Russia: Less than 5 percent of Syria still under IS control

BEIRUT, Lebanon — After losing major strongholds and key urban areas across Syria, including its self-proclaimed capital, the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State group now controls only 5 percent of the country’s territory, according to Russia’s defense minister.

That’s a dramatic decline from the height of the rise of IS in 2014, when the extremist group seized about a third of both Syria and Iraq, before its downfall began.

The remarks by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu come as Russia-backed Syrian troops are pushing deeper into the eastern Syrian town of Mehkan, one of the few still held by IS.

Speaking at a conference in the Philippines, Shoigu said on Monday that “terrorists” — a term the Syrian government and its allies use for all armed opposition, including groups such as IS and al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate — controlled more than 70% of the country before Russia launched its air operation at the end of 2015 to support President Bashar Assad’s offensive against IS militants and opposition forces.

— AP