Trump claims ISIS will be eliminated from its last piece of territory ‘TONIGHT’

The terrorist group that Barack Obama infamously called Al-Qaeda’s “JV-team” is making their final stand, with only a copy dozen to hundred die-hard militants fighting to the death. The terrorist group that once controlled enough territory to make their pseudo-State larger than England is by all accounts is down to less than 3 square kilometers of territory.

Earlier today Trump held up a map showing ISIS territory on election day compared to today, and he’s right to take credit. ISIS controlled 17,500 square miles of territory on inauguration day, and Trump obliterated 15,570 square miles of that his first 11 months in office. For reference, that’s more than the 13,200 square miles Obama’s administration took back over a nearly four-year period.

While the Obama administration blocked 75% of anti-ISIS airstrikes over concerns about civilian casualties, Trump loosened the rules of engagement to great benefit. While Trump’s foreign policy may have resulted in a couple hundred more civilian casualties, it freed millions more from ISIS (5.3 million to Obama’s 2.4 million). And with all that success, the U.S. only lost five soldiers.

What ISIS once called their “Caliphate” more resembles a refugee camp or a shanty town. Or as one writer at the Daily Mail put it, ISIS has gone “from caliphate to car park.”

As the Associated Press reported:

President Donald Trump says the last of the Islamic State’s territory in Syria will be freed by U.S.-backed forces “by tonight.”

Trump spoke as he left the White House and displayed maps of IS-held territory in Iraq and Syria on the day he was elected and as of Wednesday morning.

The most recent map shows what Trump says is a “tiny spot which will be gone by tonight.” He says when he was elected, Syria was “a mess” and awash in IS fighters.

Trump is specifically speaking about a territorial defeat of the group, as obviously ISIS will continue to exist fractured in cells in the future (just as many other terrorist networks do). However, the death of the Caliphate will greatly dampen ISIS’ ability to recruit future members, as the “State” aspect of the group was a major selling point to many foreigners who joined.

It would appear that Trump made good on his promise to “bomb the s**t” out of ISIS.