BAGHOUZ, Syria – Dozens of Islamic State group jihadists emerged from tunnels to surrender to US-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, a day after their “caliphate” was declared defeated. “They are IS fighters who came out of tunnels and surrendered today,” Kurdish spokesman Jiaker Amed said. ADVERTISEMENTThe SDF is continuing to carry out operations to rout out any remaining jihadists in the area and uncover possible weapons caches. According to the SDF, 66,000 people left the last IS pocket since January, including 5,000 jihadists and 24,000 of their relatives. Its aerial campaigns against IS hubs across a “caliphate” which once spanned territory the size of the United Kingdom have levelled major cities and contributed to the biggest wave of displacement since World War II.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 24, 2019 23:48 UTC