Islamic State group: Civilians evacuated from last Syria enclave

Civilians have been evacuated from the last village in Syria still held by the Islamic State (IS) group.

A convoy on Wednesday carried hundreds of men, women and children from Baghuz, near the Iraqi border.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance have said they are waiting for their removal before launching an offensive against militants "entrenched inside".

Those removed are being screened then taken to camps, the SDF say.

An estimated 300 IS fighters are thought to be holed up inside a tiny pocket of land.

There have been conflicting reports on how close the SDF is to ridding the enclave of IS.

The US-led coalition fighting IS has said the "most hardened" fighters remain within Baghuz.

The SDF has said the group are waiting for confirmation all civilians are out before storming Baghuz.

"Our forces said from the start that they have two options: unconditional surrender or for the battle to continue until its end," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told the Reuters news agency.

As many as 2,000 people may have left the enclave on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Another SDF spokesman, Adnan Afrin, told the AFP news agency that a number of IS fighters had been caught infiltrating the evacuations.

"Civilians and fighters from many nationalities have surrendered," he said, adding "there was a group of IS fighters hidden among the civilians... but as far as we know, our colleagues have arrested them."

Courtesy : BBC News