Donald Trump says ISIS is ‘eliminated’ in Syria — but the violence isn’t over just yet

President Donald Trump claims the Islamic State has been defeated in Syria. But reporters on the ground tell a different story.

The White House has declared the end of the Islamic State caliphate, with President Donald Trump producing maps showing the terror group had been eliminated in Syria.

The declaration comes after a ferocious final six-week battle in Baghouz, in Syria, where Islamic State had been making its last stand.

After taking over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, including the cities of Mosul, Raqqa, Fallujah and Ramadi, the once powerful terror group had been pushed into a tiny pocket in eastern Syria.

President Donald Trump held two maps of Syria in West Palm Beach, Florida, today. Picture: AP

The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by US fighter jets, have been relentlessly attacking the final Islamic State camps in Baghouz, as tens of thousands of Islamic State women and their children fled.

Mr Trump showed reporters in the US two maps — one showing the previous territory held by the Islamic State, and another showing no presence at all.

“There’s ISIS, and that’s what we have right now,” Trump said, comparing the two maps.

ISIS uses the internet better than almost anyone, but for all of those susceptible to ISIS propaganda, they are now being beaten badly at every level....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2019

....There is nothing to admire about them, they will always try to show a glimmer of vicious hope, but they are losers and barely breathing. Think about that before you destroy your lives and the lives of your family!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2019

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said “the territorial caliphate has been eliminated in Syria”.

However, reporters on the ground in Baghouz said they were witnessing continued fighting, and tweeted photographs showing the battle.

Here's the @bencnn live report from Syria. "The fighting is not over" pic.twitter.com/vnzexrGY7I

— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) March 22, 2019

The SDF, which has led the charge against Islamic State, did not immediately confirm the White House claims.

The head of the SDF’s press unit, Mustafa Bali, tweeted pictures of continuing bombardments a short time after Mr Trump’s announcement, and said “heavy fighting continues around mount Baghouz right now to finish off whatever remains of ISIS.’’

Heavy fighting continues around mount #Baghouz right now to finish off whatever remains of ISIS. pic.twitter.com/l6eHLcWM5h

— Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) March 22, 2019

Mr Trump has declared Islamic State defeated several times in the past, including last year when he said he would be withdrawing troops from Syria.

On February 17, as he urged other countries to take back and prosecute their own foreign fighters, he tweeted: “We are pulling back after 100 per cent Caliphate victory!’’

And on February 28 in a speech to troops in Alaska, Mr Trump said: “You kept hearing it was 90 per cent, 92 per cent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it’s 100 per cent, we just took over.’’

The tiny patch of land in Baghouz, on the Euphrates River near the Iraq border, was the final pocket of Islamic State occupation, and, if the battle is over, its fall will spell the end of the caliphate’s occupation of Syria.

Members of the Islamic State terrorist group capture hostages in Syria. Picture: Supplied

But Islamic State as an organisation has not been wiped out, and has reverted to a guerrilla-style operation in Syria, and across the border in Iraq, where it was declared defeated in 2017.

Experts warn it will take years to defeat the terror group and its evil ideology.

Its self-proclaimed leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is thought to have escaped in recent weeks and is likely still alive and in hiding.

Originally published as Donald Trump says ISIS is ‘eliminated’ in Syria — but the violence isn’t over just yet