'Mission Accomplished' As Russia Declares Syria 100% IS Free

The Russian Defence Ministry has announced that the combined forces of Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad have completely wiped out so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Speaking at a security press briefing, Lt General Sergei Rudskoi, Head of the General Staff’s main operations directorate said:

“The mission of defeating the Islamic State bandit groups in Syria has been accomplished.

“Today in the Syrian Arab Republic there is not one population point or region controlled by the Islamic State."

As he spoke footage of Russian jets and Syrian soldiers firing round in celebration played out behind him, he then added:

"The territory of Syria has been completely liberated from this terrorist group.”

It comes after Russian-backed Syrian forces swept through remaining IS territory in the Deir Ezzor region on Wednesday; the operation was described by the Russian General as a ‘mop-up’ of liberated settlements.

The General claimed over 550 terrorists, 91 pickups with machine guns, 14 “jihad-mobiles” and six tanks were destroyed in the sweep.

Russian news agency TASS reported that Rudskoi does not rule out that separate sabotage IS groups may appear on the liberated territory in Syria.

However, he then went on to say:

“In this case, they will be destroyed by the government forces that have specially trained mobile reserves.”

During the press event, General Rudskoi praised the efforts of Russia’s Aerospace Force, describing their actions as ‘unprecedented’.

"Every day one hundred and more sorties were flown and 250 air strikes delivered.

"Russian planes attacked the militants’ positions, warehouses with arms and ammunition, armoured vehicles and pickup trucks carrying heavy weapons. Long-range aircraft were used on the massive scale."

Reports confirmed Tu-22M3 long-range bombers took off from Russia and were then covered by Russia’s Su-30SM fighters from Hmeymim airbase in Syria.

Recently, a video apparently shot in Syria surfaced on Russian social media showing a Su-30SM peeking inside a military transport plane after an airdrop.

The fighter hovered only meters away from the plane close enough to see the cockpit, before making a sharp exit.

However, the claim is disputed by British-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who said on Thursday to Deutsche Welle that IS still held around 8% of the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the US Defence Department echo the message that IS has not been completely eradicated from the country.

Johnson has previously warned the fight against IS is far from over while the US have said they will resume airstrikes against the extremist group.

Looking forward, Putin has said Russia would now start focusing on political reform and restoring civilian life as part of a “new stage” in the conflict.

The Syrian conflict began in 2011 and over 340,000 people have been killed.

Cover photo: Russian Ministry of Defense