US-backed Syrian troops taunted defeated ISIS fighters with techno pop as the ‘caliphate’ finally fell after a six-week siege
- Victorious SDF fighters played Arab techno music and danced before the enemy
- Towards the end of a six-week siege ISIS desperately deployed female fighters
- But the US-backed Syrian Democrat Forces decimated Baghuz from the air
- The IS fighters were humiliated by the music they had banned across their state
Defeated Islamic State fighters were blasted with booming techno music as their shattered final stronghold of Baghuz fell.
After a six-week siege, coalition forces stormed the final 700 square metres of the so-called caliphate, which four years ago ruled an area the size of England.
In a desperate last stand, hardened IS fighters thrust weapons into the hands of their wives and daughters, but they were helpless to protect territory reduced to a sea of rubble and twisted metal against a merciless bombardment.
On one of the few remaining buildings, members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had been aided by special forces troops from the UK, US and France, ripped down the once-feared black flag of Isis and raised their own banner.
The Kurdish led US-backed Syrian Democrat Forces hold up the V for victory sign in front of a large yellow flag of the SDF at the village of Baghuz in Syria on Saturday
SDF forces gathered on the walls to survey the ruins of Baghuz as they raised their flag in victory
One SDF commander, Mustapha Bali, tweeted a photograph with the words: ‘Baghuz is free and the military victory against Daesh [IS] has been achieved.’
Victorious SDF fighters played Arabic techno music and danced arm-in-arm to taunt IS survivors.
Their brutal regime had imposed a total ban on music, punishable by flogging or even death.
The nondescript sun-scorched town of Baghuz, on the banks of the Euphrates in southern Syria, has been the scene of IS’s last stand.
For two months, the SDF faced a stream of suicide bombers and a warren of heavily defended tunnels beneath the shattered town.
In a final move, rules banning women from fighting were dropped and pictures of women armed with AK-47s were posted on social media, even as some IS men donned burkhas in an unsuccessful bid to flee the besieged town.
Theresa May and several Cabinet Ministers celebrated the victory last night and praised British forces for their vital role through RAF air strikes and SAS operations on the ground.
But they warned that while the ‘caliphate’ had fallen, the threat from IS remained real.
‘The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory wouldn’t have been possible without the immense courage of UK military and our allies,’ the PM tweeted.
‘We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our Allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses.’
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson added: ‘We cannot be complacent. They’ve dispersed, and they’ll continue to pose a threat to Britain.’ And Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned: ‘The fight is NOT over.’
Footage released by ISIS appears to show burqa-clad women firing AK-47s at SDF forces during the final days of the so-called caliphate
An SDF warrior holds up the V for victory sign in the fallen Islamic State group’s last bastion in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz after defeating the jihadist group
At its height, IS ruled more than seven million people and made billions selling oil on the black market. By this weekend, 30,000 hardened fighters were pinned down on a tiny sliver of ground.
More than 11,000 SDF fighters have died in the four-year offensive, while an estimated 100,000 coalition air strikes have taken place.
This includes more than 1,700 by RAF assets, while 1,100 British Special Forces and personnel have been deployed across Syria and Iraq.