Trump Says ISIS Was Defeated in 2019 as Claim Resurfaces After Striking Nigeria on Christmas Day

Описание: Trump Says ISIS Was Defeated in 2019 as Claim Resurfaces After Striking Nigeria on Christmas Day


“We have 100% of the caliphate. We have 100% of the territory… We have done a job that’s been very few people — it’s never been done like this,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in March 2019, declaring victory over the Islamic State group.

Trump made the statement after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured Baghouz, the last territorial stronghold held by ISIS in eastern Syria, according to the Pentagon. U.S. officials at the time said the collapse of the so-called caliphate ended ISIS’ control over land in Syria and Iraq, though they cautioned the group could continue as an insurgency.

The United States military later emphasized that while ISIS lost its territory, the group retained fighters and sleeper cells across the Middle East, including parts of Iraq and Syria. A Pentagon statement in 2019 said ISIS had been “territorially defeated but not ideologically destroyed.”

The resurfacing of Trump’s claim comes after a claimed 'precision strike' on ISIS in Sokoto, Nigeria, amid contradictory claims by the US president, Nigerian government, and citizens. The United States president claimed 'multiple lives were lost,' while the Nigerian government and citizens are giving different accounts.


SOURCES
• Reuters (March 23, 2019): Trump says U.S. has defeated Islamic State caliphate
• Associated Press (March 2019): U.S.-backed forces declare ISIS defeat in Syria
• Pentagon Briefing, 2019: Statements on ISIS territorial defeat

#Trump #ISIS #UnitedStates #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #GlobalPolitics #Syria #Iraq #Nigeria #NorthernNigeria #Politics