ISIL only lost 1% of captured territory in Iraq: Pentagon

The Pentagon has announced that ISIL militants have lost only a tiny fraction of the territories they had captured in Iraq since US-led airstrikes began last year.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces have managed to retake only about 700 hundred square kilometers of the ground during the period,  Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Friday.

"I think we all recognize that it's a small percentage of the total right now. But we're only six, seven months into this thing, too," said Kirby. "ISIL had a big head start on us, coming into the summer. A pretty aggressive first quarter for those guys."

The figure is around only one percent of the total captured lands which amount to 55,000 square kilometers.

The ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June. The US-led bombing campaign against ISIL positions in Iraq began in early August.

Kirby said about 6,000 ISIL fighters have been killed since August but noted, "It’s not the metric of success and it's not a metric that we're going to hang our hat on when it comes to the success of the strategy."

There is a fluctuation in the number of ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria and the number of casualty announced by the Pentagon accounts for about 20% to 30% of the total ISIL militants.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, over 1,200 ISIL fighters have been killed in Syria since coalition airstrikes began there in late September.

Kirby also said that the US is “mindful that they're still a potent force inside Iraq and in Syria” and that eradicating them will “take some time".

The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

They have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

AT/GJH

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk