Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which ISIL is present in Afrin and other parts of northern Syria.

​Daesh retains a presence in Syria, holding pockets of territory and as an insurgency. This includes pockets of Daesh activity in the south east of Syria, in the desert regions near the Euphrates river valley, and in the Yarmouk camp in the Damascus suburbs. The UK does not believe there to be a significant presence of Daesh fighters in Afrin or in other parts of northern Syria. We are aware of reports of dispersal of Daesh fighters through areas of northern Syria, but these are likely to be in small numbers and transitory in nature. As a leading member of the Global Coalition, the UK will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to ensure that Syria and Iraq are cleared of remaining Daesh pockets.