BAGHOUZ, Syria — As defeat looms, militants
of the Islamic State group have remained organized and ruthless to their last
breath. Keeping institutions functioning in their last shred of territory in
Syria, they have continued benefits like food and money to supporters while
their religious police and fighters still impose their rule of fear and
brutality.
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Refusing to surrender, the militants have
tried to squeeze out any last possible gain. Over the past weeks, they secured
the evacuation of more than 10,000 of their exhausted and wounded followers,
looking to ensure long-term survival and continued conflict.
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The militants — many of them foreigners,
including Iraqis and Central Asians, along with some Syrian fighters — are now
fighting their final battle, holed up in tunnels and caves inside Baghouz, the
last village they control. Since Friday, they have put up desperate resistance
to renewed pounding by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces aiming to take
the tiny pocket on the Euphrates River near the Iraqi border.
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Full news: The Washington Post - 6 March
2019
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