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Friday, February 22, 2019, 21:56
Truckloads of civilians leave Islamic State enclave in Syria
By Reuters
Friday, February 22, 2019, 21:56 By Reuters

This picture taken on Feb 20, 2019 shows a truck carrying men, identified as Islamic State group fighters who surrendered to Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as they are being transported out of IS's last holdout of Baghouz in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province. (DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP)

NEAR BAGHOUZ - Trucks loaded with civilians left the last Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria on Friday, as US-backed forces waited to inflict final defeat on the surrounded jihadists.

Reporters near the front line at Baghouz saw dozens of trucks driving out with civilians inside them, but it was not clear if more remained in the tiny pocket.

The village is all that remains for Islamic State in the Euphrates valley region that became its final populated stronghold in Iraq and Syria after it lost the major cities of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017

The village is all that remains for Islamic State in the Euphrates valley region that became its final populated stronghold in Iraq and Syria after it lost the major cities of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017.

The SDF has steadily driven the jihadists down the Euphrates after capturing their Syrian capital, Raqqa, in 2017, but does not want to mount a final attack until all civilians are out.

READ MORE: 'Taking their last breath': IS hides among Syrian civilians

The US-led coalition which supports the SDF has said Islamic State's "most hardened fighters" remain holed up in Baghouz, close to the Iraqi frontier.

Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF's media office, earlier told Reuters that more than 3,000 civilians were estimated to still be inside Baghouz and there would be an attempt to evacuate them on Friday.

"If we succeed in evacuating all the civilians, at any moment we will take the decision to storm Baghouz or force the terrorists to surrender," he said.

ALSO READ: Activists: More than 200 IS fighters surrender in east Syria

Though the fall of Baghouz marks a milestone in the campaign against Islamic State and the wider conflict in Syria, the militant group is still seen as a major security threat.

It has steadily turned to guerrilla warfare and still holds territory in a remote, sparsely populated area west of the Euphrates River - a part of Syria otherwise controlled by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies.

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