SDF to evacuate civilians from last remaining Islamic State enclave in E. Syria

The evacuation of civilians from the last remaining enclave of Islamic state (IS, formerly ISIS) in eastern Syria is expected to be completed on Thursday, a representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has said. After the evacuation, the SDF will engage the last militants holed up inside, Mustafa Bali said. The village of Baghouz at the Iraqi border is the last scrap of territory left to IS in the Euphrates valley region that became its final major stronghold in Iraq and Syria after defeats in 2017. On Wednesday, more than 2,000 civilians left the village of Baghouz in a convoy of dozens of trucks, Reuters reported.