ISIL no longer holds territory in Syria: White House

BAGHOUZ- Reuters

ISIL no longer holds any territory in Syria, a White House spokeswoman said on March 22.

U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan briefed President Donald Trump as he was traveling to Florida on Air Force One, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

The YPG- Syrian offshoot of the illegal PKK- has been battling for weeks to defeat ISIL in Baghouz in southeastern Syria at the Iraqi border all that remained of the territory the militants ruled, which once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.

Though the defeat of ISIL at Baghouz ends its grip overpopulated territory, the group remains a threat, with fighters operating in remote territory elsewhere and capable of mounting insurgent attacks.