Trump's decision led to Raqqa's liberation from IS: U.S.

WASHINGTON - 20 October 2017: The United States on Friday congratulated the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces for the liberation of Raqqa from Daesh terror group.

In a statement, the US State Department said "We congratulate the Syrian people and the Syrian Democratic Forces, including the Syrian Arab Coalition, on the liberation of Raqqa. The United States is proud to lead the 73-member Global Coalition that supported this effort, which has seen Daesh’s so-called caliphate crumble across Iraq and Syria."

In January, Daesh was actively plotting terrorist attacks against our allies and our homeland in Raqqa, the statement said, adding nine short months later, it is out of Daesh’s control due to critical decisions President Trump made to accelerate the campaign.

Over the last seven months, millions of people have been liberated from [Daesh] ISIS’s brutal rule and working with our partners on the ground we are setting the conditions to enable people to return home, the statement added.

On Tuesday, the Syria Democratic Forces said that they had seized the northern Syrian city of Raqqa from the Daesh group, a major blow to the militant group, which had long used the city as the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate.