Tweet
Related TopicsSyrian civil war
Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate after returning from the front lines around Baghuz, Syria (19 March 2019)Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
Some Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrated after returning from the front lines
US-backed Syrian fighters are reported to have overrun an encampment that made up most of the last patch of territory held by the Islamic State group.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance said militants refusing to surrender had pulled back to a sliver of land along the River Euphrates south of Baghuz, and that clashes continued.
Although it warned the battle was not over, some fighters began celebrating.
Baghuz's fall would bring an end to the "caliphate" proclaimed by IS in 2014.
IS women defiant in face of lost caliphate
After the caliphate: Has IS been defeated?
The jihadist group once controlled 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of land stretching across Syria and Iraq, imposed its rule on almost eight million people, and generated billions of dollars from oil, extortion, robbery and kidnapping.
After five years of bloody battles, local forces backed by world powers have driven IS out of all but a few hundred square metres.
But the group is by no means defeated. US officials believe IS may have 15,000 to 20,000 armed adherents active in the region, many of them in sleeper cells, and that it will return to its insurgent roots while attempting to rebuild.
How many militants are left in Baghuz?
It is not known. At the start of March, when the SDF began its final assault on the village, commanders estimated there were a few hundred militants holed up inside.
Smoke rises from tented encampment in eastern Syrian village of Baghuz (18 March 2019)Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
The patch of land seized by the SDF was covered in tents, vehicles and foxholes
But the Kurdish-led alliance was forced to slow its offensive after it emerged that a large number of civilians were also there, sheltering in buildings, tents and tunnels.
As many as 20,000 children and women - many of them foreign nationals - have since been evacuated to an SDF-run camp for displaced people at al-Hol, swelling its population to 70,000 and overwhelming aid workers. Several thousand men have also surrendered and been taken to separate SDF detention centres.
Media captionDespite facing defeat and complete isolation, the mood amongst many remains defiant, as Quentin Sommerville reports
Militants who chose to stay in Baghuz continued to put up fierce resistance, deploying suicide bombers and car bombs, but by Monday they had been driven back to a small patch of open farmland next to the Euphrates that was covered in tents, vehicles and foxholes.
On Tuesday morning, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said it had taken control of the encampment and that the last militants had retreated to the riverbank.
"This is not a victory announcement, but a significant progress in the fight against [IS]," he cautioned in a Twitter post. "Clashes are continuing as a group of [IS] terrorists who are confined into a tiny area still fight back."
Skip Twitter post by @mustefabali
Report
End of Twitter post by @mustefabali
Presentational white space
Mr Bali added that hundreds of sick and wounded militants had been captured by the SDF as it took the encampment and that they had been taken to hospitals.
Are SDF fighters celebrating too early?
On Tuesday afternoon, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool saw lorries leaving Baghuz packed with what he was told were hundreds of militants, as well as SDF fighters celebrating on their return from the front lines.
Jiaker Amed, a spokesman for the Kurdish militia that dominates the SDF, told our correspondent they were celebrating "a victory for all humanity".
Lorries evacuate suspected Islamic State militants and civilians from Baghuz, eastern Syria (19 March 2019)Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
IS militants and civilians were evacuated from Baghuz in lorries on Tuesday
Mr Amed declared that all IS territory in Baghuz had been retaken, although he admitted that some militants might be hiding underground in tunnels.
Later, Mr Bali told Reuters news agency that fighting was continuing and that militants remained "in several pockets". "Their presence is not limited to a defined geography," he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, meanwhile reported that at least 14 SDF fighters were killed and 30 others injured by IS gunfire and landmine explosions as they attacked the encampment.
An Italian man fighting for the SDF, Lorenzo Orsetti, was killed on Sunday.
Even with its defeat in Baghuz imminent, IS released a defiant audio recording purportedly from its spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir that asserted that the caliphate was not over.
Muhajir accused US President Donald Trump of "falsely" announcing victory over IS in Syria in December, and insisted IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was alive.
