elsewhere. we will continue to fully support the iraqi security forces and the prime minister s government in isolating and destroying isis throughout iraq. in syria, we support syrian democratic forces that recently seized have taken tack ca and are currently attacking with great success to isolate raqqa. isis has additional strength scattered down the river valley to the iraq border. we will not stop until they, too, are destroyed. i want our chairman general dun zairs fo dunford and to provide more details to let me sum up. we are leading a comprehensive international campaign to crush isis claim of invisibility. to deny isis a geographic haven from have to hatch murder, eliminate isis ability to operate externally, and to irrad
region can recover from isis after we free it. 26 of our coalition nations contribute militarily including more than 4,000 nonu.s. troops on the ground and in the air. our recent coalition meetings in brussels, copenhagen and elsewhere have a with the forces in iraq and the forces in syria. so what have we achieved? we have fought isis elements from southeast asia to africa. collaboration among many nations, intelligence services continues to complicate and blunt sis operations. even as isis continues to pursue and conduct attacks against the united states. and our allies through centralized directed plots but also through inspired attacks. from the philippines to europe and beyond while isis remains
dangerous, they are no longer carrying an air of strength. in afghanistan two weeks ago the president announced we had killed the leader of isis plus approximately two thirds of their strength been killed during very tough pragoperation. france has brilliantly led a two year ongoing campaign in the lake chad basin and west africa to throw isis off balance with 4,000 of their troops on the ground to support our african allies. in libya we struck a significant isis presence there in january of this year. our attack against their concentrated strength was highly effective and isis did not own any major territory any longer there. elsewhere, too, there have been successes. but in iraq and syria lies the core area of isis. recent attacks in istanbul,
seas location in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate isis. the intent is to prevent the return home of escaped foreign fighters. i want to emphasize here there has been no change to our rules of engagement. and there has been no change to our continues extraordinary efforts to avoid innocent civilian saz y civilian casualties. despite needing to go into populated areas to break isis hold hold, despite isis endangering innocence lives and we continue all possible efforts to protect the innocent. you re all aware of the human costs isis has exacted, killed, wounded, refugees, merciless control over those regions they hold, the cost to turkey, jordan, and lebanon and syrian
paris and brussels were planned and coordinated out of isis so-called capital of raqqa. additional imminent threats to many nations require us to move with urgency against all strongholds still in their hands. east mosul has you know have fallen after tour fighting by the iraqi security forces with u.s. and coalition support. since january it is returning to normal with businesses reopening, cleanup under way and kids back in school. west mosul in accordance with tactics changed by president president trump is surrounded and are our iraqi partners are in a stiff fight. there is no escape for isis. even while we do all that is humanly possible to shepard the innocent out of harm s way. talafar is also surrounded and other pockets of isis exist