WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The White House just released a statement after the U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced the final ISIS stronghold there has fallen. The president says in part, "I'm pleased to announce that together with our partners in the global coalition to defeat ISIS, including the Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian Democratic Force, the United States has liberated all ISIS- controlled territory in Syria and Iraq -- 100 percent of the "caliphate." But as the Syrian Defense Forces raise liberation flags over the final ISIS stronghold, it's a victory that can only resonate so far. The breeding ground and ideology of ISIS still thrives. CNN's Ben Wedeman has been on the ground in Syria for the past 50 days now. Ben, how exactly did this historical territorial victory happen?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it happened as a result of a confluence of interests between local forces, whether that be the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, and the Shia in Iraq, and ironically, Iran, the United States, the western powers, all coming together, realizing that ISIS was a very broad threat, threatening the regional order here in the Middle East. So for instance, I was in parts of Iraq when American and Iranian force, they weren't working together, but they were working in parallel to bolster Iraqi forces. So one of those rare moments in history where enemies come together to defeat an even worse enemy, in this case, and that of course, was ISIS, which was the sort of regime the sorts of which had not been seen here in the Middle East. Utterly sectarian. It had no qualms at mass murder and reviving the institution of slavery in the 21st century. But of course, now that ISIS has been completely eliminated, we're already beginning to see the old tensions coming to the fore. Saudi Arabia versus Iran, Iran versus the United States, those tensions are rising at a moment when ISIS has disappeared. Fredricka?</s>WHITFIELD: Ben Wedeman, fabulous job you've been doing all of this time, 50 days and counting. Much more ahead in the Newsroom right after this.
U.S. Led International Coalition Declares Complete Victory over ISIS