Baladi News
More than 11,000 ٍSyrian Democratic Forces fighters (SDF) were killed and 21,000 others wounded fighting ISIS, the group announced on Saturday following the group's formal liberation of ISIS' last enclave in Syria, the Task & Purpose news website wrote.
In a statement the SDF paid tribute to the dead and wished urgent recovery for the wounds, and praised their sacrifice.
Army Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. operations in Iraq and Syria, paid tribute Saturday to the SDF fighters as well as Iraqi troops and police who were killed while fighting ISIS.
"During this four-year campaign, thousands of Syrian Democratic Forces and Iraqi Security Forces did not return to their families," LaCamera said in a statement congratulating the SDF for its victory in Baghouz, Syria. "I pray for your losses, and for a speedy recovery of your wounded."
A total of 73 U.S. service members of the International Coalition have died during Operation Inherent Resolve, according to the Defense Department. Those fatalities include deaths in Jordan, Bahrain, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and elsewhere, Task & Purpose added.
Another 77 service members have been wounded and three Defense Department civilians have died supporting operations against ISIS, according to the Task & Purpose.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been hesitant to estimate how many ISIS fighters have been killed or captured since 2014.For more than a year, defense officials estimated that roughly 2,000 ISIS fighters remained in Syria, but U.S. Central Command confirmed on Saturday that the SDF had captured more than 60,000 ISIS fighters, women, and children just in the last month.
Source: Task & Purpose.