Trump: End of Daesh territory to be announced next week

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

The formal end to Daesh's territorial holdings in Iraq and Syria is likely to be announced as soon as next week, President Donald Trump said Wednesday as U.S. partners fight to rid the terror group from its final bastions in Syria.

The president made the announcement at a convening of over 70 of the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition's foreign ministers in Washington.

"The ISIS caliphate has been decimated," Trump said at the meeting, using another name for Daesh.

He warned, however, that even as the group loses the last remnants of its territories, holdout Daesh operatives still in the region will continue to pose a threat.

"Rest assured, we will do what it takes to defeat every ounce, and every last person within the ISIS madness," he said.

During the meeting, the top diplomats of Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. issued a joint statement stressing the "concerted need for diplomacy and international political will" led by the UN to end the Syrian conflict.

"We affirm in the strongest terms that those who seek to destabilize the region or seek a military solution will only succeed in increasing the risk of a dangerous escalation and wider conflagration in the region," the countries said.

The comments came as the UN released its report on the terror group, warning Daesh is transforming its operations into covert networks in Iraq and Syria following military defeats in the two countries.

"One document obtained by a Member State describes ISIL’s objectives for the post-caliphate period: to undermine stabilization and reconstruction activities, target infrastructure rebuilding efforts and in general thwart economic progress," it said.

The group's "center of gravity" is expected to remain in Syria and Iraq, where it counts 14,000 to 18,000 militants in its ranks, as well as financial reserves ranging between $50 million and $300 million.

Trump announced the "rapid" withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria in December, claiming then that the global coalition had succeeded in defeating Daesh, his "only reason for being" there.

Amid pushback from within his administration and from key U.S. lawmakers, he later signaled a "slow & highly coordinated pullout" from the war-torn country.

The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that rebukes Trump over the planned Syria withdrawal, claiming the exit could allow al-Qaeda and Daesh to regroup.

The bill still has to pass in the House of Representatives, where Democrats currently in control of the chamber are split over an amendment that protects states who penalize businesses that support a Palestinian-led boycott and divestment movement against Israel.

State laws aimed at doing so in the past have directly impacted individual citizens in addition to businesses, most notably in Texas, where people seeking aid following Hurricane Harvey were forced to sign an anti-boycott pledge in order to receive assistance.

Texas, and other states like it, has a law on the books barring agencies from doing work with contractors who boycott Israel. The state, however, classified aid seekers as contractors, forcing them to sign the anti-boycott pledge.