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IS Militants Evacuate Last Stronghold in Syria to Government

by Associated Press

   BEIRUT --

   A Syrian war monitor says Islamic State militants have withdrawn from
   their last stronghold following a government offensive.

   The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government
   forces and allied troops, including Iraqi fighters, are combing
   Boukamal, a strategic town on the border with Iraq, on Thursday after
   IS militants withdrew.

   Syrian pro-government media say Syrian troops had clashed with remnants
   of IS militants in the town after they entered it late Wednesday. On
   Thursday, they declared the town totally free of the militants.

   The fall of Boukamal means remaining IS militants are currently holed
   up in small towns and villages along the border with Iraq and in the
   Syrian desert.