Thousands of civilians have fled fighting in the last enclave held by IS militants
DAMASCUS, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US-backed fighters in Syria say they are meeting fierce resistance in the last enclave held by Daesh militants near the Iraqi border.
A battle has been going on for hours, with US-led coalition air strikes and artillery fire pounding IS positions.
Up to 600 militants are thought to be defending their last stronghold, a small pocket in Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
Two years ago Daesh controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq.
On Saturday, after a pause of more than a week to allow some 20,000 civilians to leave the area, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said the group was launching the “final battle to crush IS”. Some civilians are believed to be still in the area.
An SDF field commander said on Sunday morning: “There are heavy clashes at the moment. We have launched an assault and the fighters are advancing.”
Monitors the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF were advancing across farmland, and there were heavy clashes and landmines going off.
Backed by air strikes, the SDF have driven out Daesh from towns and villages in north-eastern Syria in recent months.
At its peak in 2014, Daesh established a “caliphate” stretching across Syria and Iraq that was similar in size to the UK and ruled over more than 7.7 million people.
IS has suffered substantial losses, but the UN says it still reportedly controls between 14,000 and 18,000 militants in Iraq and Syria, including up to 3,000 foreigners.
Meanwhile, there are significant numbers of Daesh-affiliated militants in Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, South-East Asia and West Africa, and to a lesser extent in Somalia, Yemen, Sinai and the Sahel.
Individuals inspired by the group’s ideology also continue to carry out attacks elsewhere. — NNN-AGENCIES
