Islamic State purge paused as scores of civilians evacuated
US-backed coalition plans ‘final’ assault
The operation by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) poised to wipe out the last vestige of Islamic State’s (IS’s) territorial rule at Baghouz near the Iraqi border has been held up as the SDF seeks to evacuate thousands of civilians.
“We will announce the complete victory over Daesh [IS] in a week,” SDF commander-inchief Mazloum Kobani said in a video released on Thursday, speaking during a meeting with a group of SDF fighters freed from IS captivity.
The SDF announced on Thursday it has freed 24 of its fighters from the jihadist group.
The IS enclave at Baghouz is the last populated territory held by the jihadists, who have been steadily driven by an array of enemies from swathes of land they once held.
SECURITY THREAT
Though the fall of Baghouz will mark a milestone in the campaign against IS, the group is still seen as a security threat, using guerrilla tactics and still holding some territory in a remote area west of the Euphrates River.
A mass grave containing the bodies of dozens of people killed by IS, including many women, was found last week in territory recently seized by the SDF.
The grave, which was found in an area of Baghouz already seized from IS, is still being excavated, SDF commander Adnan Afrin said. It is not clear when the people were killed.
The SDF is seeking to confirm whether the bodies, most of them decapitated, are those of Yazidi sect members enslaved by IS.
Thousands of members of the minority Yazidi sect from Iraq were forced into sexual slavery when IS surged across the border in 2014 and seized swathes of territory.
More than 3,000 other Yazidis were killed in an onslaught the UN later described as genocidal, which prompted the first US airstrikes against IS.
Thousands more fled on foot and many remain displaced more than four years later.
About 40,000 people have crossed from the jihadists’ diminishing territory in the past three months as the US-backed SDF sought to finish off the militant group.
The numbers of people, who are still pouring out of Baghouz have surpassed initial estimates.
Afrin said many of the people coming out of Baghouz had been hiding underground in caves and tunnels.
The SDF wants to evacuate civilians inside Baghouz before storming it or forcing the surrender of the remaining jihadists, who the SDF has said are mostly foreigners.
The US-led coalition said Baghouz was “more crowded with both civilians and fighters than expected”.
“The overflow during the lull in battle has been difficult for the SDF and they have responded to everything well,” said coalition spokesperson Col Sean Ryan.
Afrin said the 24 fighters who were announced freed on Thursday were mostly captured during the Deir al-Zor campaign and were rescued by special forces based on intelligence.
The SDF has said several hundred jihadists are believed to be holed up in Baghouz.
Afrin said there have been no negotiations with the jihadists, but “in the future it is possible they will request negotiations to surrender”. He said IS is still holding hostages inside Baghouz, both civilians and SDF fighters.