Islamic State extremists have withdrawn from their last urban stronghold in Syria after weeks of intensifying clashes with Kurdish-led fighters that have splintered the remnants of the group’s leadership and raised fresh questions about the fate of its founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Isis forces retreated to villages to the east of Hajin in the early hours of Friday after several days of US airstrikes, which allowed Kurdish proxy forces to sweep into the town on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Clashes continued throughout the day, and western observers cautioned that the militants may be attempting to regroup for a counter-assault.

The fall of Hajin comes after the fight against Isis had stalled for several months, weighed down by the increasingly fraught politics of the seven-year war in Syria and its numerous spinoffs. Friction between two of its main protagonists, Turkey and the US, over Washington’s use of Kurdish proxies to lead the fight had been central to the slowdown, which raised fears that Isis was using it to consolidate after many months of withering losses.

The US had been urging Kurdish leaders to send experienced members to lead its proxy force in Hajin against a diehard contingent of about 2,500 Isis veterans of battles in Iraq and Syria, which have stripped the group of cross-border lands it once controlled and forced it to revert to guerrilla warfare. The US presidential envoy in the fight against Isis, Brett McGurk, said this week that nearly every Isis member in Hajin is thought to have access to a suicide vest.

Senior Isis leaders were believed to have sought refuge in Hajin over the summer, and Baghdadi is understood to have spent some time in the town since it became Isis’s de facto capital in late 2017. The surrounding province of Deir Ez-Zor was pivotal to the rise of Isis. Nearly 60% of the group’s revenues came from five nearby oilfields that were repeatedly attacked by US jets and quickly brought back online.

The province was an essential hub for Baghdadi’s couriers, drivers and intermediaries as the oil trade surged from 2014-15, and was seen as one of the few places left in a crumbling caliphate where Isis fighters could lay low.

Baghdadi is thought to have remained far from the fight in recent months, and western intelligence officials believe the fugitive leader to be in the northern half of Anbar province in neighbouring Iraq. Iraqi officials, however, suspect their quarry may have have been in Hajin more recently. “Most of the senior Isis leaders are based in Hajin,” said one senior official. “Moreover, the confessions of arrested Isis members all point to Baghdadi being there with his family.”

Isis’s leadership structure has collapsed over the past two years, leaving local leaders and sleeper cells to act without higher instruction. In north-eastern Syria, the focal point of the fight against the organisation, there has been an increase in the number of attacks in areas that had been cleared by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), particularly the city of Raqqa, which had been one of two main hubs of power, Mosul in Iraq being the other.

The durability of the US-Kurdish alliance had been increasingly challenged since earlier this year, when the SDF suspended operations against Isis in eastern Syria as Turkey launched an operation to oust Kurdish forces from near its border in the country’s north-west.

The SDF has drawn heavily from local Arab populations to anchor the fight against Isis, but its leaders come from the ranks of senior Kurdish officials. As the fight against Isis winds down, the Kurds of Syria’s north-east have been weighing their options. A pledge of ongoing US patronage and weapons has kept the SDF in the fight in Hajin, but doubts about Washington’s future intentions and loyalties are increasingly testing the alliance.

Turkey’s announcement on Wednesday that it intends to send its military into north-eastern Syria poses a further challenge to the US-Kurdish pact. The US has described the planned move as unacceptable, but Ankara says it will defy the wishes of its Nato ally and will soon launch an operation aimed at pushing Kurdish groups allied to insurgents inside Turkey deeper into Syria.

A spillover from the fight in Syria is also believed to have energised an Isis revival in Kirkuk and Salaheddin in Iraq, local officials say. The number of assassinations and roadside bombs, trademarks of earlier insurgencies, have increased sharply in recent months.

Additional reporting by Nadia al-Faour</s>BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists say U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters have captured the last town held by the Islamic State group, in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Syrian Democratic Forces took Hajin early on Friday after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town was taken, adding that some IS fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of the town.

The Kurdish-led Syrian fighters have been fighting to take Hajin and nearby villages in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour since Sept. 10. Over the past weeks, the offensive intensified with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria.</s>BEIRUT — U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after three months of ferocious battles in the militants' single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists and Kurdish officials said.

The fall of Hajin marks an end to the extremist group's hold over any significant urban area, which in three years shrank from large swaths of Iraq and Syria the militants once held to this small enclave near the two countries' shared border.

The capture of Hajin does not, however, mark the end of the group, which still holds some villages nearby and has a scattered presence and sleeper cells in both countries.

