US-backed fighters squeezing IS gunmen in eastern Syria
BEIRUT -- A U.S.-backed force in Syria is fighting the Islamic State group in a tiny area in Deir el-Zour province and the defeat of the extremists will soon be declared, a commander with the group said Saturday.
The capture of the last pocket of IS fighters in the village of Baghouz would mark the end of a devastating four-year global campaign to end the extremist group's hold on territory in Syria and Iraq, their so-called "caliphate" that at the height of the group's power in 2014 controlled nearly a third of both Iraq and Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Forces declared the final push to end IS presence in eastern Syria last Saturday and since then sporadic fighting has been ongoing with civilians coming out and scores of extremists surrendering.
Ciya Furat, a commander with the Kurdish-led SDF, said during a news conference in eastern Syria that his group will "very soon bring good news to the whole world." It was an apparent reference to an announcement about the defeat of the extremists in Syria.
