At least 16 dead, including children, in air strikes as Kurdish-led fighters battle last ISIL remnants in eastern Syria
At least 16 civilians, including seven children, were killed in air attacks launched by a US-backed coalition aiming to capture ISIL’s last enclave in eastern Syria.
Fighter jets fired missiles in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Baghouz, a village in Deir Az Zor province, as part of a fierce battle to seize Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s last sliver of territory in the region.
SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said heavy clashes were ongoing on Tuesday after hundreds fled the battle zone overnight.
The SDF believes 400 to 600 fighters from ISIL, also known as Daesh and ISIS, remain holed up in the enclave, including many hardened foreigners who are expected to fight to the death.“We are seeing fierce resistance from the Daesh fighters,” SDF field commander Adnan Afrin told Reuters news agency on the outskirts of Baghouz.
“Most are foreigners, Iraqis, Europeans. There are a lot of Turks. We can hear them on the walky-talkies.”He said ISIL now held only 1-square kilometre of the village.
The SDF announced a final push to retake Baghouz late on Saturday. Since then some military advances have been made, but ISIL snipers and landmines have slowed the ground forces down.
Coalition spokesman Sean Ryan said the US-backed forces were facing a fierce pushback by the armed group.
“The progress is slow and methodical as the enemy is fully entrenched and ISIL fighters continue to conduct counter-attacks,” said Ryan. “The coalition continues to strike at ISIL targets whenever available.”
The US-led coalition said it hit a mosque used by ISIL to direct attacks and employ suicide car bombs against the SDF.
“This mosque lost its protected status when ISIS deliberately chose to use it as a command and control centre,” the coalition’s deputy commander, Major-General Christopher Ghika, said in a statement.
Source: aljazeera.com
Thursday, April 23, 2026
