[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) reportedly killed seven members of the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) that were attempting to flee their Euphrates bastion this morning.
According to a military communique, the Syrian Arab Army observed seven armed Islamic State fighters attempting to escape the Baghouz camp via the Euphrates River this morning.
Following their attempt to cross the Euphrates, the Islamic State fighters found themselves facing heavy gunfire by the Syrian Arab Army troops that were positioned on the western bank of the river.
The Syrian Arab Army has been closely monitoring the ongoing battle to eliminate the Islamic State from the eastern region of the Euphrates River Valley.
ISIS has repeatedly wrecked havoc on the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses from Baghouz Fouqani in the past, as the terrorist group often targets the key border city of Albukamal.
'We expect it to be over soon' - US-backed SDF in Baghouz| Videos at the link. See also #Baghouz and #SDF on Twitter. |
"We expect it to be over soon," Mustafa Bali, the spokesperson for the SDF media office, tweeted on Saturday morning.
"SDF’s been advancing on two fronts into Daesh-held territory since yesterday evening. Heavy clashes are taking place atm [at the moment]. 3 SDF fighters got wounded so far. No information on casualties of ISIS yet," he added.
People speaking Kurdish apparently holding a mobile device with a map of the area explain that their comrades are advancing in a video released by the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG). Rudaw could not independently verify the video.
They added that "our friends" have come from Hasakah, an apparent reference to YPG reinforcing the SDF in Baghouz.
YPG also described overnight clashes as "heavy."
"SDF forces are advancing on 5 fronts," they wrote on Facebook. "They face an estimated 1000-1500 ISIS fighters and difficult terrain: suicide bombers, mines and a large tunnel network."
Later on Saturday, Bali posted video from the outskirts of al-Baghouz town showing destroyed buildings and an SDF fighter firing an AK-47 from behind cover.
The Women's Defense Units (YPJ), the female counterpart to the YPG, said ISIS fighters are the taking "their last breath" because they are "besieged."
"Their weapons depots have been targeted," added the YPJ. "Six positions ISIS had been using against the advancing forces have been reclaimed from the group."
The Rojava Information Center, a media outlet close to the ruling Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, reported the US-led coalition only conducted two air strikes on Saturday. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS says it will continue to support efforts in Syria, but did not reveal the number of its strikes in Syria on Saturday.
"The Coalition continues to support the SDF with airstrikes when needed, and our multifaceted advise and assist role," its spokesperson told Rudaw English on Saturday evening.
US Army Col. Sean Ryan explained that the situation in al-Baghouz is very dynamic, but the SDF is doing "outstanding work."
| The Times of Israel adds: |
SDF commander Adnan Afrin said he expects “resistance” from the remaining fighters who are likely to deploy all their weapons, including suicide bombers. He said most of the remaining fighters are Europeans, Asians, Iraqis and Arabs from the area.
On Friday, the smallest batch of evacuees, just over 200, came out of the pocket in around six trucks used to transport sheep. About 10 trucks sent to the perimeter of the IS pocket came back empty, and drivers said no more evacuees came out after hours of waiting. The evacuees Friday included wounded men but were mostly women and children. There were Russians, Indonesians, Bosnians, Dagestani, Kazaks, Egyptians, Syrians and Iraqis. They dragged along few belongings, distraught children and broken spirits.
| From the Jerusalem Post: |
Gunfire could be heard in the morning as houses were cleared. While the last battle unfolds, much of what comes next is unclear. There has been little in the way of commitment from the members of the Coalition for housing the former ISIS members or a plan to de-radicalize and prosecute them. Yazidi activists in Sinjar protested on Friday, demanding answers about the 3,000 Yazidis who are still missing. Nadia Murad and the Yazidi organization Yazda posted a statement recalling the murder of 5,000 Yazidis in 2014 and the abduction of 6,000. They want answers in Baghuz about the fate of their loved ones.
| And from An Nahar: |
An SDF officer said he saw jihadists moving between empty buildings and a makeshift camp on the edge of the village where it is feared civilians might still be hunkered down.
The jihadists are cornered in a bend of the Euphrates, with Syrian government forces and their allies on the west bank of the Euphrates blocking any escape across the river and Iraqi government forces blocking any move downstream.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said seven IS fighters were shot dead by Syria government forces and allied Iranian militiamen.
The SDF this week announced that yet another mass grave was discovered, this time near Baghouz, and that the severed heads of women were found in it.
While the victims were not immediately identified, local fighters believe the executed women are likely to be members of the Yazidi community.
| Penultimately, Al Ahram adds: |
| Finally, the Daily Mail: |
Desperate IS fighters, many of them foreigners, used booby- traps in a last-ditch attempt to stop the crushing of their self-declared caliphate.
One SDF commander said his forces held a strong position on a hill by the town, but IS fighters still occupied ‘six or seven’ key points and were relying on a network of ‘fighting tunnels’ burrowed beneath the battlefield.
The SDF fear that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have escaped through one of the tunnels to Iraq.
Local sources claimed Western special forces were using rapid-hardening foam to trap those hiding in caves and tunnels.