Over 10,000 IS fighters killed in nine months, says US

Paris, June 3 (IANS/EFE) US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the US-led military campaign to eradicate Islamic State (IS) has killed more than 10,000 of its fighters in Iraq and Syria over the last nine months.

"We have seen enormous losses from Daesh (IS)," Blinken told France's Inter radio, saying that despite the group's capabilities, as evidenced by seizing the Syrian city of Palmyra and Ramadi in Iraq over the past weeks, IS was "a resilient and utterly ruthless foe that has weaknesses and can be defeated".

Blinken defended the action plan carried out by the international coalition, which has launched more than 4,000 airstrikes over the past nine months, but ruled out the possibility of putting troops on the ground.

During the interview, he expressed confidence about the campaign's success, insisting that the coalition attacks "will end up having an impact" but that it would take time, reminding that the entire operation was projected to last three years, of which nine months have already passed.

Blinken travelled to Paris on Tuesday to attend the anti-IS international coalition meeting on behalf of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who could not attend after breaking his leg in a cycling accident, apparently hitting a curb in Scionzier, France, about 40 kms southeast of the Swiss border.

--IANS/EFE

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