As Islamic State faces pressure in its final stronghold in Syria&#8217;s Deir el-Zour province, the group could be hiding a mountain of gold it smuggled out of other Syrian provinces and neighboring Iraq, a rights group told <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/rights-group-is-could-be-hiding-gold-in-e-syria/4786247.html">VOA</a> on Wednesday.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told VOA that it had confirmation from the ground that IS was holding 40 tons of gold bars in Syria.
&#8220;These quantities of gold were held by the IS group since late 2017, specifically in its eastern Syrian pocket&#8221; of control, he added.
Rami said his organization&#8217;s &#8220;confirmed reports&#8221; indicated the gold, along with millions of dollars, was stockpiled in Deir el-Zour province.
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But it was unclear to SOHR whether the gold bars were buried in Baghouz village, hidden in tunnels on the Syria-Iraq border or hidden in areas recently captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
&#8220;This gold was stolen from the Central Bank of Mosul, from the economy in Syria that was under the control of IS, and from the selling of Syrian and Iraqi antiquities, like smuggled antiquities from Palmyra that were sold to smugglers and traders through Turkey,&#8221; Abdulrahman of SOHR said.
The U.S.-led coalition, which is supporting the SDF fighters in their last push against IS in eastern Syria, said it was not aware of such reports.
The coalition&#8217;s spokesperson, Col. Sean Ryan, told VOA via email Wednesday that they were investigating the claims.
The Islamic State terror group has been holding firmly to Baghouz since Saturday, when the SDF forces launched their final push to end the jihadists self-proclaimed caliphate. SDF officials estimated there were about 3,000 IS jihadists, mostly foreigners, who were determined to fight to the death.
The SDF says its progress has been slowed by land mines, suicide attacks and the extremists&#8217; use of civilians as human shields.
Nabil Hassan, the administrator of al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate in Syria&#8217;s northeast, told VOA that over 23,000 people left their homes last week amid clashes and that more were expected to flee as fighting continued in the region.
The jihadist group&#8217;s self-styled caliphate once sprawled across large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. According to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the group made millions of dollars through the control of banks, oil and gas fields, taxation, extortion and theft of relics.
In 2014, IS stole nearly $450 million and vast quantities of gold bullion from Mosul&#8217;s central bank, according the International Business Times.
IS currency
The Syrian group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reported in June 2015 that IS went as far as minting its own gold &#8220;Islamic dinar&#8221; coins. The group then posted photos showing what appeared to be gold sovereigns bearing IS inscriptionssts,&#8221; he added.
The U.S.-led coalition over the years has aggressively campaigned to target the group&#8217;s finances, particularly through shrinking IS territory, conducting airstrikes on IS money reserves and disabling the group&#8217;s oil fields. U.S. military officials in early 2016 said a U.S. airstrike on an IS cash distribution site in Mosul destroyed millions of dollars.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials say the group has turned to other sources of income that are more difficult to trace.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials told The Washington Post last December that IS leaders had laundered tens of millions of dollars by investing in legitimate businesses throughout the Middle East over the past year. They reported large caches of gold and currency were also buried in the Iraqi desert.
Insurgency
According to Colin Clarke, an expert on terror financing with the Soufan Group, IS could be hiding gold and money reserves to help finance its insurgency actions across the region once its physical caliphate is gone.
&#8220;After the territorial caliphate falls, it is possible that small cells of militants will rely on the group&#8217;s remaining war chest to rebuild core capabilities and recruit new members. Additionally, IS will rely on its money while also pursuing new revenue streams or rejuvenating prior links to trafficking and smuggling,&#8221; Clarke told VOA.
He said the group&#8217;s determined fighters had already hoarded weapons to use later.
&#8220;What the group has left will be able to last, especially as IS is no longer paying to maintain a state. Its revenues are less, but so are its operating costs,&#8221; he added.

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Rights Group: IS Could Be Hiding Gold in E. Syria

