Islamic State Still Holds 1000 Civilians In Syria

(Detroit News) Sarah El Deeb Feb. 17 2019 10:51 a.m. Al-Omar Oil Field Base Syria Islamic State militants are preventing more than 1000 civilians from leaving a tiny area still held by the extremist group in a village in eastern Syria a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian militia fighting the group said Sunday. Regrettably Daesh have closed all the roads" Mustafa Bali a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces told The Associated Press referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. SDF officials have said the extremists are hiding among civilians in a tented village and using a network of caves and tunnels. IS which once ruled a proto-state in large parts of Syria and Iraq is clinging to an area of less than a square mile in the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria. The extremists may include high-level commanders and could be holding hostages among those trapped inside. Occasional coalition airstrikes and clashes continue inside the village of Baghouz. Artillery rounds were meant to clear land mines for the SDF fighters to advance. SDF commanders say the end of IS self-declared caliphate is near.