US coalition hit Daesh 14,104 times in Iraq: Spokesman

Alliance conducted more than 14,100 military strikes against Daesh since group overran one third of Iraq in 2014

By Muayad al-Tarfi

BAGHDAD (AA) - A U.S.-led coalition carried out more than 14,100 military strikes against the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq since the alliance was established in mid-2014, according to a coalition official.

“From September 2014 to December 2017, the alliance carried out 14,104 strikes on Daesh targets in Iraq,” coalition spokesman Thomas Phil told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

This figure, according to Phil, includes airstrikes carried out by coalition warplanes, in addition to attacks by helicopter gunships, drones and ground artillery.

He went on to assert that, over the same period, the terrorist group’s total presence in Iraq had shrunken from between 3,500 and 4,500 fighters to less than 1,000.

In mid-2014, Daesh overran roughly one third of Iraq following the withdrawal of Iraqi forces. Over the last year, however, the Iraqi military -- backed by the U.S.-led coalition -- has retaken almost all of this territory.

Early this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the country had been “entirely purged” of Daesh terrorists.

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