US-Backed Kurds Fight ISIS Fighters in Syrian Village of Baghouz

Baghouz was famously the “last” ISIS-held village in Syria, and after about three months of offensives, the US-backed Kurdish SDF declared victory over them in late March. Like other victory declarations this may be premature.

On Tuesday, the SDF reported that they were engaged in fighting against ISIS fighters, inside Baghouz, and that the ISIS fighters were hiding in caves inside the village. The SDF fighters were there trying to remove booby traps.

This was supposed to be the end of the ISIS war in Syria. Baghouz was a tiny farming village, but had tens of thousands of civilians hiding underground int he area, along with massive numbers of ISIS fighters.

It is unclear how the SDF came to the conclusion that they got all the ISIS fighters within Baghouz, but it seems that was not the case. ISIS is believed to have substantial fighters around the desert in eastern Syria as well, meaning that territory under control is really not a huge issue for ISIS.