How ISIS was brought to its knees

Rampaging ISIS fighters were just an hour from Baghdad when a fleet of US Apache attack helicopters were scrambled to check their devastating advance with a hail of bullets and bombs.

The army of bloodthirsty jihadhis had routed the far from fearless Iraqi forces in a lightning fast and cruel campaign that saw them take a swathe of key towns including Mosul and Kirkut in less than two weeks.

Just days later on 29 June 2014, elusive Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, showing disdain for the $25m US bounty on his head, appeared in public at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul to announce a Caliphate in Iraq and Syria

How ISIS was defeated after an devastating and relentless air and ground offensive 

How ISIS was defeated after an devastating and relentless air and ground offensive 

The world was jolted awake to the new and grave threat of the 'Islamic State' - as thousands of foreign radical Muslims flooded in to fight for the terrorist homeland.

But now ISIS stands on the verge of defeat in the shell-pocked and crumbling town of Baghouz in Syria as just a handful of jihadis fight until the bitter end. 

It's easy to think now that this victory was inevitable, but the decision to recommit to a major campaign in Iraq was deeply unpopular with many in the West - and importantly with the Iraqi population.

The loss of life has been grinding. It is estimated that 367,965 people have been killed in Syria in the fight against ISIS and between 30,000 and 70,000 civilians killed in Iraq.

The leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announces the Caliphate from Mosul in 2014

The leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announces the Caliphate from Mosul in 2014

Babies, children, women and unarmed men have been slaughtered in bombing campaigns and by allied forces on the ground as fervent ISIS fighters ensured that every inch of land won was soaked in blood.

The cost to the West, largely, is not in lives but in dollars - hundreds of billions. The US alone has spent $5.6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

There have been 18,826 US-led coalition airstrikes in Syria and 13,535 in Iraq. The most pounded city was the former stronghold of Raqqa which was hit 6,039 times by jets and drones.

On the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 strikes in 2014, President Obama effectively declared war on ISIS by announcing an open-ended bombing campaign that would extend into Syria.

It was a year after he had been embarrassed by failing to follow through on threats to launch missiles at Basha al-Assad's forces in Syria.

He said: 'We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. I will not hesitate to take action against Isil in Syria, as well as Iraq.'

'If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region – including to the United States.'

A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul, Iraq in March 2017

A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul, Iraq in March 2017

Iraqi special forces soldiers walk among destruction in a street in Mosul, Iraq, in March 2017

Iraqi special forces soldiers walk among destruction in a street in Mosul, Iraq, in March 2017

In the UK, MPs voted for action in Iraq - but delayed a vote on strikes in Syria. When they did eventually vote to back action in Syria in December 2015, there was high profile opposition. 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the case for war 'did not stack up' and was heavily rebuked by his own MPs.

In a letter, that has not aged well, the leader of the opposition said: 'The Prime Minister did not set out a coherent strategy, coordinated through the UN for the defeat of ISIS. 

Nor has he been able to explain what credible and acceptable ground forces could retake and hold territory freed from ISIS control by an intensified air campaign.'

The strategy formulated by the Obama administration relied on, unlike the Iraq war to remove Saddam Hussein, local forces to drive out ISIS from Iraq and Syria - bolstered by Western airstrikes and relatively small numbers of troops on the ground.

 Former US President Barack Obama speaks during the Global Health Security Agenda Summit at the White House in Washington DC on September 26, 2014

 Former US President Barack Obama speaks during the Global Health Security Agenda Summit at the White House in Washington DC on September 26, 2014

This helped to gain the trust of locals who feared another invading army of occupation. And the new battle skills honed by the Western trained local forces meant they could hold the land - unlike the previous Iraqi army which crumbled spectacularly.

US, UK and Western special forces bolstered their valiant efforts on the battlefield - removing the need for a huge 'boots on the ground' strategy used in previous Middle East wars.

And the weight of relentless airstrikes brought a level of devastation that ISIS just could not contend with.

Donald Trump may have already declared victory over ISIS, tweeting in December that 'we have defeated' them and that 'it's time to bring our great people home', but his commanders have been more cautious.

On Sunday, the top US commander in the war against ISIS, General Joseph Votel, aligned himself with intelligence community estimates that there are 'tens of thousands' of ISIS fighters spread across Syria and Iraq.

US special forces monitor Iraqi forces as they advance towards Mosul airport on the southern edge of the jihadist stronghold in February 2017

US special forces monitor Iraqi forces as they advance towards Mosul airport on the southern edge of the jihadist stronghold in February 2017

Members of special forces with the US-backed coalition assemble a transmission device during an operation to expel the jihadists, in the countryside of the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor on February 14, 2019

Members of special forces with

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