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Russia is hosting a three-way summit this week on Syria even as growing diplomatic differences between two participants threaten to undermine the event, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-russia-at-odds-over-syria-ahead-of-key-summit/4783648.html">VOA</a> reports.
Thursday&#8217;s talks on the Black Sea resort of Sochi involve Russia, Turkey and Iran; however, Moscow and Ankara are at odds over border security and other concerns.
Moscow is demanding decisive action from Ankara over Idlib, the last remaining rebel-controlled Syrian enclave, while Ankara is pressing for support for its demand to create a safe zone in Syria to protect the Turkish frontier.
While Russia and Iran back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey supports Syrian rebels, the countries have found common ground in efforts to end the civil war under the auspices of the so-called Astana Process.
Strained cooperation
Analysts, however, say the conflicting agendas of the countries could put increasing strain on cooperation. Moscow is voicing frustration with Ankara over Idlib. &#8220;Turkey must do more to uphold its agreement and clear hard core jihadist fighters from Idlib, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova last week.
Turkey and Russia hammered out a deal in September in which Ankara guaranteed that radical jihadist groups would disarm and leave the enclave. The agreement saw Moscow prevail on Damascus to step back from launching an imminent military offensive to seize the enclave.
In December, however, radical Islamic groups seized large parts of Idlib, ousting moderate Syrian opposition groups backed by Turkey.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, Monday in Ankara in a bid to resolve differences over Idlib ahead of the Sochi summit. I hope that today, we will be able to come to an agreement on the key issues, Shoigu said ahead of the discussions.
A joint statement following the defense ministers&#8217; Monday talks indicated no breakthrough, with both sides only committing themselves to continue to work together. Ankara does not have much space to maneuver, said political scientist Cengiz Aktar. It will be very difficult to escape the duty of cleaning the Idlib pocket, which is packed with radical jihadists of all sorts.
Analysts say Ankara is aware that a collapse of its Idlib deal with Moscow would open the door to Syrian government forces attacking the enclave. There&#8217;s the fear that there would be a flow of one million refugees into Turkey if there was an operation; so far this has not happened, thanks to the deal with Moscow, said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankaras Middle East Technical University.
Refugee issue
Turkey already hosts more than 3 million Syrian refugees, at a cost Ankara claims of over $30 billion. According to Turkish opinion polls, frustration over the refugees is regularly cited by respondents as one of the main problems facing the country.
With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan&#8217;s ruling AKP facing possible significant losses in crucial local elections in March, analysts suggest his priority could be to delay any offensive against Idlib.
They are playing for time, and sooner or later this pocket will be emptied, said Aktar, adding, For Erdogan, he will be eager to avoid this at least until after next months local elections.
So far there are no reports of Syrian government forces starting to mobilize against Idlib. Such an operation against so many battle-hardened jihadists estimated to number in the tens of thousands would likely need the support of Russian air power.
Careful approach
Analysts suggest Moscow may not be ready to risk a rupture of its recent deepening relationship with Ankara over Idlib. Putin is aware of the alarm in NATO of his warm relationship with Erdogan.
Turkey is set to buy Russias S-400 missile system, which is due to be delivered later this year despite warnings from Washington of possible sanctions against its NATO ally Turkey. The U.S. says the missile system could compromise NATO weapons systems.
Turkey-U.S. relations remain deeply strained over Washington&#8217;s backing of a Syrian YPG Kurdish militia deemed by Ankara as terrorists in its war against the Islamic State. U.S. President Donald Trumps proposal to create a safe zone in Syria to protect Turkeys Syrian frontier initially defused bilateral tensions.
The lack of progress on the zones creation, however, has resulted in Ankara threatening to create the region unilaterally. Analysts say such a move would need Moscows backing. Erdogan is expected to press the issue at the Sochi summit.
Ahead of the Sochi summit, Turkish Defense Minister Akar is scheduled to meet acting U.S. Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
Turkey must talk to the Americans and Russians, as both support the Kurds, this is the dilemma facing Ankara, said Bagci. The Americans are against a Turkish intervention in Syria and Putin in not supporting Turkey on this. Bagci was referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served widely in the region, suggests Ankara may yet be able to find a compromise. It&#8217;s give and take for Putin, said Selcen.
Ankara will need to seriously do its homework for Idlib and take steps against the radical groups, and on the other hand, there will be a yellow light for operations against the YPG militia. Not a full-scale operation but rather more limited operations or some airstrikes, unless Damascus and Moscow pull those YPG elements away from the Turkish frontier.
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Turkey, Russia at Odds Over Syria Ahead of Key Summit

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria says it carried out an airstrike against a former mosque in the last Syrian stronghold held by Islamic State fighters, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-backed-forces-in-syria-close-in-on-last-islamic-state-stronghold/4783028.html">reports</a>.
A coalition statement said the strike in Baghuz took place Monday, and was done in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led anti-Islamic State coalition that is fighting the militants on the ground.
&#8220;This mosque lost its protected status when ISIS deliberately chose to use it as a command and control center,&#8221; said Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, a British officer who serves as the coalition&#8217;s deputy commander.
The U.S.-backed SDF is closing in on Islamic State fighters in Baghuz, located in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour.
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&#8220;We have captured a radius of about 500 meters, and our fighters are advancing into the city,&#8221; an SDF commander told VOA from the battlefield. &#8220;All civilians have already left this part of Baghuz. There are only IS fighters inside the town,&#8221; he added.
U.S. officials say IS fighters in the town have been surrounded from all sides.
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&#8220;The enemy is putting up a tough fight with a lot of foreign fighters with nowhere to go,&#8221; coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan said. &#8220;The weather has not been great, which slows progress, and the SDF has to back clear the areas, as well. So, hopefully this month.&#8221;
The anti-IS campaign has cleared nearly all territory once held by Islamic State in Syria since 2014.
The U.S.-led coalition is providing air and artillery support as SDF fighters continue to advance.
&#8220;The U.S. air support is very helpful in this offensive. It will also help us take over the remaining territory within days,&#8221; said an SDF fighter, who is participating in the battle and did not want to be identified for security reasons.
The remaining IS fighters have no intention to surrender, local sources said.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think the battle will be over in a few days as many are predicting,&#8221; said Ivan Hasib, a Syrian reporter who is embedded with the SDF in Baghuz.
&#8220;It will take at least two weeks before ISIS fighters are cleared,&#8221; he said using an acronym for Islamic State.
Hasib added that &#8220;last week, [IS] refused an offer to surrender, which means that they have chosen to fight to the death. This has become more obvious in the past two days, as they are intensifying suicide attacks against SDF.&#8221;
Surprise attacks
Local military officials say Islamic State relies on surprise attacks in a bid to slow the SDF offensive.
&#8220;This morning, [IS] terrorists attempted to wage surprise attacks in order to prolong the battle. But our forces and the U.S.-led coalition are present everywhere in the vicinity,&#8221; Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman, told VOA on Monday.
There are also concerns that IS militants are using civilians as human shields to hamper the progress of U.S.-backed forces into the city.
&#8220;The only thing that slows our advance is the presence of civilians. So far, 35,000 people have fled Baghuz. Just today, 1,500 civilians left the city. There are still large numbers of civilians stranded inside Baghuz. This is a real challenge for us,&#8221; Bali said.

