A Syrian monitor says Islamic State fighters are being evacuated from the last insurgent enclave near Damascus, a move that will restore state control over the area. The recovery of the enclave south of Damascus would mark another milestone in President Bashar al-Assad’s war effort, crushing the last besieged rebel enclave in western Syria.
The month-long battles have been the toughest fought by the Syrian army and its allied forces this year against opposition forces in pockets around the capital, defense experts say. The Syrian army pushed Islamic State militants out of a south Damascus pocket.
Troops were about to close in on militants holed up in a small area of high-density buildings north of Hajar al Aswad. The exodus of the terrorists from the region is significant as it could signify the imminent defeat of ISIS in Syria.
