The Best is Yet to Come: France Notes Daesh's Retreat in Iraq

French officials have noted retreat in Iraq, a French government spokesman said on Wednesday.

PARIS (Sputnik) — Since 2014, vast territories in Iraq and neighboring Syria have been occupied by Daesh, which has proclaimed a caliphate on the land under its control.

The Sunni militant group, denounces Shia Muslims, who make up almost 70 percent of the Iraqi population, as heretics, and has carried out numerous attacks and committed human rights atrocities in the country.

"Foreign Minister [Laurent Fabius] and Defense Minister [Jean-Yves Le Drian] noted the fact of the IS [Daesh] retreat, particularly in Iraq. According to the Minister of Defense, to date, IS has long been in a defensive position. This is an important fact that will strengthen the desire of the coalition members to continue the attacks," Stephane Le Foll said following a meeting of the French Cabinet.

France is part of the US-led coalition of over 60 countries that has been conducting airstrikes on Daesh positions in Syria and Iraq since shortly after the caliphate was declared.

On November 13, Daesh terrorists attacked several venues around Paris, killing 130 people. In the wake of the attacks, French President Francois Hollande pledged to do his utmost to counter terrorism, particularly Daesh, both domestically and globally.