Jihadists flee ‘final moments’ of caliphate as town is pounded
Josie Ensor
Roland Oliphant WESTERN-BACKED forces claimed yesterday that Isil’s caliphate was in its “final moments” after thunderous shelling on its last patch of territory in eastern Syria prompted a wave of jihadists to surrender.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) estimated that about 3,000 people had walked out of the shrinking Baghuz pocket in the past 48 hours, most of whom were fighters, suggesting a co-ordinated surrender.
The final band of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants – estimated now to be in their hundreds – still managed to launch two counterattacks later in the day.
“The second one was much stronger since they took advantage of smoke, dust and sand over Baghuz,” a spokesman for the SDF told The Daily Telegraph. “Fighting is still continuing. Daesh [an Arabic acronym for Isil] made no progress and were stopped.”
Isil has often carried out attacks during sandstorms, which ground Us-led coalition aircraft and leave SDF fighters unprotected. However, a number of its suicide bombers were stopped from reaching their positions.
The coalition yesterday released figures showing that between February 24 and March 9 they had halted 35 car and truck bombs – an extraordinarily high number for a relatively small space. “We are still countering the assault until this very moment,” said another official. “This could be their final attack.”
Isil put out a propaganda video overnight on Monday that was filmed in recent weeks inside Baghuz and kept up the pretence that life inside was normal. It urged its supporters to keep the faith. “Tomorrow, God willing, we will be in paradise and they will be burning in hell,” one of the men interviewed in the 15-minute video said.
At the same time it released a shorter audio, which claimed its remaining fighters and members, including women and children, were being subjected to a “holocaust”.
“Brothers in Europe and in the whole world rise and take revenge for your religion,” one voice urged.
Analysts believe Isil leaders are directing large numbers of fighters to surrender, in order that they can live and one day regroup.
Those left in the dwindling Baghuz pocket had been living in a shanty town of tents made from blankets, and in tunnels. During a recent visit to the frontline, The Telegraph could see cooking pots and ammunition abandoned on the ground.
The SDF and its US allies had massively underestimated the number of civilians caught up inside the pocket. They had suggested that no more than 2,000 remained in early February, but more than 30,000 have since emerged.
The numbers have overwhelmed aid agencies operating in displacement camps, where more than 100 people have died in recent weeks. The UN’S food agency has appealed for urgent funding for the al-hol camp, which is receiving the bulk of evacuees.
The SDF is said to be in disagreement with Western governments over the fate of jihadists it has captured. It is holding more than 2,000, plus thousands more of their wives and children. The UK has taken the toughest stance by refusing to allow its nationals to return and in some cases revoking their citizenship.