A Turkish-backed opposition victory in the Daesh stronghold of Dabiq is “significant progress in northern Syria”, the Pentagon said Monday.
“Freeing Dabiq over the weekend holds military and symbolic significance,” agency spokesman Peter Cook said.
“ISIL carried out barbaric atrocities in Dabiq and even claimed that its final victory will take place there. Instead, its forces have been defeated in Dabiq just as they have been from territory across Syria and in Iraq,” he added, using an English acronym for Daesh.
Dabiq, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Aleppo and approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Syria’s border with Turkey, has a symbolic importance for Daesh, as the group believes it will be the site of an end-times battle with non-Muslims.
Dabiq is also the name of one of Daesh’s online magazines.