More Than 4Mln Internally Displaced Syrians, Iraqis Return Home In 2018 - US-Led Coalition

More than 4 million Iraqis and Syrians who were forced to flee the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) in their respective countries were able to return their home neighborhoods in 2018, the US-led coalition reported on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th January, 2019) More than 4 million Iraqis and Syrians who were forced to flee the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) in their respective countries were able to return their home neighborhoods in 2018, the US-led coalition reported on Tuesday.

"In 2018 the Coalition and partner forces have territorially constrained ISIS [Islamic State] and severely degraded their capabilities, allowing more than 4 million internally displaced persons to return to their area of origin free from ISIS rule," Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a press release.

Since the establishment of CJTF-OIR in 2014, the Coalition reclaimed more than 99 percent of the Islamic State's previously held ground of more than 100,000 square kilometers, roughly equivalent in size to Britain, the release said.

The release also named 11 coalition forces killed last year, nine from the United States, and one from the United Kingdom and another from France.

In addition, the Coalition grew from 70 nations and four partner organizations to 74 nations and five partner organizations in 2018, with the addition of the Philippines in February, Republic of Guinea and the Community of Sahel-Sahran States in June, Kenya in August, and Fiji in September, according to the release.