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February 22, 2019

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Final push against IS delayed for evacuation

Source: Agencies | 07:09 UTC+8 February 22, 2019 | Print Edition

The operation to destroy Islamic State’s final vestige of rule in Iraq and Syria hit a temporary snag yesterday, as an expected evacuation of the remaining civilians from its last enclave in eastern Syria did not go ahead.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which have steadily driven the jihadists down the Euphrates, has surrounded them at Baghouz near the Iraqi border, but does not want to mount a final attack until all civilians are out.

Iraqi sources said the SDF handed over more than 150 Iraqi and other foreign jihadists to Iraq yesterday, under a deal involving a total of 502.

The SDF had expected to pull the last civilians from Baghouz yesterday, but trucks it sent in left empty. “We can’t get into details, but today no civilians came out,” said SDF official Mustafa Bali.

Baghouz is all that remains for Islamic State in the Euphrates valley region that became its final populated stronghold in Iraq and Syria after it lost its major cities of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017.

Its capture will nudge the eight-year Syrian war toward a new phase, with US President Donald Trump’s pledge to withdraw troops leaving a security vacuum that other powers are seeking to fill.

Though the fall of Baghouz marks a milestone in the campaign against IS and the wider conflict in Syria, Islamic State is still seen as a major security threat.

The group has steadily turned to guerrilla warfare and still holds territory in a remote, sparsely populated area west of the Euphrates River, a part of Syria largely controlled by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies.

Bali said the SDF would attack Baghouz after the civilian evacuation. He did not say how much more time was needed.

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