Standoff spells endgame for IS militants in Syria

BAGHOUZ, Syria — The collection of tents was largely silent on a sunny winter Monday afternoon. Few people were visible, but the few out and about were calm: Two men in long robes and pants walked slowly together through the grass, a woman leisurely came out of her tent to look around, a man on a motorcycle drove toward the river.

This is the last speck of land held by the Islamic State group, a patch along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria where an estimated 300 militants are mixed in with hundreds of civilians, refusing to surrender and trying to negotiate an exit with the U.s.-backed forces surrounding them.

An Associated Press team got a rare glimpse of the Is-held settlement, standing on a rooftop about a halfmile away during a media tour to the front lines organized by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

At one point, gunfire crackled in the distance. An SDF commander, who spoke on condition he be identified only by his nom de guerre, Baran, said it isn’t always so quiet.

Only days earlier, the militants surprised the soldiers with an attempted night raid. The SDF can’t assault the site or call in airstrikes because of the civilians, Baran said, adding that his fighters have seen the militants moving civilians around at gunpoint as protection.

“They try a psychological war. But that is it! The war is over, and we won,” said the commander.

The tense standoff by the village of Baghouz is the endgame for the militant group, which since 2014 controlled a vast stretch of territory across Syria and Iraq — at one point nearly from Aleppo to Baghdad — and ruled for years, aspiring to create an enduring and expanding jihadi state. The 300 militants in the pocket may include high-level figures and are believed to hold hostages.

Activists said a truce in place has been extended for five days as of Sunday.

The SDF appears to be aiming to wait the militants out.