The ISIS was cornered in a square kilometer of land – 14/02/2019

Hidden in tunnels, the jihadists of the Islamic State were still defending this Thursday, with kamikaze attacks, his last redoubt of one square kilometer to the east of Syria before the offensive of the Arab-Kurdish alliance, supported by the international coalition.

ISIS conquered in 2014 large areas and big cities from Syria and Iraq, from a region comparable to a country like Great Britain.

But his self-proclaimed "Caliphate" was now reduced to a few hundred jihadists, locked in their last stronghold from the province of Deir Ezzor.

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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance backed by the international coalition led by the United States, launched last Saturday his "final" offensive.

However, progress in the Baghuz region is still slow. "There are violent clashes, fierce battles", said Adnan Afrin, a spokesman for the SDS. "There is strong resistance," he said.

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Fighters of the Islamic State, some foreigners, are surrounded an area of ​​just over one square kilometer, which includes several houses from the village of Baghuz and a field, according to this spokesman.

"Now there are a lot of tunnels in Baghuz. This is why the operation is delayed, there are many suicide bombers who attack with cars or motorcycle bombssaid Afrin.

On Tuesday, the FDS also suffered two attacks "by kamikaze women"they said.

Fleeing fighting and air strikes, more than 39,000 people, mostly jihadist families, arrived in December from areas controlled by the SDS, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) of 39; Oenegé.

Then civilians, as well as women and children of jihadists, will be transferred to IDP camps in northern Syria. But sometimes they have to sleep several nights in the open airin arid areas near Baghuz where temperatures drop at night.

"The children cried all night because of the cold", said Fatima, who is one of 300 women and children, mostly Iraqi, recently out of the enclave.

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At his side, under a winter sun, children walk barefoot. One of them bites a plastic spoon, other stones or sand. The little ones cry

Upon arrival at the SDS checkpoints, everyone must undergo extensive research and interrogation to identify possible jihadists hidden among the people.

"The majority of the leaders" of the Islamic State in their last stronghold would be foreignersaccording to the SDS spokesman, who ensures that the fighting is led by "Iraqi leaders".

By listening to the frequency of jihadist walkie-talkies, the SDS can listen Turkish, French and English speaking people he said.

In recent weeks, several foreign jihadists have left the fortress of the Islamic State, including German Martin Lemke or Frenchman Quentin Le Brun.

But his boss, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, is still missing. given several times for the dead. The last time he heard about it, it was in an audio message that he recorded and broadcast in August 2018.

According to badysts ISIS turns into a clandestine organization, hiding in the desert of the center of the country or developing dormant cells in the lost territories, far from the "caliphate" in which lived millions of Syrians and Iraqis but also thousands of strangers.

This proto-state had its own manuals, extracted oil, collected taxes and created its own currency.

Although the international coalition is cautious, the US president Donald Trump badures that the end of the "Caliphate" will arrive in the coming days.

A victory against ISIS would pave the way for Trump's announcement in December of the 2,000 or so US troops deployed to Syria to badist the FDS.

The battle against the jihadists is the main front of the war in Syria that has claimed more than 360,000 lives in 2011. The regime of Bashar Al Asad, backed by Russia and Iran, now controls two-thirds from the country.

AFP Agency.

GML