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SYRIA-CONFLICT-BAGHOUZ
IS down to half a square kilometre in Syria: commander
BEIRUT, Feb 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Jihadists defending the very last pocket controlled by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria are trapped in an area of half a square kilometre, a top commander said Saturday.
“We want to confirm that Baghouz is within firing range and is besieged,” Jia Furat, the overall commander of the operation led by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, told reporters.
“These days, IS is besieged in a neighbourhood that is estimated to be 700 metres (yards) long and 700 metres wide,” he said.
BSS/AFP/PI/1637