The Observer view on the premature celebrations on the defeat of Isis | Observer editorial

Islamic State has lost its Syrian base, but its threat remains

If he gets his way, Donald Trump will announce at some point in the coming week that the Islamic State terrorist group has been defeated and its hate-filled caliphate in Syria and Iraq destroyed. This will be the second time the US president has declared victory over the jihadists.

When Trump first made the claim, in December, he was sharply contradicted by his own intelligence chiefs and by British ministers. Now he is being more cautious. But his eagerness to hog the credit for a limited success he had precious little to do with will probably get the better of him, sooner rather than later.

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