An Iraqi special forces soldier fires at Islamic State militants as smoke from an airstrike billows from the site, in the al-Tanek neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq. In Mosul, Iraqi forces are steadily closing in on remaining pockets of territory held by IS. AP WIREPHOTO/Maya Alleruzzo
The 65-nation coalition, in addition to Interpol, the European Union and the Arab League, has beaten back the extremists by denying them financial support and liberating towns and cities across Iraq and Syria.
Two weeks ago, U.S.-backed forces liberated Syria’s Tabqa Dam from ISIS — a key piece of the region’s power infrastructure.
On Friday, coalition forces announced the elimination of three senior foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria.
After liberating east Mosul, coalition forces have west Mosul surrounded, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, adding, “There is no escape for ISIS, even while we do all that is humanly possible to shepherd the innocent out of harm’s way.
“This enemy remains adaptive,” Mattis said, “and the threat will not end with the battles of Mosul and Raqqa, but the end of the phony caliphate is coming into sight — and without telegraphing anything that is to come — the pressure has only started.”
The battle has come at a cost, with Operation Inherent Resolve losing nine U.S. lives so far in 2017, including Brockton-born 22-year-old Etienne Murphy, who died Friday, and a 25-year-old from Georgia killed last month by an explosion outside Mosul.
Murphy died Friday in a non-tactical vehicle rollover in northern Syria, the Pentagon said. Army Lt. Weston Lee, from Bluffton, Ga., was killed April 29.
Air Force Sgt. Austin Bieren died March 28 in northern Syria in a non-combat incident. Air Force Sgt. Alexandria Morrow, also 25, died March 22 in a non-combat incident in Jordan.
The Pentagon’s casualty count from its Operation Inherent Resolve also includes the death of a Navy SEAL from Maine, Kyle Milliken, who died three weeks ago during a raid.
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