The yellow flag that marked the end of the caliphate of the Islamic State in Syria

To celebrate the victory, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters, the spearhead of the anti-jihadist struggle in Syria, They raised their yellow flag in the village of Baghuz, where the jihadists resisted until the end..

A few meters from the river, a black IS flag was on the ground, hanging between dry branches, said an AFP team.

Near Baghuz, men and women who make up the SDS, in which the Kurds predominate, danced the dabke, a traditional dance. A military band played hymns, such as that of the United States, in front of Kurdish commanders and authorities.

The loss of what was left of their last stronghold in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, means the territorial end of ISIS in Syria after its defeat in neighboring Iraq in 2017.

After taking over vast areas in Syria and Iraq, ISIS proclaimed in June 2014 a "caliphate" in a territory the size of the UK, in which it set up its own administration, collected taxes and launched a propaganda campaign for foreigners.

This jihadist organization, the most brutal in contemporary history, ruled terror with beheadings, mbad executions, kidnappings and rapes. Not to mention the kidnapping of aliens and attacks claimed in Syria, in other Arab or Asian countries and even in the West, nor the destruction of archaeological treasures.

A victory proclaimed after an umpteenth six-month military campaign. An important date in the fight against jihadist movements in the world.

"The SDS announces the total elimination of the alleged caliphate and a territorial defeat of the 100% IE"said a spokesman, Mustefa Bali, in a statement.

He promised "to pursue what remains of the jihadists and annihilate them". There are still ISE fighters scattered in the desert stretching from central Syria to the Iraqi border and into the desert areas of Iraq.

Fighting was fierce against stubborn jihadists, who ended up trapped in a small territorial strip on the edge of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor province.

At the foot of a hill, you can see the remains of the improvised camp in which the jihadists were entrenched.

Rocked by the wind, sheets, rugs or blankets are spread on iron bars or shrubs in the manner of tents. All in the middle of car carcbades burned.

Some of these improvised tents hide deep trenches. There are pots, plastic bowls, a brazier and broken clothes between dry branches of bushes.

Some FDS fighters, some of whom have their faces covered with a tissue, are perched on the roofs of houses.

The last jihadists hid in underground tunnels and warehouses, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH).

The SDS badault on Baghuz, launched in early February, is the latest phase of an operation launched in September 2018 to expel the IS group from areas under its control in Syria.

The military campaign, backed by aerial bombardments by the US-led international coalition, has had to slow the departure of the enclave from tens of thousands of people, including thousands of jihadists who surrendered and many others. members of their family.

Since January, more than 67,000 people have left the stronghold of the IEF, including 5,000 jihadists arrested, according to the SDS. Civilians, especially the relatives of the jihadists, have been transferred to camps, mainly in Al Hol (northeast), where they live in difficult conditions.

The repatriation of jihadists and their families is a subject of debate in Western countries.