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More or Less

WS MoreOrLess: Has Islamic State been Losing Territory?

More or Less

BBC

News Commentary, Science, Mathematics, News

4.63.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2015

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Has so-called Islamic State been losing territory? Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed IS have lost about 25-30% of their territory in Iraq. Is this true? Plus, is Premier League footballer Héctor Bellerín faster than Usain Bolt? Bellerín can reportedly run 40 metres in 4.41 seconds. Ruth Alexander asks how their times compare.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the short edition of more or less, first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

0:05.0

Thank you for downloading from the BBC.

0:08.0

The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use go to BBCworldservice.com slash

0:15.0

podcasts.

0:19.0

Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service. I'm Ruth Alexander. Later in the program

0:25.4

we'll be revealing who is the fastest man in the world. Usain Bolt. Or Arsenal Spanish Defender, the Spanish Defender, Hecked of Bélitt.

0:38.0

Or Arsenal's Spanish Defender, Hector Bellarin.

0:41.0

Arsenal, the Middle East and Europe have focused

0:52.1

attention on so-called Islamic State.

0:55.0

War planes taking off last night to bomb targets in Raka,

0:59.0

headquarters of so-called Islamic State.

1:02.0

After the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris on the 13th of November, and which 129 people died,

1:10.0

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to BBC Radio about how successful

1:14.8

airstrikes had been in damaging Islamic State, also known as IS or ISL.

1:19.7

Well of course we are using our military hard power in Iraq directly combating

1:23.6

Isil and they've lost about 25 to 30 percent of the territory that they held.

1:27.8

But the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner is skeptical about those statistics.

1:34.0

There's no question that the airstrikes are hurting them.

1:37.0

They are losing, according to the Americans,

1:40.0

a mid or high-level leader practically every day in these airstrikes, but they're able to replenish

1:44.7

them, then they haven't gone away. The idea that they've lost 25% of their territory,

1:50.7

as David Cameron suggested on this program about an hour ago is I think misleading.

...

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