DAMASCUS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday resumption of the fight against the last redoubt of the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria.
The anti-IS military operation in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour resumed after the deadline for the IS militants and their families to leave ended on Sunday, the SDF said.
The SDF declared the last push against the IS earlier this month but later put it on hold to allow the IS members to leave.
Thousands of people, including the IS militants, have left the area while others refuse to do so.
The Kurdish-led SDF, with the backing of the U.S.-led coalition, has launched a crushing offensive to eliminate the IS from the eastern Euphrates River region in eastern Syria since September last year.
The IS militants are now besieged in an area of fewer than 2 square km in the farmlands of Baghouz.
