US-Backed Force Says It Has Taken Positions in ISIS Syria Camp

A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US ally in the fight against ISIS, holds a sniper rifle on his shoulder as he attends the funeral of a slain Kurdish commander in Qamishli, Syria, on Dec. 6, 2018. Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images

BAGHOUZ, Syria—U.S.-backed fighters said they had taken positions in ISIS terrorist group’s last enclave in eastern Syria and air strikes pounded the tiny patch of land beside the Euphrates River early on March 18, a Reuters journalist said.

Smoke rose over the tiny enclave as warplanes and artillery bombarded it. Another witness said the jihadists had earlier mounted a counter attack.