Up to 5,000 people are holed up in last Islamic State enclave in Syria
Headlines 18 March 2019 Arabia Day Newsdesk 0
US-led warplanes rain fire on jihadists as up to 5,000 fighters are still holed up in last Islamic State enclave in Syria
- Large blaze ravaged encampment where IS fighters are making a last stand
- Tens of thousands of people streamed out of the village of Baghouz, near Iraq
- Spokesman said nearly 30,000 IS members have surrendered since January
Tens of thousands of dishevelled women, children and men have streamed out of a small pocket in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border in recent weeks – and they still keep coming.
The huge numbers have flummoxed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and slowed down their offensive aimed at dealing a knock-out blow to the jihadists’ once-sprawling proto-state.
US-backed forces said on Sunday that thousands of people were believed to still be inside the last Islamic State group enclave in eastern Syria
At an SDF outpost inside Baghouz on Sunday, an AFP correspondent saw white smoke rising above the IS enclave as the sound of airstrikes and shelling rang out.
A large blaze ravaged the makeshift encampment where holdout IS fighters are making a last stand.
The Kurdish-led force, backed by US-led coalition warplanes, has rained fire on the jihadists for a week, blitzing thousands of fighters and family members into surrender.
But SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told a news conference Sunday that according to the latest group that quit the pocket, ‘an estimated 5,000 people’ are still holed up inside.
Tens of thousands of dishevelled women, children and men have streamed out of a small pocket in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border in recent weeks – and they still keep coming
He cautioned, however, that the SDF has not been able to verify that figure.
Those fleeing the pocket have previously reported widely inconsistent figures on the number of people still inside, ranging from thousands to a few hundred.
The SDF spokesman said there was no clear timeline for the end of the operation, estimating that it may take several more days at least before IS is driven from its last pocket.
The huge numbers have flummoxed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and slowed down their offensive aimed at dealing a knock-out blow to the jihadists’ once-sprawling proto-state
‘I hope it won’t take more than a week but this is a personal estimate,’ he said in the village of Sousa in eastern Syria.
Gabriel said that nearly 30,000 IS members and their relatives have surrendered to US-backed forces since January 9, including more than 5,000 fighters.
An additional 34,000 civilians have been evacuated from the IS redoubt over the same period, he said.
At an SDF outpost inside Baghouz on Sunday, an AFP correspondent saw white smoke rising above the IS enclave as the sound of airstrikes and shelling rang out
The exodus has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Kurdish-run camps for the displaced further north, where civilians have been transported.
More than 1,300 jihadists have been killed and around 520 have been captured in special operations by the SDF since the battle for Baghouz started, Gabriel said.
The SDF said on Saturday that dozens of jihadists and their relatives had handed themselves over.
A large blaze ravaged the makeshift encampment where holdout IS fighters are making a last stand
They include Europeans, Turks, Chinese, Iraqis and Syrians, it said in a statement.
Die-hard jihadists who stayed behind to defend their last bastion have launched a series of suicide bombings in recent days to hamper the SDF advance.
On Friday, IS launched three suicide attacks outside Baghouz, killing six people as they fled the village.
Ali Khalaf Ibrahim, an SDF fighter, told AFP on Sunday that the jihadists were putting up a strong defence.
The Kurdish-led force, backed by US-led coalition warplanes, has rained fire on the jihadists for a week, blitzing thousands of fighters and family members into surrender
‘Several times they tried to infiltrate (SDF positions) with explosive belts but they were intercepted’ by SDF fighters, he said.
At the height of its brutal rule, IS controlled territory in Syria and Iraq the size of the United Kingdom, with a population of millions.
The total capture of Baghouz by the SDF would mark the end of the cross-border ‘caliphate’ it proclaimed more than four years ago.
But SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told a news conference Sunday that according to the latest group that quit the pocket, ‘an estimated 5,000 people’ are still holed up inside
But IS still retains a presence in eastern Syria’s vast Badia desert and has sleeper cells in the northeast.
Baghouz is the latest front in the Syrian war that has killed 370,000 people since it started in 2011.
