Fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reportedly begun what is being hailed as the “final assault” on Islamic State (IS) forces in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province.
CNN reports that the last group of IS fighters is “holed up in the village of Baghouz Al-Fawqani, near the Iraqi border”, and that the SDF has launched an attack on the remaining four square kilometre stronghold of the militant group.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At least 500 IS militants are believed to be in the village, where they are reportedly holding a number of western hostages, including British journalist John Cantlie, who was captured in 2012.
SDF commanders say that the militants have dug a network of tunnels beneath the village, allowing them to move from house to house undetected, and that IS fighters have put up a fierce resistance, using heat-seeking missiles.
News of the final battle comes just days after it emerged that a coup attempt was made by foreign fighters against IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A witness to the coup attempt told The Guardian that foreign members of the terror group turned on their leader, waging a two-day battle with his bodyguards in September last year.
“The fighting was very intense, they had tunnels between houses. They were mainly Tunisians and there were many people killed,” Jumah Hamdi Hamdan said.
IS has reportedly placed a bounty on the head of the leader of the coup attempt, Abu Muath al-Jazairi, who is believed to be a veteran foreign fighter. The current whereabouts of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is unknown.
-
Political cartoons for January 31Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include congressional spin, Obamacare subsidies, and more
-
Syria’s Kurds: abandoned by their US allyTalking Point Ahmed al-Sharaa’s lightning offensive against Syrian Kurdistan belies his promise to respect the country’s ethnic minorities
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
Syria’s Kurds: abandoned by their US ally
Talking Point Ahmed al-Sharaa’s lightning offensive against Syrian Kurdistan belies his promise to respect the country’s ethnic minorities
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