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US-Backed SDF Closing in on IS Stronghold in Syria

The U.N. counterterrorism chief warned Monday that recent losses by Islamic State extremists &#8220;should not lead to complacency at any level,&#8221; saying the extremist group remains a global threat with up to 18,000 militants in Iraq and Syria, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/un-warns-islamic-state-losses-should-not-lead-to-complacency/4782289.html">reports</a>.
Vladimir Voronkov also told the Security Council that the Islamic State group is reported to have created a network of cells in various cities in Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, and is closely linked to its leaders in Syria and Iraq.
He said the Islamic State&#8217;s &#8220;center of gravity&#8221; remains in Iraq and Syria, where it reportedly controls between 14,000 and 18,000 militants, and its central leadership maintains &#8220;an intent to generate internationally directed attacks.&#8221;
His briefing on the latest U.N. report on extremist threats from the Islamic State and al-Qaida comes as President Donald Trump has ordered a U.S. troop withdrawal in Syria, saying IS has been defeated, and a potential troop pullout in Afghanistan.
Voronkov, the undersecretary-general of the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the threat from IS has increased because of combatants who fought with the group returning home, relocating or being released.
Michele Coninsx, head of the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, said Islamic State&#8217;s dramatic loss of territory &#8220;has driven its evolution into a covert and more locally focused network in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.&#8221;
She told the council the Islamic State group — also known as ISIS — aims to undermine stabilization and rebuilding in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
The extremist group &#8220;remains one of the international terrorist groups most likely to carry out a large-scale, complex attack in the future,&#8221; Coninsx said.
U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen said the significant military setbacks IS has suffered, notably in Iraq, Syria and the southern Philippines, are &#8220;a testament&#8221; to the work of a global coalition to defeat the extremist group.
But he said &#8220;much more work remains to be done to defeat ISIS.&#8221;
Cohen made no mention of any troop withdrawals from Syria or Afghanistan but said &#8220;ISIS is seeking to survive, reconstitute and ultimately re-emerge in Iraq and Syria.&#8221;
&#8220;ISIS is also coordinating with affiliates to plan attacks elsewhere, including Afghanistan, southeast Asia and west Africa,&#8221; he said.
Cohen encouraged all countries to adapt to the changing threat from IS, praising the coalition for severely degrading its ability to raise funds and finance its operations &#8220;through destroying ISIS-controlled energy assets and removing key ISIS commanders responsible for finance.&#8221;
Exploiting technology
The U.N.&#8217;s Coninsx stressed that IS, along with other extremist groups and their affiliates, have &#8220;consistently demonstrated their intent and ability to exploit new technologies and seek innovative ways to circumvent obstacles to its financial, technical and recruitment capabilities.&#8221;
As examples, she said her experts noted &#8220;an increased use of mobile payment services by terrorist groups&#8221; in west Africa, and &#8220;the misuse of cryptocurrencies for malicious, criminal and terrorist purposes.&#8221;
Russia&#8217;s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that while the Islamic States&#8217; income from contraband fuel continues to fall, the extremist group seized a number of oil fields in Syria&#8217;s eastern province of Deir-el-Zour last autumn which enabled it to sell oil at $30-$35 a barrel for a number of months through intermediaries.
He said IS and other extremist groups continue to take hostages, participate in the illegal trade in drugs and agricultural products, and the sale of organs and cultural artifacts — and they are constantly looking for new sources of income.
&#8220;Their coffers are being filled through trading in industrial products including sulfuric and phosphorous acid and cement,&#8221; Nebenzia said. &#8220;They&#8217;re also investing in fishing in Iraq. They&#8217;re speculating on the stock markets, receiving income from cryptocurrencies, playing in online casinos, and also making use of scams on the internet and deliveries of fake medicines.&#8221;
He said some fighters are also &#8220;compelled to sell the weapons and ammunition that they have.&#8221;
And in a number of Afghan provinces, Nebenzia said, there has also been &#8220;active illegal mining, processing and deliveries abroad of iron, copper, gold, jewels and semi-precious stones.&#8221;

