Date: Feb 16, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Push on last Daesh enclave in Syria blunted by surprise discovery of hundreds of civilians AL-OMAR OIL FIELD BASE, Syria/MUNICH: The offensive on the last enclave held by Daesh (ISIS) in eastern Syria has been blunted by the discovery of hundreds of civilians still living there, a commander with the Kurdish-led force fighting the extremists said Friday. The U.S.-backed force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces launched the offensive to liberate the Daesh-held village of Baghouz a week ago, after more than 20,000 civilians, many of them foreign wives of Daesh militants, were evacuated through a corridor from the area in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said the White House will make an announcement about Syria and the fight against Daesh by Saturday. His did not give details but his comments contrasted with the picture painted by SDF commanders, who said the battle has been progressing slowly. “We have a lot of great announcements having to do with Syria and our success with the eradication of the caliphate and that will be announced over the next 24 hours,” Trump told journalists at the White House. Adnan Afrin, the Kurdish commander, told the Associated Press that in the last three days Daesh militants brought up hundreds of civilians from underground tunnels to make the SDF and U.S.-led coalition aware of their presence. He estimated around 1,000 civilians, including women and children, were still in the area. He added that militants were hiding among them and using them as human shields. “This was a surprise. We did not imagine there would be this number of civilians left,” Afrin said. He said they were likely to be families of Daesh militants, but their discovery nonetheless has blunted the offensive. The Kurdish Hawar news agency reported that SDF fighters advanced slowly on the northern parts of Baghouz village because of the large number of mines and explosives planted by the extremists,. Meanwhile, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said after a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. was committed to defeating Daesh in the Middle East and beyond, but officials said European allies were skeptical of Washington’s pledges. Trump’s announcement in December that he was withdrawing all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria surprised and rattled allies. Shanahan said he envisioned a “bigger and stronger” coalition to fight Daesh globally. However, European officials said they were given few details during the closed-door meeting in Munich and many questions remain. In northwestern Syria, meanwhile, government airstrikes on the city of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province killed eight people, including five children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The militant group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham last month cemented its control over Idlib.