BEIRUT:

Fierce fighting was underway Monday between US-backed Syrian forces and the Islamic State group around the extremists’ last foothold in eastern Syria, with the besieged militants fighting back using suicide car bombs, snipers and booby traps, a Syrian war monitor and a Kurdish news agency said.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday launched a final push to clear the area from IS under the cover of airstrikes by the US-backed coalition. (AP)