Syria: Army declares victory over Islamic State, captures last urban stronghold

The Syrian Army declared victory over the Islamic State group on Thursday, saying it has liberated the group’s last urban stronghold in the country, Reuters reported. The fall of Albu Kamal town marks the collapse of the Islamic State group’s project in the region, the military said.

The group still controls some villages and desert areas near Albu Kamal. The Islamic State had seized large parts of Syria in 2014, further worsening the civil war in the country that was going on since 2011.

Last week, the Syrian Army had recaptured Deir al-Zour, located close to the



Iraqi border in the east. This comes weeks after the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the United States-led coalition, recaptured Raqqa from the Islamic State group after an offensive that went on for four months. The terror outfit had declared Raqqa its headquarters after taking control of it early in 2014.

The Islamic State group first lost its Iraqi stronghold in Mosul in July. In the nine months of fighting that preceded this victory in Iraq, more than a million people were killed, thousands of civilians were displaced and large parts of the city was destroyed.