Women and children leave the ISIS enclave of Baghouz in eastern Syria (Rodi Said/Reuters)
The US-led, Kurdish-supported Syrian Democratic Forces say hundreds of Islamic State fighters have surrendered in the group’s last enclave in Syria.
An SDF spokesman said on Tuesday that more than 6,500 people, mostly civilians, were evacuated from Baghouz near the Iraqi border in the past day.
The Kurdish-led force has pursued an offensive for months to remove ISIS from villages east of the Euphrates River. It said on Monday that the assault on the Baghouz pocket, believed to be about half a square kilometer, was slowed because some civilians were still trapped.
Mostafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, said:
For the second consecutive day our forces had succeeded in evacuating more than 3,500 between women, children and men. There were more than 500 men mostly from foreign nationalities.
He said hundreds of fighters were among those who fled. SDF officials also said it is difficult to estimate how many people were left in the enclave.
Evacuees, mostly women and children, are waiting to be sent to the al-Hol camp in Hasakah Province in northeast Syria.
The UN said last week that at least 84 people, 2/3rds of them young children, have died since December on their way to al-Hol. The overcrowded camp now holds at least 45,000 people, many who arrived exhausted, hungry, and sick.
Syria Daily, March 2: 29 Children Die in Camp in Kurdish-Held Northeast
The Islamic State is still present in the Syrian desert to the west, but is surrounded by pro-Assad forces.
Hundreds of ISIS fighters surrendering as US issues new warning
U.S. commanders say that there could be as many as 20,000 fighters still in Iraq, and that the seeds of extremism will continue to grow unless countries come up with a plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsnH0tDmoVg 3/7/2019
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Egyptian ports and airports are on high alert
Egyptian authorities put sea ports and airports on high alert after warnings of infiltration by foreign fighters fleeing Syria and Iraq. […]
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi […] asked, “who brought foreign fighters to the Arab countries, and who supports them?” He called on the international community to intensify efforts to reveal the identity of the financial supporters of extremists.
http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/egyptian-ports-and-airports-are-on-high-alert-h7223.html 2/27/2019
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Israel worried about possible Daesh attack from Syria, Egypt
Walla reported an official at the Israeli Centre of Intelligence and Terror Information saying: “Daesh is preparing to deploy in the Euphrates … Then, its members will head to Germany, the US, France and other European countries and Caucuses.”
According to Walla, Israel is worried that Deash activists will return to their countries of origin and attack Israelis, Israeli embassies and Jewish officials after revelations that Tel Aviv had helped the US in its war against the group in Syria.
Israel is also worried, Walla added, because of the report that Daesh fighters are gathering in parts of the Golan Heights controlled by Syria, as well as in Egypt’s Sinai. Adding that this could lead to a strike on Israel.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190219-israel-worried-about-possible-daesh-attack-from-syria-egypt/ 2/19/2019