‍A several hundred-kilometer drive from the Syria border to Iraq, ISIL remaining stronghold in Baghuz is a continuum of open, green fields dotted by small villages, some with only half a dozen, single-story crudely erected stone homes surrounded by rough stone walls. Larger towns of a few dozen homes or more feature bustling, roadside markets where vendors sell fruit, vegetables, petrol, dry goods and home appliances.

Making our way south to cover the final fight to regain territory ISIL grabbed in 2014, our team passes through hundreds of kilometers of the countryside, until recently, was controlled by the terror group - territory amounting to half of Syria and including oil installations and production facilities.

ISIL operatives regrouping and planning for post-battle re-emergence are rumored to be hiding out inside the villages we pass, harbored by sympathetic locals. We've been warned not to stop in the markets or for toilet breaks along the way. Drive-by shootings, IED's laid across the main road and even a kidnap-execution have happened along the route we're on. As we pass through villages known to be ISIL-friendly, our driver grips the wheel, focuses intently on the road ahead and presses his foot to the gas pedal, hitting speeds of 140 km per hour.

For the coming week, "home" is a barricaded, heavily guarded Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base in Deir Azour Province about 30 km from the frontline. The Forces are a mix of Kurds and Arabs fighting side by side; they have been trained by, and they are receiving backing and air support from, the U.S. 

We are sharing below standard living quarters with male and female soldiers. There is no heat; the power generated electricity routinely cuts out, spotty WIFI renders communication patchy and barracks-style rooms feature foam mattress lined floors. Sleeping bags brought from home serve as blankets, and horrific toilets are filthy from weeks of journalists' use. We must go without showering for the duration of stays - for some, that means for weeks. In turn, the dozens of shared rooms reek of dust, sweat, foot and body odor and cigarette smoke.

The Syrians are kind hosts offering warm, gracious hospitality, which makes up for cold nights without heat and proper hygiene. There are thrice-per-day meals, daily military convoys to areas overlooking the front, nightly bonfires joined, at times, by Kurdish commanders singing folk songs, and bottomless cups of sugary, black Syrian tea. 

Commanders here tell us the fight is at its end and that ISIL is hanging onto a mere few hundred meters - if that - inside Baghuz. The SDF is going house to house and clearing out remaining civilians and operatives. When the job is finished, ISIL's dream of a caliphate will end.

But analysts and experts worldwide, including top U.S. defense officials, say ISIL will continue threatening societies worldwide long after operatives are physically removed from strongholds.

"You can't bomb ideology into oblivion," an intelligence source tells CGTN. And the ideology, experts warn, is the drive behind routine suicide bombings, targeted killings and terror hits from Nairobi to Cairo to Damascus.

(Cover image: SDF Soldier, Baghuz, Syria. /CGTN Photo)