As the offensive by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces intensified over the past days under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, ISIL fighters withdrew south to areas east of the Euphrates River and west of SDF positions along the border with Iraq. Among the villages still held by extremists in the enclave are Sousa, Buqaan, Shaafah, Baghouz and Shajla.

The latest push has also raised questions about the fate of ISIL leader and founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who has not been seen in public since he announced his self-styled caliphate in 2014 from a mosque's pulpit in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Last month, ISIL suffered a severe blow when the SDF said it captured Osama Owayed al-Saleh, a top aide to al-Baghdadi.

"It is a very difficult battle," SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali told The Associated Press from Syria where he said ISIL fighters are still attacking Hajin. He added that most of ISIL fighters besieged in the enclave are among the most experienced gunmen who came to the area from Iraq and Syria.

"There are still villages to be taken but Hajin was the most important as it was the base for commanders from where they directed military operations," Bali said.

Iraqi Major Gen. Qassem Mohammed, in charge of operations in areas close to the Syrian border, said artillery strikes by the U.S.-led coalition on the Iraqi side of the border targeted Hajin and areas around it.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. It said some ISIL fighters withdrew to nearby villages and that fighting is still ongoing in fields outside Hajin as SDF fighters chase out the extremists.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town had been recaptured, adding that some ISIL fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.</s>BEIRUT — U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after days of intense battles in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists said.

The fall of Hajin is a blow to the extremists. The town was their main stronghold in the last pocket of land they control in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. IS still holds some villages nearby.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take Hajin and the surrounding villages in Deir el-Zour province for over three months. In the past weeks, the offensive intensified with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. It said some IS fighters withdrew to the villages and that fighting is still going in the fields outside Hajin as SDF fighters chase the extremists.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town was taken, adding that some IS fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.

The area was home to some 15,000 people, including 2,000 IS gunmen who have been fighting back with counteroffensives and suicide attacks. Over the past days, hundreds of civilians were able to flee the enclave toward areas controlled by the SDF east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river’s west bank.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Syrian Kurdish-led fighters take Hajin, last town held by IS

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after three months of ferocious battles in the militants' single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists and Kurdish officials said.

The fall of Hajin marks an end to the extremist group's hold over any significant urban area, which in three years shrunk from large swaths of Iraq and Syria the militants once held to this small enclave near the two countries' shared borders.

The capture of Hajin, however, does not mark the end of the group which still holds some villages nearby and has a scattered presence and sleeper cells in both countries.

As the offensive by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces intensified over the past days under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, IS fighters withdrew south to areas east of the Euphrates river and west of SDF positions along the border with Iraq. Among the villages still held by extremists in the enclave are Sousa, Buqaan, Shaafah, Baghouz and Shajla.

The latest push has also raised questions about the fate of IS leader and founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who has not been seen in public since he announced his self-styled caliphate in 2014 from a mosque's pulpit in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Last month, IS suffered a severe blow when the SDF said it captured Osama Owayed al-Saleh, a top aide to al-Baghdadi.

"It is a very difficult battle," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told The Associated Press by phone from Syria where he said IS fighters are still attacking Hajin. He added that most of IS fighters besieged in the enclave are among the most experienced gunmen who came to the area from Iraq and Syria.

"There are still villages to be taken but Hajin was the most important as it was the base for commanders from where they directed military operations," Bali said.

Iraqi Maj. Gen. Qassem Mohammed, in charge of operations in areas close to the Syrian border, said artillery strikes by the U.S.-led coalition on the Iraqi side of the border targeted Hajin and areas around it.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. It said some IS fighters withdrew to nearby villages and that fighting is still ongoing in fields outside Hajin as SDF fighters chase out the extremists.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town had been recaptured, adding that some IS fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.

Abu Layla said that disagreements among IS ranks over hierarchy between Iraqi and Syrian fighters helped "speed up the collapse" of the extremist group's defenses in Hajin.

Nuri Mehmud, spokesman of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as People's Protection Units, or YPG, also the main component of the SDF, said "intense fighting" is still ongoing in small parts of Hajin.

The area is home to some 15,000 people, including 2,000 IS gunmen who fought back with counteroffensives and suicide attacks. Over the past days, hundreds of civilians were able to flee the enclave toward areas controlled by the SDF east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river's west bank.

The Observatory said that since the SDF offensive began on Sept. 10, 922 IS gunmen, 539 SDF fighters and 324 civilians have been killed.

The Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, denounced Turkey's threat of a military operation against the YPG and called on Syrians of all ethnic and religious groups to unite ahead of a possible Turkish attack.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his criticism of U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish fighters, saying Friday that Turkey would clear the key northern town of Manbij. Over the summer, the two NATO allies had struck a "road map" to Manbij of the YPG, which Turkey considers a terror organization linked to an insurgency within its own borders.

The Turkish presidency released a statement Friday saying Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump and they agreed on the "need for more effective coordination" in Syria. Erdogan reiterated "Turkey's legitimate security concerns" regarding the YPG.

Erdogan argued the U.S. has not kept its promises to push the YPG east of the Euphrates River.

"If you don't take them out, we will also enter Manbij," he said. American troops are stationed in Manbij, which was cleared of IS in 2016, and Washington and Ankara recently started joint patrols around the town.

Erdogan's threat comes days after he announced his military would launch a new cross-border operation into Syria "within a few days" to fight the YPG east of the Euphrates.

On Thursday, a Turkish soldier was killed in the northwestern town of Afrin after an attack from nearby Tel Rifat. The Turkish military and allied Syrian opposition fighters took the town from the YPG earlier this year.

Associated Press writers Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.</s>BEIRUT -- U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after three months of ferocious battles in the militants' single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists and Kurdish officials said.

The fall of Hajin marks an end to the extremist group's hold over any significant urban area. The capture of Hajin, however, does not mark the end of the group, which still holds some villages nearby and has a scattered presence and sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria.

As the offensive by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces intensified over the past days under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, Islamic State fighters withdrew south to areas east of the Euphrates river and west of Syrian Democratic Forces positions along the border with Iraq. Among the villages still held by extremists in the enclave are Sousa, Buqaan, Shaafah, Baghouz and Shajla.

The latest push has also raised questions about the fate of Islamic State leader and founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who has not been seen in public since he announced his self-styled caliphate in 2014 from a mosque's pulpit in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Last month, the Islamic State suffered a severe blow when the Kurdish-led forces said they captured Osama Owayed al-Saleh, a top aide to al-Baghdadi.

"It is a very difficult battle," Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali said by phone from Syria where he said militant fighters were still attacking Hajin. He added that most of the Islamic State fighters besieged in the enclave were among the most experienced gunmen who came to the area from Iraq and Syria.

"There are still villages to be taken but Hajin was the most important as it was the base for commanders from where they directed military operations," Bali said.

Iraqi Maj. Gen. Qassem Mohammed, in charge of operations in areas close to the Syrian border, said artillery strikes by the U.S.-led coalition on the Iraqi side of the border targeted Hajin and areas around it.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Kurdish-led forces took Hajin early in the morning. It said some Islamic State fighters withdrew to nearby villages and that fighting was still ongoing in fields outside Hajin.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town had been recaptured, adding that some militant fighters were still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin. Abu Layla said that disagreements among Islamic State ranks over hierarchy between Iraqi and Syrian fighters helped "speed up the collapse."

Nuri Mehmud, spokesman of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as People's Protection Units, also the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said "intense fighting" was still ongoing in small areas.

The area is home to some 15,000 people, including 2,000 Islamic State gunmen who fought back with counteroffensives and suicide attacks. Over the past several days, hundreds of civilians were able to flee the enclave toward areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river's west bank. The Observatory said that since the Kurdish-led offensive began on Sept. 10, 922 Islamic State gunmen, 539 coalition fighters and 324 civilians have been killed.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his criticism of U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish fighters, saying Friday that Turkey would clear the key northern town of Manbij. Over the summer, the two NATO allies had struck a "road map" to Manbij of the People's Protection Units, which Turkey considers a terror organization linked to an insurgency within its own borders.

The Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, denounced Turkey's threat of a military operation against the People's Protection Units and called on Syrians of all ethnic and religious groups to unite ahead of a possible Turkish attack.

Information for this article was contributed by Zeynep Bilginsoy and Qassim Abdul-Zahra of The Associated Press.</s>BEIRUT — U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters are pushing deeper into an eastern town held by the Islamic State group, taking its main market amid intense fighting with the extremists in their last holdout.

Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take the town of Hajin and nearby villages in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour since Sept. 10.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that IS defences “collapsed” in Hajin as the town’s main market was captured.

The Observatory says SDF fighters were also able to evacuate some 600 civilians, many of them women and children, out of IS-held areas.

Omar Abu Layla, of the activist-run DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group, confirmed the market was taken as well as the main mosque in Hajin.</s>The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after days of intense battles in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists said.

