Cities, Towns and Territory Retaken from IS

Iraqi troops are gearing up for a long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second biggest city and an important stronghold of the Islamic State group.

Since seizing control of large parts of Syria and Iraq in mid-2014, the jihadist group has faced a concerted fightback from a range of groups, including U.S.-backed Iraqi troops and Syrian Kurdish fighters, and Syrian regime forces supported by Russia and Iran.

Here is a recap of key cities, towns and territory IS has lost in Syria and Iraq:

- Syria -

KOBANE: A Kurdish town in northern Syria on the Turkish border. Kobane became a symbol of the fight against IS and the jihadists were driven out in January 2015 after more than four months of fierce fighting with Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led strikes.

TAL ABYAD: Another town on the Turkish border, it was captured by Kurds and allied Arab rebels in June 2015. Tal Abyad was a key entryway to a supply route between Turkey and the IS stronghold Raqa, and jihadist fighters and arms regularly passed through the town before its recapture.

PALMYRA: Known as the "Pearl of the Desert", Palmyra was overrun by IS in May 2015, after which the jihadists blew up UNESCO-listed temples and looted ancient relics. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian warplanes and allied militia retook the ancient city from IS in March this year.

MANBIJ: On August 6, a coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led aircraft recaptured Manbij following a two-month battle. IS had controlled the town since 2014 and used it as a hub for the movement of jihadists to and from Europe. It also controlled a key supply route for the group. 

JARABULUS: This border town is north of Manbij and west of Kobane. Turkish troops and Syrian rebels swept almost unopposed into Jarabulus on August 24 during operation "Euphrates Shield," which also targets Kurdish militia.

SYRIAN/TURKEY BORDER: On September 4, Turkish troops and allied rebel fighters drove IS from its last positions along the border. The group is now more isolated, but foreigners trained or inspired by it still pose a serious threat to their regions of origin.

- Iraq -

TIKRIT: The hometown of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein north of Baghdad, it fell to IS in June 2014, soon after Mosul. It was declared liberated in March 2015 in an operation by Iraqi troops, police and Shiite-dominated paramilitaries. 

SINJAR: Iraqi Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes recaptured Sinjar, northwest of Baghdad, from IS in November 2015. That cut a key supply line linking areas held by the jihadists in Iraq and Syria. IS had captured Sinjar in August 2014 and pursued a brutal campaign against its Yazidi minority that included massacres, enslavement and rape.

RAMADI: The capital of Anbar, Iraq's largest province that stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad. Ramadi was declared fully recaptured in February, about nine months after IS seized it.

FALLUJAH: Anbar province's second city and one of IS' most emblematic bastions in the country. It fell to anti-government fighters in 2014 and became a key IS stronghold close to the capital. Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah in June this year.

QAYYARAH: Iraqi forces backed by coalition aircraft retook Qayyarah from IS in August, providing Baghdad with a platform for its assault on Mosul, which lies to the north. Iraqi forces are now gaining ground in Sharqat, an IS-held town south of Mosul that is close to the Iraqi army's supply line.