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London: UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today said the US-led coalition has made substantial progress in Syria and Iraq, leading to the liberation of over 2 million people from Islamic State (IS) control in the last year.
In a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement, he said the UK was stepping up its fight against the terrorist group.
“In the last year, over 2 million people have been freed from Daesh [IS] rule by Iraqi and moderate Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by coalition air power,” Fallon said.
“Britain is stepping up in the fight against Daesh; the army has helped train over 32,000 Iraqi forces and, in a controlled and precise manner, the RAF [Royal Air Force] is taking out Daesh and working hard to minimise casualties in a very difficult, dense urban environment,” the statement noted.
“Working with allies we will keep momentum, push Daesh out of Mosul, encircle Raqqa and eventually end Daesh’s reign of terror,” Fallon added.
In the course of 2016, it is estimated almost 25,000 IS fighters have been killed and that the group now controls less than 10 per cent of Iraqi territory.
The UK officially began operating targeted strikes in Syria in December 2015 after a House of Commons vote on extending airstrikes from Iraq, where the RAF had already been operating.
