Department officials recently said they were close to declaring an end to the caliphate, but also cautioned that a few hurdles remained. On Thursday, Syrian Democratic Forces officials said that fighters were about a week away from declaring victory, with the caveat that the delicate situation could change. Trump administration officials have been moving closer to publicly declaring a total rout of the Islamic State from the land it controls. In December, Mr. Trump announced that he would withdraw all 2,000 American troops from Syria. He has since softened that to allow about 400 troops to remain, half as part of a multinational force dedicated to securing the country’s northeast — an area that is vulnerable to the Islamic State.

Source: New York Times February 28, 2019 23:52 UTC