BEIRUT—U.S.-backed forces aided by coalition airstrikes began a battle over the weekend to capture the last territory under Islamic State control following a nearly five-year, multisided campaign to eliminate the extremist group from its self-proclaimed caliphate. The push to take the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria started after more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the area over the past 10 days, according to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The civilians fled the shrinking Islamic State pocket, many...

Source: Wall Street Journal February 10, 2019 14:48 UTC