UNITED STATES (OBSERVATORY) – The United States began an operation in Syria to liberate the last strongholds of the Islamic state group (IS). This is stated in a statement of the State Department spokesman Heather Nauert, published in her Twitter.
According to the diplomat, the operation will be attended by the United States-led coalition and “local partners”, including the Syrian democratic forces. “The struggle will be difficult, but we and our partners will be victorious,” the statement said.
Naouert stressed that the US intends to protect the borders of Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon from the IG and to ensure the free expression of the will of all the inhabitants of Syria, including Sunni, Kurds, Christians and other minorities. Also, the Americans intend to attract “international resources” to address Syria’s urgent humanitarian problems.
On April 30, the international coalition announced the completion of the main military operations against the IS in Iraq. On the same day, the grand opening of the headquarters of the coalition in Baghdad took place.
In February, US President Donald Trump announced the victory of Washington over the “Islamic state”. According to him, the international coalition liberated almost all the territories that the militants occupied in Iraq and Syria. In late March, he said that the US troops would be withdrawn from Syria “very soon”, after the complete defeat of the IS.