The last Islamic State village has been captured, U.S. allies say, ending a self-declared caliphate that once was as big as Britain
By Louisa Loveluck Louisa Loveluck Reporter in The Washington Post's Beirut bureau, focusing on Syria. Email Bio Follow March 23 at 3:19 AM LONDON — The Islamic State’s so-called caliphate has been defeated, a U.S.-backed force said Saturday, ending the group’s unprecedented rule across a proto-state which challenged international borders and drew foot soldiers from around the world.
But although the announcement marked a landmark victory, the Islamic State group remains a potent threat across Syria and Iraq. The militants switched gears as territorial defeat loomed, seeding sleeper cells across former strongholds as they prepared a new phase of insurgency. U.S. military officials have also warned that a President Trump’s planned troop withdrawal — the shape of which remains unclear — has the potential to create a security vacuum within which the Islamic State could regroup.
Western militaries were confounded by the sheer number of civilians packed inside Baghouz until the very end, and their presence had slowed fighting to a snail’s pace. The civilians face an uncertain future. Many are packed across displacement camps that they are not allowed to leave. Although thousands of them are foreigners, Western governments show little appetite to repatriate citizens who joined the caliphate. The SDF say they cannot host them indefinitely.
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