In Iraq, about 70 percent of the territory ISIS once held is now liberated. In Syria, 50 percent of the territory they once held is liberated, and ISIS has not retaken one inch of territory liberated by the coalition, Davis said.
“This includes places where external operations were [being] hatched and that served as hubs for the flow of foreign fighters in and terrorists out. Places like Manbij, and now Raqqa, their capital in Syria, which is surrounded and collapsing quickly,” he added, noting that all was done with the cooperation of a large coalition.
The coalition now includes 73 partners -- 69 nations plus the European Union, NATO, the Arab League and Interpol, he said.
“The coalition is progressing and ISIS is facing its inevitable defeat. We will win and they will lose. Our campaign against ISIS has been done with the utmost care to minimize civilian casualties,” Davis said, adding that although this campaign has been the most precise in the history of warfare, “Civilians do die in war and that's a sad truth.
“But the 5 million innocent people liberated from ISIS would still be living under that brutality and the death toll would be even higher but for our efforts against ISIS,” he said.
Syria and Iraq
In Raqqa today it is day 64 of Syria operations, Davis said.
“Yesterday the [Syrian Democratic Forces] liberated about a square kilometer of terrain in Raqqa, continuing to work on the three axes that we've talked about before -- west, east and south.
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