US-backed Syrian forces said they were close to defeating Daesh (the so-called IS) in its final scrap of territory at Baghouz in eastern Syria after seizing an encampment from the jihadists on Tuesday, though the battle was not over yet. Hardened militant fighters holed up in the encampment had been mounting a last-stand defense of the Baghouz enclave, all that is left of Daesh's self-proclaimed "caliphate" that once spanned a third of both Syria and Iraq. "This is not a victory announcement, but a significant progress in the fight against Daesh," said Mustafa Bali, a media official with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Twitter. The SDF captured hundreds of wounded militants when it overran the camp on Tuesday, Bali said. It also captured 157 mostly foreign fighters. Asked by Reuters how long it would take to defeat the remaining jihadists, Bali said he expected the operation to end "very soon". Some remaining militants had fallen back to the bank of the nearby Euphrates River, he said. "The battles are not yet over," he said. "Some of the terrorists have taken their children as human shields. There are intermittent clashes." Daesh fighters and followers have been steadily forced back to Baghouz after years of retreats in the face of military campaigns by an array of foreign and local forces. The group's defeat at Baghouz will mark a milestone in the struggle against the jihadists, although adherents are still widely seen as a big security threat with a presence in remote territory and capable of mounting guerrilla attacks. The capture of Baghouz will also mark a significant moment in the wider Syrian war, wiping out the foothold of one of the main combatants and leaving Syria partitioned between President Bashar Al-Assad, Kurdish-led forces, and Turkey-backed rebels. Diehard jihadists have been mounting a desperate defense of the camp at Baghouz, deploying suicide bombers and car bombs. Over the past two months, more than 60,000 people have poured out of the dwindling enclave, nearly half of whom surrendered as Daesh supporters, including some 5,000 fighters, according to the SDF. Even facing defeat, Daesh's propaganda machine still functions. An audio recording released overnight purported to carry a message from spokesman Abi Al-Hassan Al-Muhajer saying the group would stay strong and urged fresh attacks. It has also put out a video from inside the Baghouz camp, showing bearded fighters among bullet-pocked cars and lying on earth ramparts as they fired assault rifles. The scarred landscape around them was littered with vehicles, makeshift shelters and debris and shaded by clouds of billowing smoke. Against this scene, a man with a scarf wrapped around his head stood to declaim a message of defiance, a small group of women and toddlers to one side of him. "The crusaders have forced us from our homes and burned us, may God exact the same from them ... O Muslim brothers everywhere, we have done our duty," he said. Meanwhile, the US military has warned that Daesh may still count tens of thousands of fighters, dispersed throughout Iraq and Syria, with enough leaders and resources to present a menacing insurgency. The Pentagon's own internal watchdog released a report last month saying Daesh remained an active insurgent group and was regenerating functions and capabilities more quickly in Iraq than in Syria. "Absent sustained (counterterrorism) pressure, Daesh could likely resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory," the report said. — Reuters n SDF seizes Baghouz camp; nets hundreds of militants n Daesh militants regenerating capabilities quickly: US