Elsewhere in Syria, landmines left behind by IS have killed at least 17 people in a 24-hour period at the weekend, a war monitor said on Sunday.
The SDF spokesman cautioned, however, that the SDF has not been able to verify that figure.
An ordnance left behind by jihadists exploded in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Saturday, killing 16 people and wounding 32 others, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A separate landmine explosion in the northern province of Aleppo on Sunday killed one person, the Britain-based Observatory said.
Another two SDF fighters were killed Sunday in a mine blast at Hajin, a town near Baghouz, that was claimed by IS in a statement on Telegram.
Those fleeing the pocket have previously reported widely inconsistent figures on the number of people still inside, ranging from thousands to a few hundred
At least 44 people have been killed in landmine explosions across Syria in the past three weeks, it added.
In Damascus, the UN envoy for Syria held talks on Sunday with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who stressed the need for a Syrian-led political solution to the eight-year war.
Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen discussed efforts to find a political settlement to the conflict, including moves to form a committee tasked with drawing up a post-war constitution, state media said.
Pedersen arrived in Damascus on Sunday in the second such visit since he took up his post in January.
The SDF spokesman said there was no clear timeline for the end of the operation, estimating that it may take several more days at least before IS is driven from its last pocket
“I hope it won’t take more than a week but this is a personal estimate,” he said in the village of Sousa in eastern Syria
Gabriel said that nearly 30,000 IS members and their relatives have surrendered to US-backed forces since January 9, including more than 5,000 fighters
An additional 34,000 civilians have been evacuated from the IS redoubt over the same period, he said
The exodus has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Kurdish-run camps for the displaced further north, where civilians have been transported
A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds a weapon in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria
More than 1,300 jihadists have been killed and around 520 have been captured in special operations by the SDF since the battle for Baghouz started, Gabriel said
A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) walks carrying a machine gun at a position close to the camp of Baghouz
The SDF said on Saturday that dozens of jihadists and their relatives had handed themselves over
They include Europeans, Turks, Chinese, Iraqis and Syrians, it said in a statement
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand at a position overlooking the camp of Baghouz
Die-hard jihadists who stayed behind to defend their last bastion have launched a series of suicide bombings in recent days to hamper the SDF advance
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand near the village of Baghouz in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor
A fighter of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is seen at a position in the village of Baghouz
On Friday, IS launched three suicide attacks outside Baghouz, killing six people as they fled the village
Soldiers of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seen at a position in the village of Baghou
Ali Khalaf Ibrahim, an SDF fighter, told AFP on Sunday that the jihadists were putting up a strong defence.
“Several times they tried to infiltrate (SDF positions) with explosive belts but they were intercepted” by SDF fighters, he said
At the height of its brutal rule, IS controlled territory in Syria and Iraq the size of the United Kingdom, with a population of millions
The total capture of Baghouz by the SDF would mark the end of the cross-border “caliphate” it proclaimed more than four years ago
A battered riverside camp after US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) soldiers fought with Islamic State (IS) group jihadists near the village of Baghouz
But IS still retains a presence in eastern Syria’s vast Badia desert and has sleeper cells in the northeast
Elsewhere in Syria, landmines left behind by IS have killed at least 17 people in a 24-hour period at the weekend, a war monitor said on Sunday
An ordnance left behind by jihadists exploded in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Saturday, killing 16 people and wounding 32 others, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
A separate landmine explosion in the northern province of Aleppo on Sunday killed one person, the Britain-based Observatory said
Another two SDF fighters were killed Sunday in a mine blast at Hajin, a town near Baghouz, that was claimed by IS in a statement on Telegram
At least 44 people have been killed in landmine explosions across Syria in the past three weeks, it added
In Damascus, the UN envoy for Syria held talks on Sunday with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who stressed the need for a Syrian-led political solution to the eight-year war
Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen discussed efforts to find a political settlement to the conflict, including moves to form a committee tasked with drawing up a post-war constitution, state media said
Pedersen arrived in Damascus on Sunday in the second such visit since he took up his post in January
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