Last of Isis fight for survival
IN CRISIS: JIHADISTS DECIMATED BY ALLIANCE FORCES
Their wives and children have since fled to SDF areas.
US-backed forces were locked in battle yesterday as they try to oust the last of the Islamic State group’s caliphate in eastern Syria. The jihadists overran large parts of the country and Iraq in 2014, but military offensives have since reduced that territory to a patch on the Iraqi border.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, announced a final push to retake the jihadist pocket on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group said coalition planes and artillery bombarded jihadist positions.
“The battle is ongoing. There were heavy clashes this morning, with landmines going off,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory.
The SDF launched an offensive to expel IS from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor in September.
The Kurdish-led alliance has since whittled down jihadist-held territory to a scrap of just 4sq km by the Euphrates river.
Up to 600 jihadists could still remain inside, according to SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali.
Since December more than 37 000 people, mostly wives and children of jihadist fighters, have fled to SDF-held desert areas.
The figure includes some 3 400 suspected jihadists detained by the SDF, according to the monitor.
The extremist group however retain a presence in Syria’s vast Badia desert and have claimed a series of deadly attacks by sleeper cells in SDF-held areas.
After years of battles, the SDF holds hundreds of foreigners accused of belonging to the extremist group in its custody, as well as members of their families.
They have repeatedly urged Western governments to repatriate their nationals, but politicians abroad have been reluctant.
Relatives at home fear alleged foreign jihadists may end up facing tough justice in Iraq instead, where Human Rights Watch warned they could face “torture and unfair trials”.
While the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have been a key US ally against IS, Ankara views them as “terrorists”.
Syria’s conflict has killed more than 360 000 people and displaced millions since erupting eight years ago after a brutal crackdown of anti-government protests.