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UN Warns Islamic State Losses Shouldn’t Lead to Complacency

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Acting U.S. Defense chief Pat Shanahan said Monday the Islamic State group remains a &#8220;global presence,&#8221; as U.S.-backed fighters work to clear the last enclave the militants hold in eastern Syria, VOA News <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-syria-troops/4781331.html">reports</a>.
Shanahan told reporters traveling with him on a trip to Afghanistan that when it comes to the degree of Islamic State&#8217;s capabilities, that varies from &#8220;residual pockets to sleeper cells.&#8221;
&#8220;But in the context of military operations, I think the characterization of progress within Syria has been that they have been decimated and that we&#8217;re making significant progress&#8221; in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, Shanahan said.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to reassure allies the United States would not abandon efforts to destroy Islamic State when it withdraw its troops from Syria. Shanahan said Monday he plans to discuss the situation this week with NATO allies, including support and security operations that he says are important when shifting away from a significant military operation.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said Sunday they had recaptured 41 positions held by Islamic State militants in eastern Syria.
Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman, tweeted that SDF forces had destroyed fortifications in the Village of Baghuz, but that heavy fighting continued.
&#8220;SDF have advanced on northern and western axis into Baghuz since 19:00 yesterday evening, capturing 41 positions of ISIS and destroying fortifications. IS counterattack was foiled at 4 am this morning. Heavy fighting is going on inside the last village at the moment,&#8221; he wrote.
&#8220;There are heavy clashes at the moment. We have launched an assault and the fighters are advancing,&#8221; an SDF field commander told AFP Sunday.
The SDF, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, is fighting IS in a 4-square-kilometer area that includes Baghuz and is near the Iraqi border.
SDF officials and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated there were about 3,000 battle-hardened IS jihadists, mostly foreigners, in the region. The observatory also estimated that several hundred civilians remained in the area as well.
More than 23,000 Syrian civilians and foreign nationals fled eastern Syria this past week as the SDF, which includes Kurdish YPG militia fighters, prepared to move on IS in Deir el-Zour governorate, according to local officials and activists.
WATCH: Syrian refugees
The displaced residents, mostly women and children, have been placed in the Kurdish al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate, in northeast Syria.
The administrator of the camp, Nabil Hassan, told VOA that many of the women and children from the new wave of displacement this week were foreign nationals and family members of IS.
SDF began an operation in September to rid Deir el-Zour of IS militants. The U.S.-backed fighters&#8217; advance has been slowed by fierce fighting from the IS militants.
The civil war that has engulfed Syria began with Arab Spring protests in 2011. The United Nations estimates more than 400,000 Syrians have died since fighting began in 2011. More than 6 million Syrians have been displaced internally and about 5 million have sought refuge outside the country, with Turkey hosting nearly 3.5 million of them, according to the United Nations.
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US Defense Chief: ‘Significant Progress’ Against Islamic State in Syria

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been selling oil from fields that it controls in the east of Syria, despite U.S. economic sanctions. The Syrian government and the Kurds have been discussing possible autonomy conditions with Damascus in light of the expected U.S. pullout from the north of the country in April, and Arab media reports that oil resources are one of the main topics of negotiation, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-allied-syrian-kurds-reportedly-sell-oil-to-damascus-government/4780576.html">reports</a>.
Arab media reports say Kurdish negotiators from the U.S.-allied SDF in the north of Syria and Syrian government officials, including intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, have been holding autonomy talks since mid-January, in Damascus and at the Russian Hmeimem Airbase in Latakya.
The Syrian government is reportedly discussing control of oil fields in the northeast of the country, now under Kurdish control, along with Kurdish demands to continue an education program in Kurdish, which Damascus rejects.
The U.S. daily Wall Street Journal reported Friday the Syrian-owned Qatirji Group is purchasing oil from the SDF and refining it for use in areas of the country that it controls. The head of the group was recently placed under U.S. economic sanctions.
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University of Paris Professor Khattar Abou Diab tells VOA he thinks the oil sales are mostly &#8220;black market&#8221; deals and the Islamic State group had also sold oil from the same fields to the Syrian government when they controlled them.
He says U.S. forces are planning to complete their withdrawal by April, and that (all parties) are preparing for that moment in order to fill the void to the east of the Euphrates River. In this race against the clock, he stresses, Turkey is negotiating with both the United States and Russia, while the Kurds are negotiating with the United States and the Syrian government.
American University of Beirut Political Science Professor Hilal Khashan said the parties in the Syrian conflict are involved in &#8220;pragmatic business dealings&#8221;, rather than issues of &#8220;morality.&#8221;
&#8220;The war in Syria is a proxy war and everyone there is fighting on behalf of someone else. The Kurds need cash. If they do not get it from the Syrian government through the sale of oil, then they might be asking the United States for the money. So, I do not see any ideological issue for the United States. Politics is about pragmatism. These people are selling oil. If Assad does not get oil from the Kurds, he will get it from another source,&#8221; said Khashan.
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Lebanese economist and former finance minister Georges Corm told VOA he believes the Kurds in the north of Syria have an &#8220;interest in establishing a constructive dialogue with the Syrian government,&#8221; given the &#8220;threats by Turkish President Erdogan to set up a security zone in northern Syria.&#8221;
He said Syria is being aided by powerful countries with economic resources like China, Russia and Iran, so he does not think U.S. economic sanctions will have a major effect on the Syrian government. He also argues the Syrian economy has traditionally been self-sufficient, so it is less dependent on outside forces.
Arab media, however, reported in recent weeks the Syrian currency has lost more of its value to the dollar, currently trading on the black market at between 600 and 700 Syrian lira to the dollar, causing increasing economic hardships for many people.

