US-backed SDF says assault on ISIS enclave is as good as over

 ISIS was close to defeat in its final enclave on Tuesday after ferocious bombardments overnight and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the offensive to capture the area was nearly over.

The beseiged enclave of Baghouz is the last shred of territory held by the extremists who have been driven from roughly one third of Iraq and Syria over the past four years by its enemies, including a US-led international coalition.

“The operation is over, or as good as over, but requires a little more time to be completed practically on the ground,” SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told Al-Hadath TV. Daesh was still putting up resistance with weapons including car bombs.

The Baghouz enclave was targeted with barrages of rockets overnight and fires raged inside, but the bombardments ceased on Tuesday morning.

The SDF has been laying siege to Baghouz for weeks but repeatedly postponed its final assault to allow the evacuation of thousands of civilians, many of them wives and children of Daesh fighters. It finally resumed the attack on Sunday, backed by coalition air strikes.

Gabriel said 25 Daesh fighters had been confirmed killed so far in clashes, in addition to an unknown number of militants killed by air strikes. Another SDF official earlier said 38 extremists had been confirmed killed.