The text of the following statement was released by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

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One year ago the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS, in conjunction with our local partners, liberated ISIS’s last remaining stronghold in Baghouz and crushed its territorial ambitions. Today, nearly eight million people have been freed from ISIS’s control in Iraq and Syria. Many have returned home to rebuild their lives thanks to various forms of Coalition assistance and stabilization support.

Progress in our campaign allows for the restructuring of our footprint, without prejudice to our ability to carry out our mission. In the meantime, the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the Iraqi and Syrian people, and to our mission, led to temporary adjustments to protect the force during this period, in full coordination with Iraqi authorities.

While we celebrate this critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, the work of the Global Coalition is far from complete as Daesh/ISIS remains a significant threat. The Global Coalition will continue its comprehensive efforts in Iraq and Syria, and globally, to deny ISIS’s ambitions and the activities of its branches and networks, until the job is done.

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