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US-Allied Syrian Kurds Reportedly Sell Oil to Damascus Government

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U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were engaged in heavy clashes against Islamic State as they sought to clear the last enclave the militant group controls in eastern Syria, VOA News <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-backed-syrian-forces-in-assault-to-oust-last-of-is-group/4780495.html">reports</a>.
Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman, tweeted Saturday, &#8220;SDF started to move on to the last village remaining under jihadists control. &#8230; Village of Baghuz, which is the only remaining ISIS pocket, will be cleared soon.&#8221;
&#8220;There are heavy clashes at the moment. We have launched an assault and the fighters are advancing,&#8221; an SDF field commander told AFP Sunday.
The SDF, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, is fighting IS in a 4-square-kilometer area that includes Baghuz and is near the Iraqi border.
SDF officials and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated there were about 3,000 battle-hardened IS jihadists, mostly foreigners, in the region. The observatory also estimated several hundred civilians remained in the area as well.
More than 23,000 Syrian civilians and foreign nationals fled eastern Syria this past week as the SDF, which includes Kurdish YPG militia fighters, prepared to move on IS in Deir el-Zour governorate, according to local officials and activists.
The displaced residents, mostly women and children, have been placed in the Kurdish al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate, in northeast Syria.
The administrator of the camp, Nabil Hassan, told VOA that many of the women and children from the new wave of displacement this week were foreign nationals and family members of IS.
SDF began an operation in September to rid Deir el-Zour of IS militants. The U.S.-backed fighters&#8217; advance has been slowed by fierce fighting from the IS militants.
The civil war that has engulfed Syria began with Arab Spring protests in 2011. The United Nations estimates more than 400,000 Syrians have died since fighting began in 2011. More than 6 million Syrians have been displaced internally and about 5 million have sought refuge outside the country, with Turkey hosting nearly 3.5 million of them, according to the Brookings Institution.
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US-Backed Syrian Forces in Assault to Oust Last of IS Group

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U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian forces said Saturday they have launched a final push to defeat the Islamic State group in the last tiny pocket the extremists hold in eastern Syria, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-backed-fighters-launch-final-push-to-defeat-is-in-syria/4779930.html">VOA</a> reports.
Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted that the offensive began Saturday after more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the IS-held area in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. An SDF statement said the offensive was focused on the village of Baghouz.
The SDF, backed by U.S. air power, has driven IS from large swaths of territory it once controlled in northern and eastern Syria, confining the extremists to a small pocket of land near the border with Iraq.
Scores of IS fighters are now besieged in a small area consisting of two villages, or less than once percent of the self-styled caliphate that once sprawled across large parts of Syria and Iraq. In recent weeks, thousands of civilians, including families of IS fighters, left the area controlled by the extremists.
The decisive battle began tonight to finish what remains of Daesh terrorists, Bali said, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS.
U.S. President Donald Trump predicted Wednesday that IS will have lost all of its territory by next week.
It should be formally announced sometime, probably next week, that we will have 100 percent of the caliphate, Trump told representatives of a 79-member, U.S.-led coalition fighting IS.
U.S. officials have said in recent weeks that IS has lost 99.5 percent of its territory and is holding on to fewer than 5 square kilometers in Syria, or less than 2 square miles, in the villages of the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where the bulk of the fighters are concentrated.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that since the SDF began its offensive against IS in the area on Sept. 10, some 1,279 IS gunmen and 678 SDF fighters have been killed. It said 401 civilians, including 144 children and teenagers, have been killed since then.
Earlier Saturday, IS militants attacked SDF fighters near an oil field in the countrys east, triggering airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
The Observatory said 12 IS gunmen attacked the SDF and clashed with them for several hours until most of the attackers were killed early Saturday. It said 10 attackers were killed, while two managed to flee.
Other activist collectives, including the Step news agency, reported the attack, saying some of the attackers used motorcycles rigged with explosives.
The fighting was concentrated near al-Omar field.
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US-backed Fighters Launch Final Push to Defeat IS in Syria

