U.S. forces retakes 100% territory once help by Islamic State in Syria, says Trump

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, Feb 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told American troops on Thursday that U.S.-backed forces in Syria have retaken 100 per cent of the territory once held by Islamic State militants, contradicting the commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, who said it would take another week. "We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 per cent, 92 per cent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it's 100 per cent we just took over, 100 per cent caliphate," Trump told troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during a refuelling stop in Alaska.

Earlier on Thursday, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said in a video that the SDF would announce "the complete victory" over Islamic State in a week.