Islamic State has lost 95 per cent of its 'caliphate': US-led coalition

November 17, 2017 00:08

The Islamic State group has lost 95 per cent of the cross-border "caliphate" it declared three years ago in Iraq and Syria, the US-led coalition fighting it has said.

"Since our coalition was formed in 2014, IS has lost 95 per cent of the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria," Washington's envoy to the coalition, Brett McGurk, said after a meeting in Jordan.

The jihadist group swept across Syria and Iraq the same year, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" in territory roughly the size of Britain, attracting thousands of foreign fighters.

But several military offensives, including those backed by the US-led coalition, have since seen IS lose most areas it once controlled.

"More than 7.5 million people have now been liberated from IS," McGurk said in a statement, adding that the group's finances are now "at their lowest levels to date".

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