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TERROR WARS
Cities, towns and territory retaken from IS
by Staff Writers
Beirut (AFP) Sept 6, 2016


Islamic State jihadists have given up their last positions along the Turkish-Syrian border, depriving the group of important transit points for recruits and supplies.

But IS still holds sway over a large area in Iraq and Syria and in the past few days has claimed deadly bombings in Baghdad and in Syria's regime stronghold of Tartus.

And while air strikes have eliminated IS leaders like Omar al-Shishani and propaganda chief Mohamed al-Adnani, foreign jihadists they attracted now pose a threat to many countries.

Here is a recap of key cities, towns and territory IS has lost in Syria, Iraq and Libya:

- Syria -

KOBANE: A Kurdish town in northern Syria on the Turkish border. It became a symbol of the fight against IS, and the jihadists were driven out of Kobane in January 2015 after more than four months of fierce fighting with Kurdish forces backed by US-led strikes.

TAL ABYAD: Another city on the Turkish border, it was captured by Kurds in June 2015. Tal Abyad controls a key supply route between Turkey and the IS stronghold Raqa, and jihadist fighters and arms regularly passed through the city before its recapture.

PALMYRA: Known as the "Pearl of the Desert", Palmyra was overrun by IS in May 2015, after which the jihadists blew up UNESCO-listed temples and looted ancient relics. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian warplanes and allied militia retook the ancient city from IS in March this year.

MANBIJ: On August 6, a coalition of Arab and Kurd fighters backed by US-led aircraft recaptured Manbij following a two-month battle. IS had controlled the town since 2014 and used it as a hub for the movement of jihadists to and from Europe. It also controlled a key supply route for the group.

JARABULUS: This border town is north of Manbij and west of Kobane. Turkish troops and Syrian rebels swept almost unopposed into Jarabulus on August 24 during operation "Euphrates Shield," which also targets Kurdish militia.

SYRIAN/TURKEY BORDER: On September 4, Turkish troops and allied rebel fighters drove the IS from its last positions along the border. The group is now more isolated, but foreigners trained by it pose a serious threat to their regions of origin.

- Iraq -

TIKRIT: Hometown of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein located north of Baghdad, it fell to IS in June 2014, soon after Mosul. It was recaptured in April 2015 by Iraqi troops, police and Shiite-dominated paramilitaries. The operation was helped by the fact that much of Tikrit's civilian population had fled the city.

SINJAR: Iraqi Kurdish forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes recaptured Sinjar, northwest of Baghdad, from IS in November 2015. That cut a key supply line linking areas held by the jihadists in Iraq and Syria. IS had captured Sinjar in August 2014 and pursued a brutal campaign against its Yazidi minority that included massacres, enslavement and rape.

RAMADI: The capital of Anbar, Iraq's largest province that stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to just west of Baghdad. Ramadi was recaptured on February 9, about nine months after IS seized it in an assault involving dozens of suicide attackers driving explosives-rigged vehicles.

FALLUJAH: Anbar province's second city and one of IS's most emblematic bastions in the country. It was seized by anti-government fighters in 2014 and later became a key IS stronghold close to the capital. Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah in June this year.

QAYYARAH: Iraqi soldiers backed by coalition aircraft retook Qayyarah from IS on August 25, providing Baghdad with a platform for its assault on Mosul, which lies a little further to the north. The prime minister has promised that offensive would be wrapped up by the end of 2016.

- Libya -

Forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) backed by US airstrikes have recaptured nearly all of Sirte, the jihadists' main stronghold in North Africa.


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