Islamic State faces final territorial defeat in eastern Syria battle

On Friday evening, the SDF said the remaining civilians had been removed and it was resuming its assault until the jihadists were defeated.

is, islamic state, syria, iraq, syrian force, is jehadis, iraq news, syria news, world news indian express — President Donald Trump has ordered a rapid withdrawal of all 2,000 US ground troops from Syria within 30 days, declaring the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday. (New York Times/File)

Islamic State faces final territorial defeat as the U.S.-backed Syrian force battling the jihadists said on Saturday it was closing in on the jihadists’ last bastion near the Iraqi border, capping four years of efforts to roll back the group.

While the fall of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village on the bank of the Euphrates River, would mark a milestone in a global campaign against Islamic State (IS), they remain a threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate land further west.

An array of enemies, both local and international, confronted IS after it declared a modern-day “caliphate” in 2014 across large swathes of territory it had seized in lightning offensives in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

IS lost its twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017. As its territory shrunk, thousands of fighters, followers and civilians retreated to Baghouz. Over the last few weeks, they have poured out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmlands in Deir al-Zor province, holding up the final assault.

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Syrian Kurdish fighters carry out major evacuation from last ISIS stronghold

Syrian Kurdish fighters released footage of hundreds of men, women and children being evacuated on Monday night from the last stronghold of the Islamic State group in Syria.

On Friday evening, the SDF said the remaining civilians had been removed and it was resuming its assault until the jihadists were defeated.

“We expect it to be over soon,” Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Reuters shortly after sunrise as the SDF advanced on two fronts using medium and heavy weaponry.