Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov announced on December 6 that Syria is completely freed from the militants of the "Islamic state" (a terrorist organization banned in Russia). He specified that the troops under the command of General Suhel, along with the volunteers of the assault corps, smashed the remnants of the terrorists in the province of Deir ez Zor. Having liberated a number of settlements, they united with the forces of the Syrian army advancing from the south. Gerasimov stressed that all military operations against the IG were planned by Russian military advisers. In the opinion of the chief of the General Staff, the forces of the pro-American coalition did not play a big role in the destruction of the terrorist group, RIA Novosti reports: this year the coalition cleared of the militants only Rakku, while the siege of the city lasted 11 months. Gerasimov added that the air strikes of the coalition destroyed 90% of Rakki, and now it is unsuitable for life. Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense Viktor Bondarev added that in the near future the order in the RA will support government troops with the support of Russian VCS. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is ready to help the USA in the fight against the IG in the west of Iraq, since it is very important not to allow the militants to gain a foothold in this region. Russia launched an anti-terrorist operation in Syria in 2015 at the request of the authorities of the country.