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Kurdish-backed, US-backed Syrian forces say they have launched the latest campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in the last pocket that he holds in eastern Syria.
"The SDF has started to launch … the decisive battle to end the last ISIL terrorists in Baghouz village," spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in Arabic on Twitter. Mustafa Bali.
Bali tweeted that the offensive had started on Saturday after the evacuation of more than 20,000 civilians from the ISIL-controlled area in Deir Az Zor province, in the east of the country .
Bali says the goal of the current campaign is to end the military presence of "Daesh terrorists," using an Arabic acronym to designate ISIL.
Backed by airstrikes led by the US-led coalition against ISIL, the Kurdish-Arab alliance has cornered the latest ISIL fighters in a final piece of territory located in the country. Eastern province of Deir Az Zor.
After a break of more than a week to allow civilians to flee, the SDF said Saturday that it had resumed fighting to seize the last four square kilometer plot of land. ; EIIL.
Bali said that there may still be 600 ISIL fighters in the pocket, most of them foreigners. Hundreds of civilians would also be inside.
Attack near an oil field
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights based in Britain said that since the beginning of the SDF's offensive against ISIL in the region on September 10, about 1,279 men armed and 678 SDF combatants were killed.
He said 401 civilians, including 144 children and adolescents, have been killed since.
Earlier Saturday, ISIL fighters attacked SDF fighters near an oil field in the east of the country, sparking airstrikes from the US-led coalition.
According to the observatory, 12 ISIL fighters attacked the Israel Defense Forces and clashed for hours, until most of the attackers were killed early Saturday. He said 10 attackers were killed and two managed to escape.
The fighting was concentrated near the oil field al-Omar, the largest in Syria.
US President Donald Trump predicted Wednesday that ISIL would have lost all the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria from here next week.
In December, Trump surprised his allies when he announced the withdrawal of 2,000 US troops from Syria, claiming that ISIL had been defeated.
The Kurdish-led SDF launched their offensive to end ISIL's presence in Syria in September, a battle that claimed the lives of hundreds of fighters on both sides.
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