Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State group's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out diehard jihadists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria.
"Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS," spokesman Mustefa Bali said in a statement.
He said the SDF had taken full control of Baghouz, a small village on the Euphrates where diehard jihadists made a bloody last stand.
Fighters from the US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance raised their yellow flag in Baghouz early Saturday to celebrate the landmark victory.
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