Cowardly ISIS fanatics use kids as human shields as terror group is bombed into oblivion in brutal last stand in Syria
ISIS fanatics are using human shields in a cowardly last-ditch defence as the evil Caliphate faces being wiped off the map within hours.
Kurdish troops besieging Baghouz - the last Syrian village under ISIS control - have been forced to slow their attack to spare innocent civilians.
But bombing raids continued today as up to 150 ISIS deserters fled with refugees and handed themselves in.
Dozens of men, women and children were seen climbing hills on foot to escape the hellhole village today, and hundreds more fled in a convoy of cars.
The terrified villagers were greeted by soldiers from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and revealed how some of their neighbours were being held prisoner by the jihadis, also known as Daesh.
SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said: "We’re slowing down the offensive in Baghouz due to a small number of civilians held as human shields by Daesh.
"However we assert that the battle to retake the last ISIS holdout is going to be over soon."
Another official said the offensive was being kept up away from an evacuation corridor to prevent jihadis from infiltrating or sabotaging the area.
DIEHARDS' LAST STAND
Around 500 people fled Baghouz and another 200 are expected to follow later today.
Among them were as many as 150 ISIS members who surrendered after deciding to down weapons and run away.
They were said to be demoralised when self-declared Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi fled to the desert before the final offensive began last month.
A few hundred remaining ISIS diehards are desperately clinging to their last tiny piece of territory, deploying snipers and guided missiles and using dug-out tunnels for surprise attacks.
The US-backed SDF resumed the battle on Friday after a two-week pause to allow civilians to flee.
Yesterday ISIS unsuccessfully tried to attack the Kurds with suicide car bombs driven at their positions and ambushes from hidden tunnels.
An SDF official who goes by Mervan The Brave said many ISIS gunmen are still inside and prepared to fight.
He said: "This is not the end. We maybe on the threshold of a new battle."
MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS
Retaking the sliver of land would be a milestone in the devastating four-year campaign to end ISIS' reign of terror over vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.
However experts say the terrorist death cult will continues to pose a threat as an insurgent force with sleeper cells in scattered desert pockets along the border between the two countries.
Last month we reported SAS troops involved in the final assault on Baghouz had found the severed heads of 50 sex slaves in ISIS rat tunnels.
And dozens of decapitated corpses were found in a mass grave as the SDF closed in.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.