More than 300 ISIS militants surrounded in a tiny area in eastern Syria are refusing to surrender to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and are trying to negotiate an exit, Syrian activists and a person close to the negotiations said Monday. It also will likely further delay a declaration on ISIS's territorial defeat that the SDF were hoping to make last week. From a self-proclaimed caliphate that once spread across much of Syria and Iraq, ISIS has been knocked back to a speck of land in Baghouz in Deir el-Zour province, on the countries' shared border. The DeirEzzor 24, an activist collective in eastern Syria, said several trucks loaded with food entered ISIS-held areas in Baghouz in Deir el-Zour on Monday morning. DeirEzzor 24 said the truce reached between ISIS and the SDF last week has been extended for five more days as of Sunday.

Source: CBC News February 18, 2019 12:45 UTC