Civilians trapped in embattled Islamic State pocket in Syria

Thousands of civilians are trapped in Islamic State'slast pocket in eastern Syria, a day after US-backed fighters starteda campaign against the extremist group there, a war monitor saidSunday. "There are fears over the lives of thousands of civilians who arestranded in the pocket," said Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights.On Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurd-led rebelgroup supported by a US-led international coalition, started anoffensive aimed at expelling Islamic State militants from their lastbastion in the eastern province Deir al-Zour, near the Iraqi border."The battle is continuing and fierce, with the aim of pressingremnants of the [Islamic State] elements to surrender," Abdel-Rahmantold dpa. "There is no real progress on the ground because the areais full of mines [planted by Islamic State] and has many civilians."The SDF said Saturday that its forces had started the final battle tocapture the village of Baghuz, the last pocket still under IslamicState control in eastern Syria, after the evacuation of more than20,000 civilians from the area to safe, nearby camps.Syria's Kurds have played a major role in fighting Islamic State inwar-torn Syria, gaining much of the territory once held by theradical group in energy-rich eastern Syria.