Related Topics
Islamic State groupSyriaSyrian civil war
Share this story About sharing
Messenger
Middle East
File image of La Scala theatre in Milan, Italy December 7, 2018
Italian opera house to return Saudi millions
19 March 2019
From the section Europe
Full article Italian opera house to return Saudi millions
Screen grab of campaign video
'Fascism' perfume ad causes stir in Israel
2 hours ago
From the section Middle East
Full article 'Fascism' perfume ad causes stir in Israel
Israeli forensic specialists inspect a a car at the site of a deadly attack near the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank (17 March 2019)
Two Israelis killed in West Bank attack
18 March 2019
From the section Middle East
Full article Two Israelis killed in West Bank attack
More Videos from the BBC
New York's cheeky symbol of defiance
New York's cheeky symbol of defiance
Film review: Captain Marvel
Film review: Captain Marvel
Why water is one of the weirdest things in the Universe
Why water is one of the weirdest things in the Universe
A stunning danger lurking under the ice
A stunning danger lurking under the ice
Primo Levi: A clear-eyed view of evil, pain and humanity
Primo Levi: A clear-eyed view of evil, pain and humanity
Do mosquitoes feel the effects of alcohol?
Do mosquitoes feel the effects of alcohol?
Recommended by Outbrain
Elsewhere on BBC
The Heart of the Canadian Rockies: The Lifelong Explorer
BBC.com
The Heart of the Canadian Rockies: The Lifelong Explorer
Woman died 'after too much vitamin D'
BBC News
Woman died 'after too much vitamin D'
Super-fast engine set for key tests
BBC News
Super-fast engine set for key tests
Recommended by Outbrain
You Might Also Like
The pilot who stole a secret Soviet fighter jet
BBC Future
The pilot who stole a secret Soviet fighter jet
Iran’s ancient engineering marvel
BBC Travel
Iran’s ancient engineering marvel
Anthropology: The sad truth about uncontacted tribes
BBC Future
Anthropology: The sad truth about uncontacted tribes
From Around the Web
eToro Bringing Social Trading to The US
eToro Bringing Social Trading to The US
TechCrunch
Mac Users Guide (2019) - The Only Antivirus Provider You Should Use.
Mac Users Guide (2019) - The Only Antivirus Provider You Should Use.
Antivirus Best 10 - The Best Antivirus Products Reviewed
20 Nicest Countries (USA Is Nowhere To Be Found)
20 Nicest Countries (USA Is Nowhere To Be Found)
ALOT Travel
The Only Antivirus Providers Mac Users Should Consider Using (2019)
The Only Antivirus Providers Mac Users Should Consider Using (2019)
My Antivirus Review
Meet the US Navy's new $13 billion aircraft
Meet the US Navy's new $13 billion aircraft
CNET
Mac user? Your team will love this tool
Mac user? Your team will love this tool
monday.com Promoted content by Outbrain
Top Stories
UK cabinet row over PM's Brexit delay bid
The PM will write to the EU asking for Brexit to be postponed, amid reports of a cabinet row.
48 minutes ago
Why does the Speaker shout 'ORDER!' so much?
8 hours ago
Syrian fighters 'overrun IS encampment'
2 hours ago
ADVERTISEMENT
Features
Beto O'Rourke in Dubuque, Iowa
Is Beto O'Rourke more style than substance?
John Bercow in the House of Commons
Why does the Speaker shout 'ORDER!' so much?
An American police officer crosses the street outside the Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 people were killed by a right-wing extremist.
How prevalent is far-right extremism?
Tourists take photos in field of blooms
Super bloom tourists cause 'safety crisis'
A woman next to some frozen eggs VIDEO
'My egg-freezing journey'
The cheating scandal involving wealthy parents has put the system in the spotlight. VIDEO
How US university admissions are broken
A line of police officers search a road nearthe Al Noor mosque, site of one of the attacks, in Christchurch
Christchurch and the new threat of far-right violence