The Islamic State declared its caliphate on June 29, 2014, and it looks as if it will last less than five years. Time to bring our troops home and work on containing jihad activity and preventing jihadis from coming here, rather than keeping American troops on endless missions in foreign countries.
“IS militants cling to last square mile in eastern Syria,” by Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press, February 14, 2019:
OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — Islamic State group militants clung to their last square kilometer (square mile) of land in eastern Syria on Thursday with an unknown number of civilians trapped inside, officials said.
U.S.-backed forces conducted precision operations targeting the militants’ outposts in and around the village of Baghouz and worked to clear surrounding villages of remaining fighters, officials with the Kurdish-led forces said.
Thousands of people, including many foreign fighters and their families, have emerged from the area in the past few weeks amid ferocious fighting as the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces closed in from three sides.
They include scores of militants who surrendered to the SDF on Wednesday night, but the exodus of civilians has slowed to a trickle in recent days.
The United Nations opened a transit center Thursday in Suar, halfway between the towns of Hajin and Al Hol, with room for 400 people, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that a small number of displaced women and children are already using its services.
“The battle continues but the pace has changed. … There are advances but very slow,” said Mervan, an SDF official who goes by the nickname “the Brave.”
He said SDF operations have focused mainly on the village’s northeast axis, hitting posts held by IS and its cells. He said the militants attacked the Kurdish forces the night before, hitting one of their vehicles and killing a number of fighters. The militants are using new thermal weapons, he said.
“The forces are moving very slowly. They are not moving heavy weapons, very little unless guided and very precise,” he said. The SDF official said he estimates 300 militants remain inside the enclave, and about 1 square kilometer (1 square mile) remains in IS hands.
Ciyager Amed, an SDF official, said it is difficult to differentiate between the militants and civilians stilled holed up in Baghouz, citing one reason why the advances have slowed down. Another official said tunnels were still being discovered….
Mirren10 says
A bit like the ”Thousand Year Reich”. 🙂
gravenimage says
*Spot on*, Mirren.
Infidel lives matter says
BO said that the fight against ISIS would be a generational battle and that they couldn’t be defeated with guns. Thank God that Trump won and not Killary.
hewhotypes says
Hillary was, and is, more interventionist than either Obama or Trump.
Infidel lives matter says
Yes, she would have had Assad toppled by now and The Islamic State and Erdogan would have taken over Syria.
Terry Gain says
Yes, it appears that Hillary attempted to intervene and set aside the 2016 election in America.
Terry Gain says
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mark-penn-to-get-trump-fbi-and-justice-department-officials-trampled-the-constitution
keith Oades says
The only time Hillary intervened with anything was when her personal freedom to kill was at risk or her money and life of privileged.
Terry Gain says
Obama actually said ISIS could only be defeated by a better ideology. As if Christianity is not a better ideology than Islam. Well obviously not to him.
gravenimage says
+1
Walter Sieruk says
On the date of 2/5/ 19 Speaking about ISIS, President Trump during his second State of the Union speech declared “ We have liberated most of the terror from those bloodthirsty monsters.”
Furthermore, the scholar and author, Robert Spencer, in his latest book which has the title of THE HISTORY OF JIHAD FROM MUHAMMAD TO ISIS . For on page it reads “When Donald Trump replaced Barack as president of the United States, Iraqi forces and other began rolling up the Islamic State strongholds, such that within a year of the beginning of the Trump Presidency, the Islamic State had lost nine-eight of its territory.”
As good as the collapse of that Islamic “state” is we must not remember that the source and inspiration for and of that vicious and murderous jihad entity, ISIS, has not collapsed .Therefore we should not let our guard down regarding such heinous dangers. The source and inspiration is Islam.
Related ,very much, to all this is the fact that the jihadists who compose ISIS base all their beliefs and violet behavior entirely on the Quran. This does lead to an important question: “Is the Quran the Word of God or is it a fabrication of a man. Thus, is the Quran the truth or a fiction and a hoax ?” The jihadists ,as those of ISIS, use many verses from the Quran as the main source of justification for their violence, mayhem and murders. As found in For example, 4:89. 5:33. 9:5,111,123. 47:4. There, the answer is clearly given on pages 145 through 157 in THE ISLAMIC INVASION by Robert Morey in which he wrote a section on the Quran with its self-contradictions. Just two of the many he cited are the following “The Quran differs on whether a day is a thousand years or fifty thousand years in God’s sight’ and “Who was first to believe? Abraham or Moses [Sura 6:14 versus 7:143]? The above is inconsistent and illogical. Further, Morey wrote about “The fact that Judaism and Christianity broke up into different sects was used in the Quran to prove that they are not of God [Suras 30:20-32. 42:13, 14]. Yet Islam has broken up into many warring sects and therefore cannot be true if the Quran is right.” Moreover, Morey in his book shows many more contradictions and absurdities in the Quran, there are and how Muhammad incorporated extra Biblical and Jewish folklore along with pre-Islamic Arabian myth and parts of Zoroastrian and Hindu stories into the Quran. Furthermore, the Muslims claim that “the Quran is the direct, literal word of God unmodified in any way by the Prophet who uttered them at the bidding of God.” Nevertheless, in the book UNVEILING ISLAM by Ergun Mehmet and Eethi Caner has shown that the Quran was modified in the following account on pages 45. “Muhammad felt the need to improve on the words of Allah, since he changed Allah’s wisdom for his own on several occasions. A hadith tells of the nonchalant emendations of Muhammad:’ On a number of occasions he [a scribe] had, with the Prophet’s consent changed the closing words of verses. For example, when the prophet had said ‘God is mighty and wise ‘ Adbollah b. Abi Sarh suggested writing down ‘Knowing and wise’ and the Prophet answered that there was no objection. Having observed a succession of changes of this type, Adbollah renounced Islam on the grounds that revelations, if from God could not be changed at the prompting of a scribe such as himself. After his apostasy he went to Mecca and joined the Qorayshites.’ Other writers reveal that later Muhammad and his people did go war with the Qorayshites and he personally killed Abdollah. Obviously Abdollah knew too much and Muhammad wanted Abdollah’s knowledge to die with him.” In conclusion, the Quran is not only a fiction, it’s also a hoax.
J D.S says
Yep Walter if they disagreed with muhammad they suddenly died…..well what’s the difference today…What terrorist are saying as they continue muhammad rampage is…if we don’t follow their teachings we are wrong and should die, convert or pay a tax..all of this is the same as death if one has to give up his own beliefs.
Our government leaders need to WAKE UP and get educated in what’s happening..example ..The whole (hole) of Europe.
gravenimage says
Yes–ISIS is not gone, and they are still a threat.
Still, the Islamic State losing its “Caliphate” is a *very* good thing.
Renate says
????
Dawne says
Bring them home.
Indiana Tom says
I just wonder if we would be better off to let radical Muslims have their own little Disneyland where they could set up shop. I did not say to be humanitarian to them, actually i want them concentrated so as to conduct periodic carpet bombing on them. Remember our Ninth Air Force was more effective when the Germans came out of hiding so they could concentrate themselves in the Ardennes Offensive. With no islamic State, the Jihadis will just go into hiding.
gravenimage says
I don’t think our allowing a new Caliphate would have been a wise thing.
Giacomo Latta says
This last square mile of ISIS territory should be converted into a prison. That way no Western country need decide what to do with returning terrorists. There won’t be any. Anyone trying to escape from this prison should be shot on sight.
gravenimage says
Islamic State down to its last square mile in eastern Syria
………………..
*Good*.