IS suicide attacks highlight perils of Syria campaign
OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria — The three Islamic State fighters emerged from the group's last bastion in eastern Syria on Friday acting as though they wanted to surrender, but when they reached the U.S.-backed forces that have them surrounded they blew themselves up, killing six people. The attacks underscored the struggles faced by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces as they try to flush the extremists out of a tent camp in eastern Syria built over a labyrinth of caves and tunnels — all that remains of a self-declared caliphate that once sprawled across large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted that the six killed were among dozens of civilians fleeing the IS-held area in the village of Baghouz, on the east bank of the Euphrates River. He said several other people were wounded, including three SDF fighters. The attacks took place at or near a crossing point where evacuees are searched. Thousands of civilians have left the IS-held area in recent weeks and some fighters have surrendered. But the extremists are still putting up fierce resistance, and the SDF says it has slowed its operations out of concern for civilians and scores of prisoners held by the militants. Friday's attacks underscore how risky the operations are, and how it can be difficult for forces to tell civilians from combatants. An SDF official who goes by his nom de guerre, Ciyager Amed, said IS militants are still holding some 300 prisoners, both civilians and SDF fighters, adding that their fate is unknown. The military campaign to uproot the militants from the eastern banks of the Euphrates River began in September, pushing them down toward this last corner in Baghouz, near the Iraqi border. The military operation has been halted several times since Feb. 12 as the SDF said a large number of civilians and hostages were holed up in the IS-held territory. This week, the SDF resumed its final push before reducing pressure due to strong resistance from the extremists and the surrender of hundreds of IS fighters and family members.