IS territory shrinks in Iraq and Syria

Islamic State has lost roughly 30 per cent of the territory they once held in Iraq and Syria, it has been claimed by the US Army.

Fighters from the Islamic State group marching in Raqqa, Syria

(File: AAP) Source: AAP

Islamic State's territory shrank by 40 per cent from its maximum expansion in Iraq, and by 20 per cent in Syria in 2015, as international forces pushed it out of several cities, according to the US-led coalition fighting it.

There was no immediate comment from the hardline Islamist group on the estimates from the coalition, made up of countries including Britain, France and Jordan that have been bombing its positions.

"We believe in Iraq it's about 40 per cent ... And Syria, harder to get a good number, we think it's around 20," coalition spokesman US Army Colonel Steve Warren said on Tuesday in Baghdad.

"Taking together Iraq and Syria ... they lost 30 per cent of the territory they once held," he said.

Islamic State swept through a third of Iraq in 2014, seizing Mosul, the largest city in the north, and reaching the vicinity of Baghdad.

Counter-offensives by Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces supported by the US-led coalition, and by Iran-backed Shi'ite militias have forced them out of several cities since, including Tikrit, north of Baghdad, and Ramadi, to the west last month.

In Syria, Islamic State is fighting the army of President Bashar al-Assad and other rebel groups opposed to his rule.

It is facing air strikes by the US-led coalition and by Russia which has sent warplanes to support its ally, the Syrian government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month said 2016 will be the year of "final victory" on the hardline group.


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Source: AAP


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IS territory shrinks in Iraq and Syria | SBS News