The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) estimate there are more than 3,000 civilians still present in Baghouz.
“I’m scared. There’s a lot of shelling in Baghouz,” said a Ukrainian woman who fled the last ISIS-held land with her children.
Smoke from US-led coalition shelling, including French artillery, hangs over Baghouz and coalition jets can be seen flying low over the town.
In the past few days, thousands of people have fled to positions controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) where the men are separated from the women and children in a careful search for the group’s militants.
After lengthy waits, sometimes overnight in chilly weather, they are then trucked to camps to the north.
Most of the women are Iraqis, with some Syrians and foreigners, many of whom say they want to go back to their home countries and try to return to normal life.
“I didn’t even know where was going. I didn’t know anything. I escaped from them once but they brought me back. They didn’t let us go home. We call on the Moroccan government to take us back to our country,” said one woman.
Others have made no secret of their support for the Islamic State group, saying life under ISIS was a good experience and will be useful when they try to establish a new “caliphate” elsewhere.
The United Nations estimates there are between 14,000 and 18,000 ISIS militants remaining in Iraq and Syria, including as many as 3,000 foreigners.
About 500 fighters are holed up in Baghouz, SDF media officer Mustafa Bali told Rudaw. Most of them are foreigners who are skilled and battle-hardened.
The jihadists have also planted explosives throughout the area, slowing SDF progress.
This is the last significant territory still held by ISIS, which once controlled swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq.
Washington is keen to declare victory over ISIS; President Donald Trump has already ordered American soldiers to come home. The US military is slowly making preparations to do so, while continuing its onslaught against the extremists.
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was in Baghdad on Tuesday to reassure Iraqi allies they remain committed to Iraq’s security, despite pulling out of neighbouring Syria. Baghouz is located just a few kilometres from the Iraqi border.
