Eastern Syria (CNN) At about 6 p.m. Saturday, as darkness crept over eastern Syria, Kurdish forces backed by US-led coalition aircraft and using artillery and heavy machine guns began an assault of the last ISIS enclave in the country. Initial reports from the front lines -- about 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile) from where a CNN team was reporting -- were that there was little resistance from ISIS. There are some ISIS fighters, CNN heard from SDF commanders, who want to surrender and others who want to fight until the death. Before the assault began, civilians fled the town. A 14-year-old boy, who was severely wounded by a mortar round, was carried for miles by his family.

Source: CNN February 09, 2019 22:30 UTC