Fierce Fighting as US-Backed Forces Advance on Last Syria Territory Controlled by ISIS by Sarah El Deeb – AP
BAGHOUZ, Syria — Columns of black smoke billowed from the last small piece of territory held by Islamic State militants on Sunday as U.S.-backed fighters pounded the area with artillery fire and occasional airstrikes.
Commanders of the Kurdish-led fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces said fierce clashes were taking place as they advance toward the last speck of land controlled by the Islamic State group. The militants fought back with snipers, suicide bombs and booby traps.
Fires still smoldered from the area and ammunition exploded time and again, a day after an airstrike hit a building, setting off a huge blast.
"It must be a main weapons depot," said Sefqan, an SDF commander using only his nom de guerre.
The U.S.-backed forces resumed an offensive to recapture the tiny area in the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria on Friday night, after a two-week pause to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the area. Retaking the sliver of land would be a milestone in the devastating four-year campaign to end ISIS’ self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate that once straddled vast territory across Syria and Iraq…