U.S.-backed force says it has taken positions in ISIL Syria camp

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U.S.-backed fighters said they had taken positions in ISIL's last enclave in eastern Syria and air strikes pounded of the jihadist group's last pocket of land beside the Euphrates River early on Monday.

Smoke rose over the tiny enclave as warplanes and artillery bombarded it. Jihadists were said to mount a counter attack earlier.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia said on Monday that tens of militants had been killed during what it called fierce clashes, and one SDF fighter had been injured. It said ISIL had sent four suicide bombers to points close to SDF fighters.

Late on Sunday, an SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, said on Twitter that several enemy positions had been captured and an ammunition storage area had been blown up.

The enclave resembles an encampment, filled with stationary vehicles and rough shelters with blankets or tarpaulins that could be seen flapping in the wind during a lull in fighting as people walked among them.

An ISIL spokesman said on Monday the displacement of "the weak and poor" from Syria's Baghouz would not weaken the group.

Backed by air power and special forces from a U.S.-led coalition, the SDF has pushed ISIL from almost the entire northeastern corner of Syria, defeating it in Raqqa in 2017 and driving it to its last enclave at Baghouz last year.

Source(s): Reuters