BEIRUT — U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian forces said Saturday they have launched a final push to defeat the Islamic State group in the last tiny pocket the extremists hold in eastern Syria. In recent weeks, thousands of civilians, including families of IS fighters, left the area controlled by the extremists. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said SDF fighters are advancing “cautiously” due to mines planted by IS gunmen. It said U.S.-led coalition warplanes are giving cover to advancing SDF fighters. Earlier Saturday, IS militants attacked SDF fighters near an oil field in the country’s east, triggering airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.

Source: Washington Post February 09, 2019 15:20 UTC