US-backed Syrian fighters, pressing on with a battle against IS in eastern Syria, are facing fierce resistance as the extremist group fights to retain its last foothold in the region.
On Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led rebel group allied with the US, started an offensive to expel IS from the village of Baghuz, the last area still under its control in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
The SDF has reported a slow advance in the area.
"Our forces are making military progress on the ground in Baghuz and its outskirts, but confrontation is very strong by Daesh," Mustapha Bali, an SDF spokesman, said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Smoke rising from a shell that targeted Islamic State group militants, in the village of Baghouz, Deir El-Zour, eastern Syria. Source: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
"Most Daesh fighters, especially foreigners, have previous battle experiences in Chechnya and Afghanistan. The terrorist group is also fighting for its last stronghold and they do not have much choices: either die or surrender," Bali told dpa.
He called the humanitarian situation in the area "very bad", saying the civilians trapped inside Baghuz are used as human shields by IS to thwart the SDF advance.
"The situation inside the camps housing the refugees, who had fled from the Daesh-held area, is also very difficult due to a shortage of international humanitarian aid," Bali said.
More than 1500 people have left the last IS pocket in eastern Syria over the past 48 hours, according to local activists.
Syria's Kurds have played a major role in fighting the radical group and seized much of the territory that was under its control in war-torn Syria.
