US-Led Coalition Says Operation Against IS Stronghold In Syria's Baghuz Still Ongoing

A spokesperson for the US-led international coalition has refuted in comments to Sputnik media reports claiming that the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz, which is believed to be the last stronghold of the Islamic State terrorist group (also known as Daesh, banned in Russia) in the country, was fully under control of the Kurdish forces, saying that the offensive against the terrorists was still underway

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2019) A spokesperson for the US-led international coalition has refuted in comments to Sputnik media reports claiming that the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz, which is believed to be the last stronghold of the Islamic State terrorist group (also known as Daesh, banned in Russia) in the country, was fully under control of the Kurdish forces, saying that the offensive against the terrorists was still underway.

Kurdish media previously reported that the village had been liberated from the Islamic State. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had launched the operation in Baghuz with support from the coalition, debunked the reports, insisting that the offensive had not ended.

"The operation to complete the liberation of Baghouz is ongoing. It remains a hard fight, and Daesh is showing that they intend to keep fighting for as long as possible. Daesh continues to resort to gruesome tactics like suicide attacks and using children as human shields," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not reveal any details about the operation in Baghuz but stressed that the SDF was committed to fight the Islamic State militants until the end.

"For operational security reasons, we won't discuss specific operations in regard to clearance as they are continuing to happen. We can assure you that the SDF is firmly committed to our common mission to achieve an enduring defeat of Daesh. Even as they relentlessly pursue Daesh, they have demonstrated numerous times just how prudent and deliberate they have been in consistently applying pressure on Daesh," the spokesperson added.

In early March, the SDF announced that they resumed operations against terrorists in Baghuz after the evacuation of civilians from the area. At the same time, human rights activists and local media have claimed that dozens of residents have been killed as a result of the international coalition's airstrikes.

The US-led coalition, in turn, denied having any knowledge about alleged casualties among civilians.