More than 23,000 Syrian civilians and foreign nationals have fled eastern Syria this week as the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces move on the last Islamic State pockets in Deir el-Zour governorate, according to local officials and activists, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/syrians-foreigners-flee-as-us-backed-forces-move-on-is/4779642.html">reports</a>.
The displaced residents, mostly women and children, have been placed in the Kurdish al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate in Syria&#8217;s northeast.
The administrator of the camp, Nabil Hassan, told VOA that many of the women and children in the new wave of displacement this week are foreign nationals and family members of IS.
&#8220;Most of the new arrivals are Iraqis and some of them are Syrians. They are mostly wives and children of [IS] thugs,&#8221; Hassan told VOA.
An estimated 1,000 foreign nationals from Europe and Central and East Asia have also arrived at the camp since the escalation of clashes in mid-December, according to Hassan. ​
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has decided to withdraw American troops from Syria following IS&#8217;s defeat, predicted Wednesday that all the IS territory would be cleared in the coming days as the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) drew closer to ousting the jihadist group, which still controls tiny pockets of the countryside near Deir el-Zour.
&#8220;It should be formally announced sometime, probably next week, that we will have 100 percent of the caliphate,&#8221; Trump said during a meeting with representatives of the 79-member U.S.-led coalition fighting against IS.
The SDF, backed by coalition airstrikes, was fighting IS in a 4-square-kilometer area consisting of the Baghouz and As Safafinah villages near the Iraqi border.
SDF officials estimated there were about 3,000 IS jihadists, mostly foreigners, who were determined to fight to the death.
Heavy clashes between the SDF and the IS fighters Thursday left 15 jihadists dead and large numbers of their weapons seized, according to an SDF statement. Coalition jets assisted with 22 airstrikes against IS positions.
SDF commanders said they thought many of the foreign fighters would end up being captured in the coming days, adding to about 1,000 foreign jihadists from over 40 countries currently in the Kurdish detention centers in northeast Syria.
The Kurdish self-administration complained that their detention facilities were already overwhelmed and criticized the relevant countries for not repatriating their nationals.
U.S. officials have echoed the call of their Kurdish partners.
&#8220;The United States calls upon other nations to repatriate and prosecute their citizens detained by the SDF and commends the continued efforts of the SDF to return these foreign terrorist fighters to their countries of origin,&#8221; U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement Monday.
Guantanamo Option
The U.S. State Department said Thursday that the fighters could be transported to the detention center on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, if they could not be repatriated.
Last month, the SDF handed over five IS fighters, along with 11 wives and 30 children of IS fighters, from Kazakhstan to Kazakh authorities following months of preparation. Other countries have been less willing to follow suit because of the difficulty of prosecuting suspected IS fighters based on evidence collected from the battlefield.
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Local officials fear the new wave of arrested fighters and displaced residents could also spark disease outbreaks, as many new arrivals suffer from illnesses because of a lack of access to medical services in the besieged IS areas.
Masoud Ramo, head of the Kurdish Red Cross, told VOA that many displaced residents arrived at al-Hol camp suffering from malnutrition, lung diseases and contagious viruses. He said many fleeing residents, especially children, die on the way or suffer injuries requiring amputations because of land mines.
&#8220;Many of the new arrivals are injured from land mines and need urgent surgeries. Some others need treatment for previous conditions. There is honestly a heavy pressure on us,&#8221; Ramo said.
Human shields
Civilians interviewed by VOA at the al-Hol camp said they were able to leave their homes only after the SDF entered their areas. They said IS fighters had prevented them from escaping, using them instead as human shields to prevent airstrikes.
&#8220;There are now displaced civilians in areas under IS and Syrian Democratic Forces&#8221; control, said Sheikh Abdulbasid Ali, the head of al-Shuaitat tribe, who fled with his family to the al-Hol camp after years of living under IS control.
&#8220;We are grateful to the Syrian Democratic Forces for bringing civilians from IS areas to refugee camps,&#8221; he told VOA.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees last week reported that more than 35 children and infants had died from hypothermia and malnourishment since December on the journey to or while at the camp.

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Syrians, Foreigners Flee as Forces Move on IS

