Syria: SDF resumes attack on last ISIL enclave

The United States-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have resumed their attack against the final ISIL enclave in eastern Syria with an objective to clear out the last traces of its self-declared 'caliphate'.

ISIL was once spread across a third of Iraq and Syria is now limited to Baghouz, the last piece of populated land held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL, ISIS) fighters, reported Al Jazeera.

The head of the SDF media office, Mustafa Bali, on Sunday stated that no further civilians had emerged from the enclave at the Iraqi border since Saturday and the SDF had not observed any more civilians in the area, prompting the decision to attack.

Stating that SDF had provided ISIL fighters enough time to surrender, Bali said, "The military operations have started. Our forces are now clashing with the terrorists and the attack started."

Last week, SDF commander in Chief Mazloum Kobani said that Syria will announce "a complete victory" over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terror group in a week.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. The grim situation was further aggravated with the establishment of ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2014, when its de facto leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a "Caliphate".

At its peak, the terror outfit controlled huge parts of Iraq and Syria with a population of over 10 million people. However, since 2017, the group has been losing hold on major territories in both countries to US-backed military forces.