IS defeat draws near

US-BACKED and Kurdish-led Syrian forces have launched a final push to defeat the Islamic State group in the last tiny pocket the extremists hold in eastern Syria.

The offensive began after more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the IS-held area in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

Scores of IS fighters are now besieged in a small area consisting of two villages, or less than 1 per cent of the former caliphate. In recent weeks, thousands of civilians, including families of IS fighters, have left the area.