National Security

Patrick Shanahan predicts defeat of ISIS in weeks

By Jamie McIntyre

Published January 29, 2019 4:06pm ET

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Patrick Shanahan predicts defeat of ISIS in weeks — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan departs after speaking with the media as he waits for the arrival of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Washington. | (Alex Brandon/AP)

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan predicted Tuesday the last of ISIS-controlled territory in Syria will be liberated by U.S.-backed Syrian forces within weeks.

“I’d say 99.5 percent plus of … the ISIS controlled territory has been returned to the Syrians. Within a couple of weeks it will be 100 percent,” Shanahan said in his first Pentagon news conference since taking over as secretary from Jim Mattis Jan. 1.

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