Holly Williams in Syria: ‘Nobody Here Thinks that Retaking Raqqa Will Spell the End of ISIS’

EXCERPT:

WILLIAMS (voice-over): "As America’s Syrian allies close in on ISIS from the north, they’re already planning for a future without the extremists, appointing local councils to govern towns retaken from ISIS. Just north of Raqqa, we watched them releasing 81 men and boys accused of being ISIS fighters. They had been rehabilitated, they told us, after defecting or being captured, and this was a public show of forgiveness in full view of the television cameras. With a handshake and a free cookie, the prisoners were reunited with their families. Ziham al-Dandan told us her 15-year-old son, Hamry, ran off to join ISIS four months ago. 'I advise every mother to stop their kids from joining ISIS,' she said. 'I wasn’t sure I would ever see him again.' But even now the Islamic State is rapidly losing territory, nobody here thinks that retaking Raqqa will spell the end of ISIS. At this U.S. military logistics hub in Northern Syria, they rolled out a dirt airstrip, building for a long stay. There are officially around 500 U.S. troops now in Syria, though the real number is thought to be much higher. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend is the commander of the U.S.- led coalition to fight ISIS.”