At Least 40% of Daesh-Controlled Iraqi Lands Liberated in 2015

The US-led international coalition liberated 40 percent of territories controlled by the Islamic State (IS, or Daesh in Arabic) terrorist group in Iraq and 20 percent in Syria in 2015, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Tuesday.

ROME (Sputnik) — The minister added that military actions alone are not enough to defeat Daesh and it is necessary to cooperate with the Iraqi government as the liberation of territories is connected to its ability to stabilize and manage the freed areas.

"At least 40 percent of territories under Daesh control were liberated in Iraq and 20 percent in Syria in 2015. Communication channels between Raqqa and Mosul have been almost broken," Gentiloni told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.

"To what extent the liberation of Mosul could be put on the agenda" is to be discussed at the coalition ministerial meeting taking place on Tuesday in Rome, the minister stressed.

Considerable parts of Syria and Iraq are currently controlled by the Islamic State, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia. The extremists have declared a caliphate on the territories under their control. The group is considered to be one of the main threats to global security.

A US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria since 2014 without the approval of the official government in Damascus.

Russia has been conducting anti-terrorist airstrikes in Syria since September 30 at the request of President Bashar Assad.