Landmines slow fight to take Daesh outpost
The Syrian Democratic Forces have made modest advances since resuming its assault late on Sunday, killing and wounding many militant fighters
Adnan Afrin, Senior SDF commander
baghouz — US-backed fighters are moving slowly into Daesh’s final pocket in eastern Syria to avoid losses in the face of sniper fire and landmines, a commanders said on Monday.
Warplanes flew above Baghouz, a cluster of houses on the banks of the Euphrates at the Iraqi border where Daesh fighters still hold out, and smoke rose from the area along with the sound of intermittent clashes.
The defeat of Daesh at Baghouz will mark a milestone in the campaign against the militant group, ending its control of populated territory in the area straddling Iraq and Syria where it suddenly expanded in 2014 and declared a caliphate.
However, it has already shown it will continue to mount a potent security threat, with a string of insurgent attacks in both countries.
Pro-Syrian government forces hold the opposite bank of the Euphrates across from Baghouz and Iraqi militias are stationed at the border, cutting off any easy escape route for the militants.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has made “modest advances” since resuming its assault late on Sunday, killing and wounding many militant fighters said Adnan Afrin, a senior commander in the United States-backed militia.
The SDF pressed on with operations on Monday along with coali-
tion airstrikes, but Afrin said advances were slow because the SDF wanted to complete the campaign with minimal losses.
Daesh fighters attempted four suicide attacks but the SDF captured an arms dump, said militia sopoeksman Mustafa Bali. One SDF fighter was killed and four wounded. The Syrian Democratic
Forces has held off from a full assault for most of the past few weeks as many thousands of people poured from the enclave, including surrendering fighters, Daesh supporters, other civilians and some of the group’s captives.
By Sunday, no more people had come out, prompting the SDF to start its attack. —