Some 15 percent of the Syrian territory is yet to be liberated to completely destroy terrorists in the country, Lt. Gen. Alexander Lapin, chief of staff of the Russian Armed Forces group in Syria, told reporters Tuesday.
"At present, 85 percent of the Syrian territory has been liberated from the militants of illegal armed formations. About 27 square kilometers [10,424 square miles] of Syrian territory remains to be liberated until the complete annihilation of the Daesh terrorists group [ISIS/ISIL/IS outlawed in Russia]," Lapin said.
Syria has been in the state of civil war for six years, with government forces fighting against both Syrian opposition groups who strive to overthrow President Bashar Assad, and numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham [former al-Nusra Front], both of which are outlawed in Russia.