The Guantanamo Bay detention center would receive new prisoners for the first time in more than a decade under one option being considered as the U.S. withdraws its forces from Syria and works to resolve the fate of hundreds of captured suspected Islamic State fighters, officials say, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/guantanamo-prison-looms-as-option-for-is-fighters/4778019.html">reports</a>.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters have custody of nearly 1,000 suspected IS fighters who the State Department said should be sent back to their home countries and prosecuted. The Syrian fighters have warned they may not be able to continue to hold the IS fighters after the withdrawal of American forces from Syria ordered by President Donald Trump in December.
If they can&#8217;t be repatriated, though, the detention center on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be used to hold them &#8220;where lawful and appropriate,&#8221; the State Department said Thursday.
&#8220;The Administration&#8217;s National Strategy for Counterterrorism makes very clear that Law of Armed Conflict detention, including at Guantanamo, remains an important and effective counterterrorism tool,&#8221; it said in a statement to The Associated Press in response to questions about the prisoners.
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Trump had said in his first State of the Union last year that he would use Guantanamo &#8220;in many cases&#8221; to detain prisoners as part of the fight against Islamic State and al-Qaida. As a candidate, when asked about what he would do with the controversial detention center, he said he would &#8220;load it up with some bad dudes.&#8221;
But the administration has not added any prisoners to the detention center that President Barack Obama sought to close, and officials say that sending suspected Islamic State fighters back to their homelands remains the preferred choice.
&#8220;Repatriating foreign terrorist fighters to their countries of origin and ensuring they are prosecuted and detained is the best solution to prevent them from returning to the battlefield,&#8221; the State Department said.
A U.S. official said Guantanamo is the &#8220;option of last resort.&#8221; The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. has identified about 50 people among the more than 900 held by Syrian forces as &#8220;high value&#8221; suspects that could be transported to Guantanamo if they are not repatriated.
Legal issues
Sending Islamic State prisoners to Guantanamo would open up new legal challenges, according to experts.
The U.S. is allowed to detain al-Qaida and &#8220;associated forces&#8221; at Guantanamo under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. But whether Islamic State group fighters meets that criteria is an untested question, said Robert Chesney, a national security law professor at the University of Texas.
&#8220;No court has ever once had the case and the executive branch for many years has really not wanted the court to answer that question,&#8221; Chesney said.
The U.S. began holding prisoners suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban in January 2002, drawing intense international criticism for holding men indefinitely without charge amid reports of mistreatment at the isolated base on the southeastern tip of Cuba.
Prison size
Guantanamo held nearly 700 prisoners at its peak in the summer of 2003. Amid legal challenges and international pressure, more than 500 were released under President George W. Bush. Obama viewed the detention center as a waste of money that damaged America&#8217;s reputation and ordered it closed, but was blocked by Congress.
There are now 40 prisoners held, including nine who have been charged and are facing trial by military commission in proceedings that have dragged on for years.
From a purely practical standpoint, U.S. military officials have said they could accommodate additional prisoners at the base.
The forces overseeing Guantanamo prison say the prison can hold 40 more people &#8220;with no additional staffing&#8221; and the facility could accommodate 200 more inmates total, &#8220;with minimal adjustments to current infrastructure and manpower,&#8221; said Navy Cdr. Adam Bashaw, a spokesman for the military task force that runs the detention center.

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Guantanamo Prison Looms as Option for IS Fighters

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The United States is seeking to reassure allies it is not abandoning them or their efforts to destroy the Islamic State terror group despite an imminent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-to-allies-prepare-for-new-stage-in-fight-against-islamic-state/4775451.html">VOA</a> reports.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the 79-member global coalition to defeat IS Wednesday in Washington, saying that while the &#8220;nature of the fight is changing,&#8221; U.S. goals remain the same.
&#8220;It simply represents a new stage in an old fight,&#8221; Pompeo said in remarks to open the conference.
&#8220;The drawdown of troops is essentially a tactical change. It is not a change in the mission,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The fight is one that we will continue to wage alongside of you.&#8221;
U.S. President Donald Trump surprised many of Washington&#8217;s allies and partners, and even some of his own military commanders, when he declared victory over IS in December and announced some 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria would be coming home.
Since then, the White House and other top U.S. officials have sought to clarify that while the terror group&#8217;s self-declared caliphate is on the verge of complete territorial collapse, the U.S. understands the fight against the group itself is not over.
In his State of the Union address late Tuesday night, Trump praised progress in the fight against IS, but reiterated his call to pull U.S. troops from Syria.
&#8220;We have liberated virtually all of the territory from the grip of these bloodthirsty monsters,&#8221; Trump told a joint session of Congress. &#8220;Now, as we work with our allies to destroy the remnants of ISIS, it is time to give our brave warriors in Syria a warm welcome home.&#8221;
But exactly when U.S. troops will ultimately leave Syria is unclear.
Defense officials confirm that while some equipment already has been moved out of Syria, plans for withdrawing U.S. forces are still being formulated with the help of allies and partners on the ground, like the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Maintaining pressure
The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, Central Command&#8217;s Gen. Joseph Votel, told lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday the pullout will be &#8220;deliberate.&#8221;
&#8220;I am not under pressure to be out by a specific date and I&#8217;ve not had any specific conditions put upon me,&#8221; Votel said, adding the U.S. and its partners must maintain pressure on IS cells in Syria and beyond.
&#8220;They have the capability of coming back together if we don&#8217;t,&#8221; he said.
U.S. military and intelligence officials estimate IS still has 1,000 to 1,500 fighters holding onto a silver of territory in Syria&#8217;s Middle Euphrates River Valley. And while the fighting there is expected to be wrapped up in a number of weeks, as many as another 30,000 IS fighters and supporters are dispersed across Syria and Iraq. Some are part of active insurgencies and others are part of sleeper cells, waiting for the right time to activate.
Just last month, IS claimed responsibility for a failed suicide attack on a U.S. convoy in northern Syria and another attack in the Syrian town of Manbij, which killed four Americans and 15 other people.
Iraqi officials have voiced concern about a series of attacks there, carried out by small groups of IS fighters, some as young as 16 years old.
&#8220;I call on all countries of the world to help Iraq fight sleeper cells of Daesh and to help Iraq restore its stability,&#8221; Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim told the conference Wednesday, using the Arabic acronym for the terror group.
Although Iraq declared victory over IS more than a year ago, the country&#8217;s security forces continue to battle pockets of resistance across the country, sometimes with the help of coalition airstrikes.
Reconstruction efforts
There are additional concerns about Baghdad&#8217;s struggles to rebuild areas that had been under IS control.
Coalition officials say there is a $350 million shortfall in reconstruction funds for Iraq. And Wednesday, Pompeo called on members to &#8220;put our money where our mouth is.&#8221;
Pompeo told coalition members to be ready for more requests for help.
&#8220;We ask that our coalition partners seriously and rapidly consider requests that will enable our efforts to continue,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Those requests are likely to come very soon.&#8221;
But while Iraq&#8217;s foreign minister asked for more help, he also warned the U.S. and other countries must heed &#8220;the basic principles on which the global coalition has been there, including most importantly the complete respect of the territorial integrity of Iraq and for all operations to take place with the knowledge of the government.&#8221;
The comment is the latest from Iraqi officials following an interview Trump gave CBS News this past Sunday, in which he said he wanted U.S. troops stationed in Iraq to &#8220;watch Iran.&#8221;
U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of Iran&#8217;s destabilizing activities in Syria and across the Middle East, but officials from Baghdad maintain the U.S. military presence in Iraq is the result of an agreement to combat terrorism, and that keeping an eye on Tehran is not part of the deal.
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US to Allies: Prepare for ‘New Stage’ in Fight Against Islamic State

