By SAMI MOUBAYED
By the end of this year, Syria will be free of Islamic State, apart from small pockets that will disappear with time. Russian President Vladimir Putin will have achieved what he set out to with his Syria intervention back in September 2015: to rid the country of armed jihadist groups, while empowering his allies in Damascus.
This month alone, major progress has been achieved, as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces overran al-Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State, and government troops made steady progress on two other cities along the Euphrates River: Deir ez-Zour and al-Mayadeen. It is only a matter of time before they also retake the last standing ISIS stronghold of Albukamal, on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
http://www.atimes.com/article/moscow-nears-mission-accomplished-syria/
