BAGHOUZ, Syria – Islamic State unleashed car bombs against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) assaulting Baghouz, in a last-ditch effort to stave off defeat in its final patch of territory, fighters from the U.S.-backed force said on Sunday.
Capturing the besieged village in eastern Syria will be a milestone in international efforts to roll back the jihadists, whose self-styled “caliphate” covered roughly a third of Syria and Iraq at its height in 2014.
But it is universally accepted that the group, which has been in territorial retreat since then and suffered its major defeats in 2017, will remain a security threat as an insurgent force with sleeper cells and some remote pockets of territory.
The SDF had said it expected a “decisive battle” on Sunday after advancing gradually for 18 hours to avoid landmines sown by Islamic State (IS), whose fighters are also using underground tunnels to stage ambushes and then disappear.
But there was no sign of the assault ending by Sunday afternoon as the IS fighters – believed to be predominantly foreign jihadists – put up fierce resistance and the SDF said its advance was impeded by landmines and car bombs.
A Reuters witness spotted Islamic State militants inside the enclave as gun battles raged intermittently and the SDF fired mortar and artillery shells. Warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition flew overhead. (Reuters)