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The commanding general of U.S. forces in the Middle East was not told before President Donald Trump initially declared victory over the Islamic State terror group and announced his decision to withdraw troops from Syria, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/top-us-general-not-consulted-about-syria-troop-withdrawal/4773986.html">reports</a>.
&#8220;I was not aware of the specific announcement,&#8221; Gen. Joseph Votel told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday of the president&#8217;s announcement this past December.
&#8220;I was not consulted,&#8221; he added.
Since the announcement, Pentagon officials have confirmed some equipment has been moved out of Syria. Other preparations to pull some 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria also have been ongoing.
But there has been little clarity as to how and when U.S. forces will ultimately leave, while questions abound about whether the pullout would give Islamic State militants an opportunity to regain strength and retake territory.
&#8220;We are going to do that in a very deliberate manner,&#8221; Votel said. &#8220;I am not under pressure to be out by a specific date and I&#8217;ve not had any specific conditions put upon me.&#8221;
He said that means finding ways to withdraw without giving the terror group any openings.
&#8220;We do have to keep pressure on this network,&#8221; Votel said. &#8220;They have the capability of coming back together if we don&#8217;t.&#8221;
The warning follows others by top defense and intelligence officials in recent days, including a report released Monday by the Pentagon&#8217;s internal watchdog.
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<div class="thumb thumb16_9"><img alt="FILE - A Syrian national flag flutters next to the Islamic State's slogan at a roundabout where executions were carried out by IS militants in the city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria, April 1, 2016." /></div>
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<h4 class="media-block__title also-read__text p-0">Islamic State Resurgence Expected Within Months</h4>
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&#8220;Absent sustained [counterterrorism] pressure, ISIS could likely resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory,&#8221; the report said, using an acronym for the group.
It further warned IS still commands &#8220;a battle-hardened and well-disciplined force &#8230; able to coordinate offensives and counter-offensives.&#8221;
Slow, steady progress
Votel told lawmakers Tuesday that, for now, U.S. partner forces are making slow but steady progress against the last sliver of the terror group&#8217;s self-declared caliphate, roughly 50 square kilometers in Syria&#8217;s Middle Euphrates River Valley.
&#8220;That fight is progressing as we envisioned it,&#8221; he said of the final push against an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 fighters.
&#8220;It&#8217;s very dense, urban terrain,&#8221; Votel said &#8220;The area is laden with extreme explosive hazards.&#8221;
Still, Votel said he expects the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces will liberate the remaining territory before the last U.S. troops leave the country.
Unanswered questions
The head of U.S. Central Command also said the United States is working with partners and allies to make sure that even then, IS will not able to stage a comeback.
But officials continue to warn that may prove difficult.
U.S. defense and intelligence agencies estimate the terror group still has anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 fighters and supporters dispersed across Syria and Iraq, some of them already carrying out attacks as part of a growing insurgency.
U.S. officials also believe morale among IS fighters remains high despite losing more than 99 percent of the territory it once controlled.
And there are questions as to whether the U.S.-backed Syrian fighters will be capable of maintaining pressure on IS without the presence of U.S. forces and with the possible loss of support from Kurdish fighters.
Kurdish commanders have warned they may have to abandon the fight against IS in order to defend against Turkish forces which might attack once U.S. troops leave.
Turkey considers many of the Kurdish fighters to be linked to the PKK, a terrorist group which has been waging a decades-long insurgency in southeastern Turkey.
&#8220;We are going to consider things like protection of our partners, the Kurds,&#8221; Votel told lawmakers of the U.S. withdrawal. &#8220;We are going to consider the concerns that Turkey has.&#8221;
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