After a pause of more than a week to allow civili­ans to fleeBEIRUT: US-backed forces were locked in fierce fighting as they pressed the battle against the last shred of the Islamic State group’s “caliphate” in eastern Syria on Sunday, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between both sides on Sunday morning, as coalition planes and artillery bombarded militant positions. US-backed Syrian force launches ‘final battle’ against Islamic State“The battle is ongoing. There were heavy clashes this morning, with landmines going off,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based war monitor. Kurdish-led forces ready for push on last IS pocketThat figure includes some 3,200 suspected militants detained by the SDF, according to the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information.

Source: The Express Tribune February 10, 2019 10:41 UTC