twitter)
“Iraqis and Kurds have worked together on unprecedented levels in the fight against ISIS,” Dillion added.
Army Colonel Ryan Dillon (Twitter)
