The international coalition confirms its stay in Iraq and determines the whereabouts of ISIS
Shafaq News / An official in the international coalition led by Washington with the participation of Arab and Western countries confirmed that the coalition will continue to pursue the remnants of "ISIS" inside Iraqi and Syrian territories in cooperation with its local allies.
"ISIS was defeated, but it is not over yet, we have discovered that it can carry out and finance its criminal and hostile activities," said Myles B. Caggins, spokesperson for the international coalition, said in a statement carried by Al Arabiya TV channel.
He added by phone from a military base in the Syrian town of Rumailan that "the organization kidnapped people near the Iraqi city of Diyala, as well as we saw them in Syria when they attacked some sheep herders in Deir Al-Zour and stole about 1000 sheep, as they sometimes impose illegal taxes through their presence in some areas on the border between the two countries. "
He also revealed that "ISIS are hiding away from the centers of cities in Iraqi mountainous areas, in the valleys, and in areas of the Syrian desert but they sometimes approach villages and cities to secure their basic needs by stealing them from the villagers residing in the surrounding areas," noting that "they are always striving to restore their control over those lands as before, but they will not be able to. "
He explained that "ISIS is now unable to recruit more people in its ranks to use them to regain control of geographical areas, in addition to the pressure exerted on it by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Iraqi security forces, which prevent its spread again."
He added that "the SDF incurred, the terrorist organization huge losses three weeks ago among its fighters after it managed to kill and arrest about 50 of its members. At the same time, the Iraqi forces carried out another operation in mountainous areas to search for the organization's elements who have been trapped on both the Syrian and the Iraqi sides. "
He also pointed out that "this operation was carried out with air support from the international coalition to assist our partners in launching raids on ISIS elements, pursuing them and being able to locate their locations," stressing that "all operations that we carry out in Iraq are carried out in coordination with the security forces and with the approval of the government, where we cannot launch raids by air without the approval of our Iraqi allies. "
