News / Military

Daesh losing battle to forces in Iraq, Syria: US envoy

Saturday, 05 March 2016 3:58 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 March 2016 4:56 PM ]

Brett McGurk, Special US presidential envoy to the coalition against Daesh, speaks during a press conference on March 5, 2016 at the US embassy in Baghdad. (AFP photo)

The United States and its allies claim that they have pounded at least 14 Daesh (ISIL) positions in Iraq and Syria, with a US official saying that the Takfiri group is losing the battle.

The US military said in a statement on Saturday that the international coalition against Daesh hit ISIL targets in Iraq with 12 strikes and conducted two strikes in Syria on Friday.

Two of the strikes in Iraq were near the western city of Ramadi, hitting two Daesh tactical units and a tunnel.

One of the attacks in Syria destroyed two Daesh fighting positions near Palmyra, according to the statement.

Addressing a press conference in Baghdad on Saturday, US envoy to the US-led coalition against Daesh Brett McGurk claimed the terrorist group is losing a battle against forces arraigned against it in Iraq and Syria.

"Daesh is feeling pressure now from all simultaneous directions and that's going to continue… that's going to accelerate," McGurk said.

"Daesh is losing; as they lose we focus increasingly on stabilization," he added.

McGurk , however, declined to put a timeline on when Daesh would be defeated.

Since late September 2014, the US along with some of its allies has been conducting airstrikes purportedly against Daesh extremists inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or the United Nations.

The air raids in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against alleged Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August last year. Many have criticized the ineffectiveness of the raids.

Since March 2011, the United States and its regional allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, have been conducting a proxy war against Syria. The years-long conflict has left somewhere between 270,000 to 470,000 Syrians dead and half of the country’s population displaced.

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