Omar Oil Field, Syria— Terrorists defending the last dreg of the Daesh group’s so-called “caliphate” Saturday were holed up in half a square kilometer in a village of eastern Syria.

“IS (Daesh) is besieged in a neighborhood that is estimated to be 700 meters (yards) long and 700 meters wide” in the village of Baghouz, said Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Jia Furat.

“In a very short time, not longer than a few days, we will officially announce the end of IS’s existence,” he told reporters at the Al-Omar oil field turned SDF base.

Thousands of people have flooded out of Baghouz over the past week -- mostly women and children related to Daesh fighters, but also suspected terrorists. But an SDF spokesman said there were “still civilians inside in large numbers”.

“We weren’t expecting this number, otherwise we wouldn’t have resumed the campaign four days ago. This is why it’s been delayed,” SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin said.

On Saturday, US-led coalition spokesman Colonel Sean Ryan acknowledged that the timeline had slipped because of the presence of civilians inside. — AFP