ISIL nears defeat in last Syrian enclave
CGTN
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ISIL looked close to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday as civilians poured out and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the remaining jihadists wanted to fight to the death.
More than 2,000 civilians left the village of Baghouz in a convoy of dozens of trucks. Coalition warplanes could be seen overhead and the sounds of intermittent gunbattles could be heard from the area, which is completely surrounded by the SDF.
"The terrorists are entrenched inside, still betting on ending it militarily," said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office. "Our forces said from the start that they have two options: unconditional surrender or for the battle to continue until its end."
The U.S.-led coalition said that "the most hardened ISIL fighters remain in Baghouz."
A truck carrying children as a convoy of vehicles led by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to transport surrendering members of ISIL and their families is driven out of ISIL's last holdout of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 20, 2019. /VCG Photo

A truck carrying children as a convoy of vehicles led by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to transport surrendering members of ISIL and their families is driven out of ISIL's last holdout of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 20, 2019. /VCG Photo

The village at the Iraqi border is the last scrap of ground left to ISIL in the Euphrates valley region that became its final major stronghold in Iraq and Syria after a series of catastrophic defeats in 2017.
Taking it will nudge the eight-year-long Syrian war towards a new phase, with U.S. President Donald Trump having pledged to withdraw American troops, leaving a security vacuum that other powers would seek to fill.
The SDF could not be certain if some ISIL fighters had left Baghouz with the civilians, Bali said, adding security forces were checking the identities of everyone leaving.
The moon rises as Syrian Democratic Forces fighters keep position on a hilltop near the embattled village of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

The moon rises as Syrian Democratic Forces fighters keep position on a hilltop near the embattled village of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

The SDF was working to evacuate some remaining civilians in Baghouz, Bali said. "We can't storm Baghouz before confirming all civilians have been evacuated."
It's said that the SDF fighters, with troops of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, waited at a position on Baghouz's outskirts to question the evacuees and record their names. 
Its fall marks a big moment in the group's trajectory, from winning control over vast territories in 2014 and proclaiming the creation of a caliphate to rule over Muslims, to its stubborn demise under concerted military assault.
Fighters of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces take a rest in the frontline Syrian village of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Fighters of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces take a rest in the frontline Syrian village of Baghouz, eastern Syria, February 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Few believe the capture of Baghouz will end ISIL's threat, as some fighters still hold out in the central Syrian desert and it has managed to stage repeated guerrilla attacks in areas where its territorial rule was ended.
However, it will heighten attention on the promised withdrawal of some 2,000 U.S. troops who have been deployed into Syria during the fight against ISIL, and with it the fate of the Kurdish-led region that the U.S. presence has helped to secure.
Trump on Saturday tweeted: "We are pulling back after 100 percent Caliphate victory."
Source(s): Reuters