The fall of Hajin is a blow to the extremists. The town was their main stronghold in the last pocket of land they control in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. IS still holds some villages nearby.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take Hajin and the surrounding villages in Deir el-Zour province for over three months. In the past weeks, the offensive intensified with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. It said some IS fighters withdrew to the villages and that fighting is still going in the fields outside Hajin as SDF fighters chase the extremists.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town was taken, adding that some IS fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.

The area was home to some 15,000 people, including 2,000 IS gunmen who have been fighting back with counteroffensives and suicide attacks. Over the past days, hundreds of civilians were able to flee the enclave toward areas controlled by the SDF east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river’s west bank.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>US-backed, Kurdish-led fighters have captured the last town held by the Islamic State group after days of intense battles in the militants’ remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists said.

US-backed, Kurdish-led fighters have captured the last town held by the Islamic State group after days of intense battles in the militants’ remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists said.

The fall of Hajin is a blow to the extremists. The town was their main stronghold in the last pocket of land they control in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. IS still holds some villages nearby.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take Hajin and surrounding villages in Deir el-Zour province for more than three months. In recent weeks, the offensive intensified with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning after fierce fighting under the cover of air strikes by the US-led coalition.

It said some IS fighters withdrew to the villages and fighting is still going in the fields outside Hajin as SDF troops chase the extremists.

Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed the town was taken, adding that some IS fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.

He said that in IS ranks, disagreements over hierarchy helped “speed up the collapse” of defences in Hajin.

Nuri Mehmud, spokesman of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG — the main component of SDF — said “intense fighting” is continuing in small parts of Hajin.

The area was home to 15,000 people, including 2,000 IS gunmen who fought back with counter-offensives and suicide attacks.

Over recent days, hundreds of civilians fled the enclave towards areas controlled by the SDF east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river’s west bank.

The Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, denounced Turkey’s threat of a military operation against the YPG and called on Syrians of all ethnic and religious groups to unite ahead of a possible Turkish attack.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his criticism of US support for the Syrian Kurdish fighters, saying Turkey would clear the key northern town of Manbij.

Over the summer, the two Nato allies had struck a “road map” for Manbij to remove the YPG, which Turkey considers a terror organisation linked to an insurgency within its own borders.</s>BEIRUT—U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by Daesh on Friday, after days of intense battles in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists said. The fall of Hajin is a blow to the extremists. The town was their main stronghold in the last pocket of land they control in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. Daesh still holds some villages nearby.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take Hajin and the surrounding villages in Deir el-Zour province for over three months. In the past weeks, the offensive intensified with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early in the morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. It said some Daesh fighters withdrew to the villages and that fighting is still going in the fields outside Hajin as SDF fighters chase the extremists. Europe-based activist Omar Abu Layla of the DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group confirmed that the town was taken, adding that some Daesh fighters are still holed up in small pockets on the edge of Hajin.

Aby Layla said that in Daesh ranks, disagreements over hierarchy and posts between Iraqi and Syrian fighters helped “speed up the collapse” of Daesh defences in Hajin. Nuri Mehmud, spokesman of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as People’s Protection Units or YPG — the main component of SDF — said “intense fighting” is still ongoing in small parts of Hajin. The area was home to some 15,000 people, including 2,000 Daesh gunmen who fought back with counteroffensives and suicide attacks. Over the past days, hundreds of civilians were able to flee the enclave toward areas controlled by the SDF east of the Euphrates River and government-controlled regions on the river’s West Bank. The Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, denounced Turkey’s threat of a military operation against YPG and called on Syrians of all ethnic and religious groups to unite ahead of a possible Turkish attack. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his criticism of U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish fighters, saying Friday that Turkey would clear the key northern town of Manbij. Over the summer, the two NATO allies had struck a “road map” for Manbij to remove YPG, which Turkey considers a terror organization linked to an insurgency within its own borders.

Erdogan argued the United States has not kept its promises to push YPG east of the Euphrates River. “If you don’t take them out, we will also enter Manbij,” he said. American troops are stationed in Manbij, which was cleared of Daesh in 2016, and Washington and Ankara recently started joint patrols around the town.

Erdogan’s threat comes days after he announced his military would launch a new cross-border operation into Syria “within a few days” to fight YPG east of the Euphrates. On Thursday, a Turkish soldier was killed in the northwestern town of Afrin after an attack from nearby Tel Rifat. The Turkish military and allied Syrian opposition fighters took the town from the YPG earlier this year.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces seize control of Hajin, the last major town held by ISIL in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.