‘They are in a pocket now which is a couple of miles by a couple of miles,’ said General Ghika. ‘Those who are left are a hard core. They have seen the gradual shrinkage of the physical caliphate.

‘In 2014 it was something about the size of the United Kingdom. I think within the next weeks or so it will be done.’

He said IS’s online propaganda war was not over, adding: ‘They are recycling old photographs and recycling old material.

‘They no longer have the freedom to print. But their presence in the information space is something which we are going after as vigorously as we go after their presence on the ground.’