The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in eastern Syria have begun surrendering themselves to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after a string of losses in the eastern Euphrates River Valley region.
According to reports, several Islamic State militants have already begun surrendering themselves to the Syrian Democratic Forces near the town of Baghouz.
Furthermore,
some reports from the eastern Euphrates indicate that approximately 80 percent of the Islamic State terrorists still in this pocket are willing to surrender themselves to the SDF.
These reports were based on a recent meeting between ISIS and the SDF in which the former agreed to release 50 prisoners in exchange for food trucks to enter the Baghouz camp area.
The ISIS terrorists that are willing to surrender themselves to the SDF will do so in exchange for fair trials in an international court and no prosecution of their family members.
The remaining 20 percent are not willing to surrender to the SDF and will fight to the death.
Comment: Sputnik
reports terrorists wishing to flee or defect are being threatened by their leaders:
While SDF commanders have claimed that they are currently liberating the last village held by jihadists in eastern Syria, hundreds of civilians and former terror group members are fleeing the Daesh-controlled area, with their former lovers not infrequently putting a spoke in their wheels.
Daesh* fighters have shot fleeing families trying to escape from Baghuz, the last remaining Daesh enclave located not far from the border with Iraq in Deir ez-Zor province, according to a coalition commander, British Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika said, cited by British media.
While over 1,500 civilians have fled the last Daesh stronghold in Syria in the last several days, arriving at so-called screening points, where new arrivals are checked by SDF members, hundreds reportedly remain trapped inside. According to Ghika, those "arriving to be screened are the wives of Isis [Daesh] fighters, some of whom sustained gunshot wounds while fleeing from Isis".
Those fleeing, as well as the coalition's efforts to recapture the territory have, meanwhile, been considerably hindered by "tunnels" in the area, "IEDs and suicide cars and bombs that slow down the advance of our forces", said Adnan Afrini, the SDF commander in Baghuz, who portrayed the area surrounding Baghuz as a "rabbit hole":
"There is a network of tunnels that the terrorists are using, and our forces need to clear the tunnels very delicately to avoid counter-attacks and explosives", he said.
The battle to claim victory over the terrorist group's last speck of land is now drawing to an end, Kurdish commanders said, with Mustafa Bali, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman, stating that the fighters who remained there appeared to be among the most experienced Daesh elite who continue to fight "fiercely".
Those fleeing, as well as foreign fighters, who along with their families, at some point joined Daesh, are reported to be being intimidated by the terrorist group, which is threatening them with death if they leave the fight:
"They said that the Kurds would humiliate our women, that men would search them. They said we were walking into the jaws of wolves. They intimidated people and we had to be smuggled out. It was very dangerous", said Jumah Hamdi Hamdan, 53, a former Daesh supporter who fled the area together with his family on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US-led coalition may finally defeat and declare victory over Daesh in the region in the coming days:
"Our brave warriors have liberated virtually 100 percent of ISIL [territory] in Iraq and Syria... soon it will be announced, soon, maybe over the next week, maybe less, but it will be announced we have 100 percent", he told a rally in the US city of El Paso.
Separately, in December, Trump asserted that the US is altogether pulling its troops out of the region, announcing that Daesh had been "beaten".
Whilst the US cannot claim it has solely liberated Syria from ISIS, because Syria and Russia routed out much of the terrorists in the region (and with much less civilian causalities), it's encouraging to hear; perhaps Trump will now finally withdraw US troops from Syria and Iraq as he claimed he would do?
Comment: Sputnik reports terrorists wishing to flee or defect are being threatened by their leaders: Whilst the US cannot claim it has solely liberated Syria from ISIS, because Syria and Russia routed out much of the terrorists in the region (and with much less civilian causalities), it's encouraging to hear; perhaps Trump will now finally withdraw US troops from Syria and Iraq as he claimed he would do?