U.S. Hopes to See the Defeat of Islamic State
With a strong force of over 70,000 fighters under its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIL is attacking different nations with the aim to set up a large Islamic State called the Caliphate.
The defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant / Syria (ISIL / ISIS) is certain, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said Thursday.
“The Department of Defense (DoD) is focused on one key thing: and that is … inflicting a lasting defeat on ISIL,” Work said in an interview with DoD News, as he traveled from Germany to Finland.
“I believe the ISIL fighters in Mosul and Raqqa are dead men walking,” he said. “They will be ejected and they will be defeated. It’s only a matter of time. That’s what we’re focused on and there is no doubt in my mind that we will defeat ISIL as a state.”
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State (IS) is a militant organization.
With a strong force of over 70,000 fighters under its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIL is attacking different nations with the aim to set up a large Islamic State called the Caliphate. It is believed that now ISIS has a presence in nearly 30 countries of the world.
According to DoD, the U.S.-led coalition continues to support Iraqi forces as they prepare for the battle to liberate Mosul, the city in northern Iraq that was overrun by ISIL in 2014.
U.S. officials have said they expect a tough fight, as the terrorists are entrenched in the city. Raqqa, Syria, is ISIL’s so-called capital.
Work will be in Helsinki for two days of talks with Finnish officials on key issues, including Russian actions of concern on and over the Baltic Sea.
In Germany, his events included the signing of an agreement with Germany to strengthen U.S.-German cooperation at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
