Thousands of people, incl. militants, leave last Islamic State area in Syria – SDF

The US-backed Syrian forces fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) say thousands of people, including militants, have left the last area held by the extremists in Syria. Spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted that about 3,000 came out of the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria on Monday through a humanitarian corridor established by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for those who want to leave or surrender. Among those who left was a large number of IS fighters who “surrendered to our forces,” Bali said. The evacuations came as the US-backed forces slowed down their latest push on Baghouz, which resumed last week, to allow civilians to leave the tiny enclave. It’s unclear how many IS militants and civilians remain inside, but the number is likely in the hundreds, AP said.