Russian Officials Announce 'Final Operation' and Qassem Soleimani Declares 'End of ISIS Domination'

While the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces stated on Tuesday, November 21, that Russia's 'active military operations' in Syria are 'coming to an end', the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the 'end of domination' of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq. According to AFP, one day after Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, announced the nearing conclusion of Moscow's military operations in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, General Valery Gerasimov echoed similar sentiments. He told reporters, 'The active phase of military operations in Syria is coming to an end. Despite the fact that there are still numerous unresolved issues, that phase is nearing its logical conclusion.' Bashar al-Assad has received military support from Russia and Iran in his fight against opponents, including ISIS, and has managed to reclaim large parts of Syria from opposition control with this assistance. Meanwhile, Moscow and Tehran's support for Assad's regime has drawn criticism from several countries in the region and globally, but Iran claims it has only sent military advisors to Syria. However, over a thousand individuals known as 'Defenders of the Holy Shrines' have been killed in that country. Meanwhile, ISIS has faced heavy bombardment from the US-led coalition in Syria and Iraq for a long time, and US-backed armed groups recently managed to capture Raqqa, the group's self-proclaimed capital, and push its forces back across large areas of northern and eastern Syria. The Islamic Republic of Iran has also assisted the governments of both Syria and Iraq in combating ISIS. This assistance has particularly manifested through the involvement of Shia armed groups such as Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), Hezbollah, and the presence of Quds Force 'advisors' in battles against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, stated in a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic that 'the domination of ISIS' has ended with the lowering of the group's flag in the city of Abu Kamal. Abu Kamal, located in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border, was one of the last strongholds of ISIS in the region that has recently been liberated from the group's control. In the battle for Abu Kamal, five Iranians, including two senior members of the Quds Force, were killed. According to some reports, Qassem Soleimani was in command of the operation to retake this city. In his letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he wrote that during the years of ISIS activity in the region, 'more than six thousand young people' associated with this group 'exploded themselves among the people using vehicles filled with explosives.' He also mentioned the financial damages caused by ISIS activities in Iraq and Syria, stating, 'Although the statistics of the damages incurred are difficult to quantify, initial investigations indicate around five hundred billion dollars.' The commander of the Quds Force also expressed gratitude to Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a Shia cleric in Iraq, and deemed the actions of the Islamic Republic and Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, as 'decisive' in defeating ISIS. According to the state news agency IRNA, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also congratulated this news in a speech on Tuesday but added that 'the remnants of their individuals will still continue. However, their foundation and basis have been dismantled.' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, declared a caliphate in 2014 at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, and the group's members quickly seized an area the size of Britain through heavy suicide operations and widespread massacres of opponents and captives. Following this, ISIS conducted several deadly suicide attacks in Europe and other regions against civilians, most of which were planned and prepared in Raqqa. Since then, a coalition of Western powers has formed against ISIS, with the air support of these countries, particularly for the armed Kurdish forces in Syria, being crucial in pushing the group back from many important areas. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced in July that the group is rapidly collapsing, and that same month, James Mattis, the US Secretary of Defense, also mentioned the expansion of the international coalition against ISIS and the imminent victory over the group. Defeating ISIS was one of Donald Trump's campaign promises during his election campaign. Recently, he tweeted that 'we must not allow ISIS, which has been defeated in the Middle East and other areas, to return and enter America.' In this context, Hassan Nasrallah announced the 'readiness of Hezbollah forces to withdraw from Iraq.' Five Iranians, including two senior members of the IRGC, were killed in the Abu Kamal region of Syria, and the Iraqi army has retaken the last city under ISIS control in the country.